My name is Anne Friday Beck. I grew up in the South Hills of Pittsburgh as the 6th of 7 children. After completing grade school at St. Thomas More in Bethel Park, I attended Upper St. Clair High School, from where I graduated in 1987.
Following high school, I followed in my dad’s and 3 of my brothers’ footsteps and attended Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. Immediately after graduating from Bucknell in 1991, where I majored in English and minored in German, I attended The Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, PA. I loved law school and felt at home in Carlisle.
After graduating from Dickinson Law in 1994, I served as a law clerk for The Honorable Robert K. Young in Lehigh County (Allentown). In 1995, I returned to Pittsburgh and began my career as an insurance defense trial lawyer, first as an associate with a private firm and then as in-house counsel with Travelers Insurance Company.
My husband, Phil, and I married in 1999. Phil, who is originally from St. Louis and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1995, has enjoyed his career as a banker, a software executive and board advisor. Phil and I started our family immediately after getting married and have 3 children: Margot (23), Heidi (21) and Conrad (18). I left my full-time job at Travelers in 2002, but continued to practice law on a part-time basis while raising our family.
In 2013, I decided to run for office and became the elected Tax Collector for South Fayette Township, where my family and I have lived since 2000. Before being elected, I became a PA Qualified Tax Collector through PA’s Department of Community and Economic Development Governor’s Center for Local Government Services. In 2014, I defeated the 10-year incumbent in the general election and began my 4-year term in 2015.
As South Fayette’s Tax Collector, I learned a great deal about real estate, how and when properties are assessed, how and why PA property owners are taxed, how property records are recorded as well as other aspects of property ownership, valuation and marketability.
After completing my four-year term as Tax Collector, I chose not to run again and instead returned to practicing law full time. I am fortunate to have some of my former taxpayers as my clients, and my law practice has grown in the past 5 years.
Preparation of estate documents, such as wills, powers of attorney and living wills, has always been a part of my private practice. I have expanded my practice to include probate and estate administration as well as guardianship matters.
In January of 2023, I joined Mary Margaret Boyd, Esquire, and am now the sole owner of the well-established Estate Planning and Probate law practice called Beck & Boyd, LLC, located in the St. Clair Building near South Hills Village.
In addition to estate planning and probate work, I have experience in handling landlord-tenant matters, ejectments/evictions, adverse possession claims, partition action, installment land contracts, deed preparation, and sales/rental agreements.
Personal interests
In addition to my law practice, I serve as President of the Christian Mothers & Women’s Guild at Corpus Christi Parish in Bridgeville. I also sing as a cantor for Corpus Christi Parish, a ministry I have been involved in for over 25 years. In 2010, I started a book club which meets monthly. When I’m not working, singing or reading, I enjoy walking for exercise, cooking and entertaining friends, neighbors and family. I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories. I’m ready and willing to help others.
Multiple Sclerosis Society
For the past two years, I have served on the Committee for the Together for a Cure Multiple Sclerosis Society Luncheon which has been held each fall for the past 22 years. The Together for a Cure Luncheon is one of the National MS Society’s premier fundraising campaigns to support those living with MS. The goal of this event is to bring together people with MS, businesses and the community to work to create a world free of MS.
I was diagnosed with MS in 1996. I have personally benefitted from the research and advances made in developing medications and therapies that are designed to slow or stop the progression of MS. I am living proof that these medical therapies work. By obtaining sponsors and securing donations for the Together for a Cure Luncheon, I continue my commitment to paying it forward so that a cure can be found.
Ego Free Leadership:
In 2022-23, I completed an Ego Free Leadership graduate program offered by Learning as Leadership (“LaL”), a training and coaching organization in Anselmo, California. With the help of an experienced LaL coach, I was guided through a self-assessment which helped me become aware of my unproductive habits and trace them back to their root causes. By mastering my “derailers”, I have become a better listener, communicator and attorney.