Top Ten Richest Lawyers In Usa

So, who are they? Here is a quick look in the richest attorneys in the world, ranked from the lowest net value to the greatest. Please be aware that the people on this list are practicing attorneys or judges. There are plenty of other "attorneys " with a substantially higher net worth, but they simply possess a law degree and no longer use it.

Richard Scruggs: $1.7 billion

A 1976 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law and a prominent trial attorney, Richard Scruggs is famous for his love of tobacco and asbestos cases and the fact he won more than $1 billion in judgements against different businesses. He was also highly involved in 2000's Ritalin class action suits, as well as the 2003 situation against Lehman Brothers for which he won a $51 million verdict. But in 2007, he was accused of judicial bribery. In 2008, he pled guilty and eventually served six years in federal prison. Today, at age 70, he's finished his sentence, and it has retained his massive fortune.

Alan Dershowitz: $25 million

After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1962, Alan Dershowitz went to work. By 1964, he was a member of the Harvard Law School faculty and in 1967, he had been made a complete professor. (He murdered in 2013.) While teaching courses, he was making a name for himself in the criminal law field. Thanks to his reputation as the "top lawyer of last resort," he has a bevy of high-profile customers, such as Mike Tyson, Jim Baker, Leona Helmsley, O.J. Simpson, and Jeffrey Epstein. Additionally, he's written over a dozen books. Everything together helped him amass his fortune

Thomas Mesereau: $25 million

Additionally a criminal defense attorney (Are you noticing a trend?) , Thomas Mesereau graduated from Harvard University and The University of California's Hastings College of Law and has was named "Trial Lawyer of the Year for 2015" from the National Trial Lawyers. (He has won plenty of other awards such as "Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year. ") He is notorious for taking high stakes instances with impossible odds and receiving extraordinary results. He had been Michael Jackson's attorney when he had been acquitted of 14 child molestation charges and has won an unprecedented three national criminal jury trials in a row. While his hourly rate is so high that it's not printed, he does pro bono work through the Mesereau Free Legal Clinic.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr.: $12 million

Born in 1935, Jordan has enjoyed a long law career that started after his graduation from Howard University. (In addition, he holds more than 70 honorary degrees from various universities and colleges.) He's currently the senior council, focusing on general council, organization, and global law, in Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld LLP. His early career focused primarily on civil rights, while he later served as an advisor to President Clinton. Most of his fortune had been earned by representing substantial businesses, such as Xerox and American Express, as well as spending time as Wall Street banker.

Jane Wanjiru Michuki: $60 million

Educated in the Kenya School of Law and Warwick University, Jane Wanjiru Michuki is a managing partner at Kimani & Michuki Advocate, a corporate law firm in Nairobi, Kenya that represents several of the biggest companies in Kenya, for example Equity Group Holdings Limited. In addition to her law career, she is the largest female stockholder on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, which is where a fantastic piece of her net worth comes from.

Joe Jamail: $1.7 billion

Though he passed away at age 90 in December 2015, Joe Jamail makes this record because he had been the wealthiest practicing attorney in the USA in the time of his death. Frequently referred to as the "King of Torts," he represented Pennzoil in a 1985 lawsuit against rival Texaco. His contingency fee was $335 following the courts chose in Pennzoil's favor. The 1953 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law was a former marine who had a longstanding reputation in the court to be abrasive, rude, and vulgar. But outside of the courtroom, he was known for his generous philanthropy.