In Memoriam: Conor Beck

This fall, IJers lost our friend and colleague Conor Beck, who passed away suddenly on October 8. Conor, who started four years ago as a communications project manager, was best known for his earnest commitment to our clients, cases, and causes. For him, IJ wasn’t just a job; it was a calling and a commitment to make the world a better and freer place. 

Across the country, there are small-business owners, parents, and other IJ clients who knew Conor as the guy who helped save their businesses, win their kids a better education, or get their money back after it had been unlawfully seized. He helped them find their voice and made sure their community—and, indeed, the entire country—knew that they were standing up for what is right.

Conor’s work at IJ had a true nationwide impact, involving cases and projects in nearly every corner of the country. From New Jersey, where he helped home bakers legalize the sale of home-baked goods, to California, where he helped a homeowner fight an abusive government receivership, Conor was committed to winning cases in the court of public opinion. In far flung Roseau, Minnesota, Conor worked with IJ’s activism team to help a coalition of farmers stop the state from using eminent domain to take their land and turn it into an unnecessary marsh. Just days before his passing, Conor was on the ground in West Virginia generating an outpouring of positive coverage for IJ’s successful defense of the state’s Hope Scholarship educational choice program. 

Around the office, Conor was also known for his sense of humor, can-do attitude, and love of the Red Sox. His smile could brighten any room, especially when the Sox won. He was an eternal optimist, a happy warrior. On the most challenging of days, his attitude was resolute and hopeful—he was always looking for silver linings. And while there is no silver lining to his passing, we find solace in our memories of how he dedicated himself to our clients and to the cause. Conor was IJ, and we will miss him very much.