Barry C. Reed was a prominent American trial lawyer and best-selling author. Best known for his legal expertise in the field of medical malpractice, civil litigation, and personal injury cases, Barry Reed was born on January 28, 1927 in Alameda, California. He earned a B.S. from Holy Cross College in 1949 and an L.L.B in 1954 from Boston College. In 1955, he obtained his license to practice law from the Massachusetts State Bar and set up a private practice in Boston.

An outstanding trial lawyer, Barry Reed was awarded the Clarence Darrow Award for trial excellence. He also led several lawyers’ groups such as the Massachusetts Trial Lawyers Association, where he served as president. Barr Reed was also former governor of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Lawyers and one of the founding members of the American Society of Law and Medicine.

Outside of the courtroom, Barry Reed was a prolific author. He was a contributor to several journals, newspapers, and periodicals, including the American Bar Association Journal. In 1980, he penned the best-selling and critically-acclaimed book The Verdict, which was soon translated in twelve languages. The book told the story of a lawyer who took a malpractice case involving two doctors responsible for the plight of a comatose pregnant woman. In 1982, a film adaptation of the novel by scriptwriter David Mamet and directed by Sidney Lumet would star Paul Newman and James Mason, and triumph at the Academy Awards with five nominations, including best actor, best screenplay based on material from another medium, and best picture.

Barry Reed authored three other books after The Verdict: The Choice (1991), The Indictment, (1994) and The Deception (1997).

He was mentor to Jan Schlichtmann, a trial lawyer famous for taking the case against W. R. Grace and Company and Beatrice Foods involving several leukemia deaths in Woburn, Massachusetts caused by contaminated drinking water.

Barry Reed died at 75 in Norwood, Massachusetts on July 19, 2002.