Saturday, April 18, 2020
Top Ten Richest Lawyers In America
Richard Scruggs: $1.7 billion
A 1976 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law and a prominent trial lawyer, Richard Scruggs is best known for his love of asbestos and tobacco cases and the fact he won more than $1 billion in judgements against various companies. He was also highly involved in 2000's Ritalin class action lawsuits, in addition to the 2003 situation against Lehman Brothers which he won a $51 million conclusion. But in 2007, he was accused of judicial bribery. In 2008, he pled guilty and finally served six years in prison. Now, in the age of 70, he's completed his sentence, and it has retained his massive fortune.
William Lerach: $900 million
Although he had been disbarred in 2009 for his involvement in a kickback scheme, William Lerach had a lucrative career as a corporate attorney with a specialty in private securities class actions lawsuits for over 30 decades, which is the way he amassed his substantial fortune. Nicknamed the "King of Pain" and frequently known as the most feared lawyer in American during his heyday, Lerach, a University of Pittsburg School of Law graduate, holds the record for the largest sum ever regained at a bunch of securities class action suits for its $7.12 billion judgement he received against Enron.
Roy Black: $100 million
Still another criminal and civil defense attorney, Roy Black, a graduate from the University of Miami, is the senior partner at Black, Srebnick, Kornspan, & Stumpf. For over 40 decades, he has represented high profile customers, such as William Kennedy Smith (acquitted on rape charges), Albertson's, Inc., and Helio Castroneves. Known by most in the industry for having "the best national reputation in Florida," he acts as a legal analyst on "The Today Show" and "Good Morning America" and instructs advanced criminal evidence in the University of Miami.
Willie E. Gary: $100 million
Nicknamed "The Giant Killer," Willie Gary has taken on several of the country 's most important corporations, including Anheuser-Busch and Disney. He has won some of the largest settlements and jury awards in the U.S., including several cases valued at more than $30 billion. A graduate of Shaw University, he's now the managing partner at Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson, and Gary, P.L.L.C., functions as a motivational speaker, and has emerged as a legal analyst on "The Early Show. "
Best Type Of Lawyer To Become
Legal Malpractice or Professional Responsibility Lawyer
This is a rather market subset of attorneys, and there aren't that many that concentrate on those areas of law as their specialization. Legal counsel or Professional Responsibility lawyers usually sue or protect attorneys when a lawyer has violated their duties to a client (i.e. dedicated malpractice) or if a lawyer needs protection against a former customer who's suing them. Lawyers, similar to doctors, accountants, government officials, etc., have a rigorous set of industry certain rules they need to abide by while practicing law. When they actually violate or are accused of violating any of these principles, professional liability attorneys and legal malpractice lawyers become involved. Occasionally these lawyers are used before anything actually goes wrong just to make sure what is about to be accomplished by a lawyer is really allowed.
Criminal Defense Lawyer
Criminal defense lawyers help protect individuals accused of committing a crime against prosecution from the authorities, with the goal of reducing their sentencing or helping them stay out of jail. The crimes handled by criminal defense lawyers range from little offenses like shoplifting to serious crimes such as DUI, drug trafficking, assault and battery life, or even murder. Many attorneys who practice criminal defense had previous experience working on the prosecution side in the Office of the District Attorney (DA), either while in law school or later.
Intellectual Property Lawyer (IP)
Intellectual Property, or IP, attorneys deal with anything having to do with protecting intellectual property, that is intangible (something you can't touch such as a tune or an idea) real estate. The three key regions of law within intellectual property are copyright, trademark, and patent. Some IP lawyers just focus on trademark and copyright problems, while others simply focus on patent problems. Patent law is one area that requires additional licensing than just a regular law degree and also requires a technical background (like one in technology, software development, chemistry, or life sciences). Since IP laws are very technical and distinct from one another, attorneys don't tend to deal with each of these problems (nevertheless IP law firms will have a team of attorneys who can help you with some of them). Like many areas of legislation, there are ordinary IP attorneys and IP litigators. The normal IP attorneys help with all the filings required to safeguard your IP, while litigators would be the ones who go to court to battle who possesses what IP and how much IP protects the individual in a specific dispute.
Finance & Securities Lawyer
Finance and Securities lawyers only operate in a very specific sector of law. They tend to just deal with problems regarding banks and individuals issuing money, or to firms selling stock. They are also able to help defend clients if the IRS or SEC files a complaint against a individual or a corporation.
Entertainment Lawyer
Entertainment attorneys deal with a number of entertainment difficulties, mainly about entertainment contracts. They draft and review licensing agreements, management contracts, contracts having to do with exemptions and any other aspect of the entertainment industry you may imagine. If you reside in Los Angeles or New York, amusement law is a favorite, but becoming an entertainment lawyer is one of the most difficult things to do due to high competition. Most entertainment lawyers have past experience working as a different sort of attorney.
So, you now understand a little more about what kinds of attorneys there are. If you are wanting to employ a lawyer, it's very important to figure out how to find the ideal attorney for your requirements. Although there are many overlapping practice areas, each type of law is different and you'll want to make sure that you get a lawyer that specializes in the sort of legal service that you want. Doing otherwise is risky and can cause unnecessary legal problems in the future.Top 10 Lawyers In Usa
Robert Shapiro: $50 million
Currently a senior partner at Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard, Avchen, and Shapiro, LLP, Robert Shapiro graduated from Loyola Law School in 1968 and began a career as a criminal attorney. After working on O.J. Simpson's legal group (and representing other actors ), he opted to move into civil lawsuit. Besides his law career, he has written a kids 's publication and can be a co-founder of LegalZoom and Shoedazzle.com.
David Boies: $20 million
Currently serving as the chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, David Boies previously served as Chief Counsel for the US Senate. He graduated from Yale University in 1966 and almost instantly made a name for himself. He amassed his fortune by representing a number of large corporations, such as IBM, Napster, George Steinbrenner (owner of the NY Yankees), CBS, and the NBA Players Association throughout the 2011 NBA lockout. According to Fortune magazine, he is "corporate America's number 1 hired gun. "
Mark Geragos: $25 million
A 1992 graduate of Loyola Law School, Mark Geragos is a criminal defense attorney who has also been engaged in a number of landmark civil lawsuit class action cases. He has represented everyone from Chris Brown, Michael Jackson, and Winona Ryder into Scott Peterson and Susan McDougal. Named "One of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in California," he holds a record for a few of the top 10 verdicts in California history for a 2008 situation where he obtained a jury verdict awarding over $38 against a pharmaceutical firm. He currently serves as a managing associate at Geragos and Geragos.
John Branca: $50 million
A graduate of the UCLA School of Law, John Branca has had a lengthy career as an amusement and corporate lawyer with a focus on representing roll and rock acts and separate investors. He's represented over 30 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is about pretty much every record of premier entertainment lawyers in the world. On one note, he serves as the co-executor of Michael Jackson's estate.
Wichai Thongtang: $1.1 billion
Thought of by many in the sector to become "one of the top names in the profession from across the globe," Wichai Thongtang is a strong lawyer in Thailand. After graduating from Thammasat University in 1970, he went to corporate law, by which he represented a number of top Thai executives and corporations and took the opportunity to learn about the stock exchange and investing. Besides his law profession, Thongtang is the Chairman of Cable Thai Holding PLC and owns 15% of Dusit Medical, a Bangkok healthcare firm.
Joe Jamail: $1.7 billion
Though he passed away at age 90 at December 2015, Joe Jamail makes this list because he had been the wealthiest practicing lawyer in the USA in the time of his passing. Often 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 from the University of Texas School of Law was a former marine who had a longstanding reputation in the courtroom for being abrasive, rude, and vulgar. But outside of the court, he was famous for his generous philanthropy.