One of the known facts about the United States is that it, unlike other places in the world, has a large number of people practicing law. There are lawyers who earn much more money than some of their colleagues because of the cases they defend. Some even made a fortune thanks to the public figures they defended. These are the 15 richest lawyers in America.
1. Thomas Mesereau
Thomas Mesereau has a net worth of $25 million. Not surprisingly, his most famous client was none other than Michael Jackson. Certainly, it is not the only celebrity Mesereau has defended. He also defended Robert Blake, Claudia Haro, and Mike Tyson. It must be said, however, that it was Michael Jackson’s case that made him known to the general public. This story made the headlines in 2004.
2. Robert Shapiro
You’ve probably heard about the O.J. Simpson case. If you didn’t know, Robert Shapiro was the one who defended the athlete in the case of “People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson”. Shapiro, whose fortune is $100 million, is known to have represented several other athletes, including Vince Coleman and Jose Canseco. By defending notorious cases, Shapiro has become extremely influential. This is so much so that the National Law Journal has highlighted it in its pages!
3. Mark Geragos
Mark Geragos is not only rich but also very popular, at least among the stars! He represented Michael Jackson, Chris Brown and then Winona Ryder.
4. Jose Baez
Jose Baez is one of the richest lawyers in America. His most famous client is football player Aaron Hernandez. Although Baez is rich (his net worth is $5 million!), this has not always been the case. After graduating from high school, Jose Baez joined the Navy. He stayed there for a while and then decided to pursue graduate studies in law.
5. Howard K. Stern
Howard K. Stern is an extremely well-known lawyer in the world of celebrities. He has been involved for a very large part of his career with Anna Nicole Smith. He was so often with Smith that he even appeared on his reality show!
6. Candace Smith
Candace Smith is not only very pretty but extremely talented. Indeed, the one who owns a fortune of $500,000 is specialized in commercial law, among other things. In addition to her legal practice, Candace was in a David Ayers film and won the titles of Miss Ohio (2003) and Miss USA (2003).
7. Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz is another lawyer known for the very famous case of “People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson”. The lawyer specializing in constitutional and criminal law has a net worth of $25 million and that is not without reason. Dershowitz can count Mike Tyson and Patty Hearts among its clients.
8. Dan Abrams
Dan Abrams is another person who has as much of a rich professional life as his bank account. The man who is the CEO of Abrams Media – as we can imagine – has already been a legal correspondent for NBC and head of the legal affairs department. Its 25 million was raised after much effort. He received his bar admission from Columbia and his bachelor’s degree in political science.
9. William Lerach
If you don’t know William Lerach, you probably know his most famous case, Enron. The lawyer, whose net worth is $900 million, is known for class actions. In particular, he sued Enron, an American company that, at the time, made its money with brokerage and natural gas.
10. Erin Brockovich
It would not be surprising if you knew Erin Brockovich whose fortune is close to $10 million. Director Steven Soderbergh made a film about his life with Julia Roberts as the lead actress. If you have never heard of this extremely intelligent woman, she is known for the case of Anderson et al. against Pacific Gas, a company that contaminated drinking water in Hinkley, California, with hexavalent chromium.
11. Bill Neukom
Bill Neukom, with his $850 million in the bank, is undoubtedly one of the wealthiest lawyers in the United States. He has not only worked for the law firm K&L Gates in addition to being a legal advisor for Microsoft. Another of the things he can add to his already very well stocked CV is the foundation of the World Justice Project.
12. Johnnie Cochran
Another lawyer who was noticed during O.J. Simpson’s case is Johnnie Cochran. With a net worth of $8 million, Cochran also defended several other celebrities, including Michael Jackson, P. Diddy and Tupac.
13. Allen Grubman
Allen Grubman is another very wealthy lawyer living in the United States. His annual salary is approximately $10 million. Of course, this has not always been easy for this very influential lawyer. At the time, he was employed in the CBS mailroom to support himself while he was studying law. He then defended many artists, the most famous being Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and Elton John.
14. Anthony Romero
Anthony Romero has a net worth of $20 million. However, this is not the focus of attention. Indeed, Romero is known to have been the first Latino homosexual to lead the ACLU. He has also contributed to the advancement of civil rights by working for the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
15. Harvey Levin
Harvey Levin is also a wealthy lawyer living in the United States. His bank account is well filled. Indeed, Levin has a fortune of $15 million. The one who is the founder of TMZ is well known for the case of proposal 13 in California. This has even earned him the nickname “Doctor of Law”.
