Printable Biography

Biography

Since joining Conrad O'Brien in 2001, Judge Louis C. Bechtle has focused his practice on arbitration, mediation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), multidistrict litigation, mass tort actions, complex commercial litigation, and class actions. He also presides over mock trials, hearings, and oral arguments.

Judge Bechtle is the former Chief Judge Emeritus of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the Bench on March 7, 1972. In 1994, then Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist appointed him to a seven-year term as one of the seven members of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. He was designated transferee judge for numerous multidistrict cases including orthopedic bone screw, Fen-Phen, and MGM Grand Hotel fire litigations. During his nearly 30-year tenure as a federal jurist, Judge Bechtle gained national recognition for his service on a series of complex, nationwide cases. He was appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1969 where he served until his appointment to the bench. He also served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1956 until 1959. He was in private law practice in Philadelphia and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, from 1959 until 1969.

Judge Bechtle participates as a presenter and panel member at national conferences concerning products liability, multidistrict, and class action litigation. He was an Adjunct Faculty Member at Temple University Law School where he taught Federal Trial Practice and Trial Advocacy for 17 years.