Law is a noble profession, however, if you intend to become a millionaire as an attorney, you’ll need to be good at the law. The median salary of lawyers is $126,930 which is still good considering that other professions do not earn that much. In fact, the lowest-paid lower is said to earn about $84,450.
As a lawyer, the more your years of experience, the higher you charge a client for a case. Considering that they are responsible for sending the bad guys to jail and representing their clients in criminal and civil cases in court, their pay should commiserate with their duties.
Some lawyers have managed to become super-rich and are termed, millionaires and billionaires. In this article, we will be looking at the top richest lawyers in the world.
Meet The 15 Richest Lawyers in the World 2023
Below is the list of the top fifteen richest lawyers in the world in 2023 ranked according to their net worth.
15. Jose Baez — $10 Million
Jose Baez is one of the richest attorneys in the world. Baez is best known for representing high-profile defendants such as Casey Anthony, Aaron Hernandez, Katelyn Roman, Harvey Weinstein, and Mark Nordlicht.
14. Lynn Toler — $20 Million
Lynn Toler is an American lawyer, judge and television arbitrator. She is best known for her role as a former arbitrator in the courtroom television series, Divorce Court. Toler earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and worked as an attorney specializing in civil matters.
13. David Boies — $20 Million
David Boies is one of the richest lawyers in the world. Boies is the chairman of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. He rose to prominence for leading the U.S. federal government’s successful prosecution of Microsoft in United States v. Microsoft Corp. Boies has handled several high profile cases involving the government, companies and prominent celebrities.
12. Mark Geragos — $25 Million
Mark Geragos is an Armenian-American criminal defense and civil litigation lawyer. Geragos is the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos in Los Angeles, California. Geragos was one of the lead lawyers in lawsuits against New York Life Insurance and AXA.
He has represented many notable clients including Scott Patterson, Lee Tamahori, Clare Bronfman, Jeremy Mayfield, Kesha, and Roger Clinton Jr., among others.
11. Alan Dershowitz — $25 Million
Alan Dershowitz is an American lawyer famous for his work in U.S. constitutional law and American criminal law. Dershowitz who has taught at Harvard Law School is known for taking on high-profile and often unpopular causes and clients.
So far, he has won 13 of the 15 murder and attempted murder cases he handled as a criminal appellate lawyer. He has also represented celebrity clients such as Patty Hearst, Mike Tyson, Leona Helmsley, Julian Assange, and Jim Bakker.
10. Thomas Mesereau — $25 Million
Ranking number ten on our list of richest lawyers in the world is Thomas Mesereau with a net worth of $25 million. Mesereau is best known for successfully defending Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation trial. he has also presented other celebrities including Mike Tyson, Bill Cosby, Joe Babajian, and Suge Knight.
9. Jane Wanjiru Michuki — $70 Million
Jane Wanjiru Michuki is a Kenyan lawyer, businesswoman, investor and one of the richest lawyers in the world. Michuki is the Managing Partner at Kimani & Michuki Advocates, a corporate law firm in Nairobi, Kenya. Among her client includes Equity Group Holdings Limited. Additionally, Michuki is the largest female stockholder on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).
8. Roy Black — $90 Million
Roy Black is a civil and criminal defense trial attorney. Black is famous for gaining an acquittal, in 1991, of William Kennedy Smith on charges of rape and for his representation of conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh.
Black who earned a Juris Doctor at the University of Miami School of Law has represented several high profile personalities including actor Kelsey Grammer, racer Helio Castroneves, creator Joe Francis, artist Peter Max, and singer, Justin Bieber.
He is often referred to as “The Professor,” possibly alluding to the time that he spent teaching as an adjunct professor in criminal evidence at the University of Miami.
7. John Branca — $100 Million
John Branca is one of the richest entertainment lawyers in the world. Branca has represented over 30 acts including Michael Jackson, Bee Gees John Fogerty, The Rolling Stones, Carlos Sanatana, and Fleetwood Mac among others. Branca is also a partner and head of the Music Department in the entertainment law firm of Ziffren Brittenham.
He is currently the chairman of The Michael Jackson Company, and also serves as Co-Executor of the Michael Jackson Estate.
6. Robert Shapiro — $120 Million
Robert Shapiro is an American lawyer and one of the richest in the world. Shapiro is best known for being on the defence team of Erik Menendez, a member of the ‘Dream Team” of O. J. Simpson’s attorneys that successfully defended him from the charges that he murdered his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in 1994.
5. Willie E. Gary — $200 Million
Willie E. Gary is one of the top US attorneys and one of the most influential African-Americans. Gary is also one of the richest lawyers in the world with a net worth of $200 million. Garry who earned his Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law has handled several high profile cases.
He won a $240 million verdict against Disney for stealing the concept of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. He also won a $500 million verdict in a contract dispute against the Loewen funeral company.
4. Judy Sheindlin — $460 Million
Judith Susan Sheindlin, known professionally as Judge Judy is one of the richest lawyers in the world with a net worth of $460 million. The Manhattan family court judge is famous for presiding over her own top Nielsen-rated court show, Judge Judy.
3. Bill Neukom — $850 Million
Ranking at number three on our list of richest lawyers in the world is Bill Neukom with a net worth of $850 million. Neukom, a Standford law school graduate served as the principal legal counsel for Microsoft for almost 25 years.
Neukom was also the Chairman of the law firm Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP in Seatle, now part of K&L Gates. He also served as the President of the American Bar Association from 2007 to 2008. Neukom also served as the managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team ownership group from 2008 to 2011.
2. Wichai Thongtang — $2 Billion
Wichai Thongtang is the second richest lawyer in the world with a net worth of $2 billion. The Thailand billionaire lawyer has handled high profile cases including successfully representing former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in an asset concealment case back in 2001.
Thongtang graduated from Thammasat University and began practising law in the 1970s. The lawyer turned investor gets a substantial chunk of his fortune from a minority stake in hospital operator Bangkok Dusit. He also has stakes in TWZ, a distributor of mobile phones and peripheral devices and E For L Aim, a medical dealer of medical equipment and suppliers.
Thongtang is also the chairman of listed Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand), Grande Asset Hotels and Wind Energy Holdings, a renewable energy producer.
1. Charlie Munger — $2.5 Billion
Sitting at number one on our list of richest lawyers in the world is Charlie Munger with a net worth of $2.5 billion. Munger is a Harvard-trained lawyer and currently the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffet.
Charlie Munger is also the founding partner of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, a law firm he started in 1962. Munger later gave up the practice of law to concentrate on managing investments.
