15 Best Lawyers in the World: If you have ever wondered who the Best Lawyers in the World are, this guide will provide you with that information.
Nowadays, every culture in the world requires the finest and most qualified attorneys. Not only is society in need of these attorneys, but so are people who need legal counsel and representation in court.
The legal profession requires the most talented and competent candidates. This begs the question, who are the Best Lawyers in the World?
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The majority of the Best Lawyers in the World are Americans. This list includes individuals such as John Branca, Willie E. Gary, and Amal Clooney.
In a minute, we will provide a list of notable lawyers from around the world, so please continue reading this guide.
Who Are the Best Lawyers in the World?
Robert Leslie Shapiro and Willie E. Gary ought to be included on this list.
In 1994, the famed American attorney Shapiro was a part of the “Dream Team” of attorneys who defended O.J. Simpson against the murder accusations of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.
Willie E. Gary is another well-known American attorney who is considered as one of the nation’s most distinguished and talented attorneys.
These are a couple of the names on our list of the 15 Best Lawyers in the World.
List of the Best Lawyers in the World
The following is a list of the Best Lawyers in the World:
1. Willie E. Gary
American attorney Willie E. Gary, born on July 12, 1947, tops our list of the Best Lawyers in the World.
Gary was in the Georgia city of Eastman. The American lawyers attended Shaw University. Willie attended Shaw University on a scholarship for football. He graduated from Shaw University in 1971 and later earned his Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Dubbed The Giant Killer, Willie won a $240 million verdict against American multinational and entertainment conglomerate Disney.
Willie E. Gary also filed a lawsuit against Raymond Loewen, after the Canadian businessman reneged on a contractual agreement with Mississippi funeral home operator, Jeremiah Joseph O’Keffe.
The American Bar Association awarded the “Giant Killer” the Spirit of Excellence award in Las Vegas back in 2019.
2. Judy Sheindlin
If you are familiar with the American arbitration-based reality court show Judge Judy, I believe you already know Judith Susan Sheindlin.
Judith Susan was born on October 21, 1942, in Brooklyn New York and she attended America University in D.C. She is a media personality, television producer, author, and former prosecutor and Manhattan family court judge.
In the mid-1960, she passed the New York state bar examination. After that, she was hired as a corporate lawyer for a cosmetic firm.
Sheindlin became a prosecutor in the New York family court system back in 1972. The famous American court shoe arbitrator prosecuted cases involving domestic violence, juvenile offenders and child abuse.
In 2019, Sheindlin received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy. She also set a Guinness World Record in 2015, after becoming the longest-serving television arbitrator in courtroom-themed programming history.
3. John Branca
Next on our list of the Best Lawyers in the World is John Branca.
John Gregory Branca, an American entertainment attorney, was born on December 11, 1950 in Bronxville, New York. Very young Branca relocated to Los Angeles, where he formed a rock band.
Prior to transferring to Occidental College, Branca majored in music at Los Angeles City College. Branca enrolled in the University of California Los Angeles School of Law following his graduation.
He was the editor-in-chief of one of the UCLA School of Law law reviews. In 1975, Branca graduated from the UCLA School of Law.
Branca was hired as Michael Jackson’s career manager after the late pop star fired his father as manager. In 1985, the prominent American entertainment attorneys assisted the late pop artist in acquiring ATV Music Publishing.
Branca is still a co-executor of the estate of Michael Jackson.
4. Amal Clooney
Amal Clooney, a Lebanese and British barrister born on 3 February 1978, is one of the top lawyers in the world.
Former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed, former prime minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, Iraqi activist Nadia Murad, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are among Clooney’s clients.
Clooney is wed to one of Hollywood’s wealthiest actors, George Clooney. She attended St Hugh’s College, Oxford, as well as the New York University School of Law. She also served as a member of the Criminal Defense and Investigative Group at Sullivan & Cromwell.
Clooney was admitted to the New York bar in 2002 and summoned to the English and Welsh bar in 2010.
This Best Lawyers in the World served as a judicial clerk at the International Court of Justice under Judges Vladlen S. Vereshchetin, Sir Franklin Berman, and Nabil Elaraby.
5. Harish Salve
Salve is a senior barrister from India who served as the country’s solicitor general from 1999 to 2003. This Best Lawyers in the World also practices before India’s highest court.
From 1980 and 1986, the Indian also collaborated with the former attorney general of India, Soli Sorabjee.
In 2002, Salve declined nomination for a second three-year term. He turned down the nomination for personal reasons.
In 2013, Harish Salve was admitted to the English Bar. Indian Today magazine named Salve in its 2017 list of India’s fifty most influential persons.
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6. Roy Black
Roy Black, an American criminal defense attorney, is one of the Best Lawyers in the World. The American attorney was born in New York City, New York, on February 17, 1945.
In 1967, Black earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami. Also, he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law.
The American attorney is currently a partner at Black Srebnick and teaches criminal evidence as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law.
Roy Black also gives legal analysis for several NBC news programs. Once, he obtained an acquittal for a client accused of paying a Georgetown University tennis coach.
7. David Boies
David Boies is an American attorney and the chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, a major legal firm based in New York City. He was born on March 11, 1941.
Boies graduated from and attended Fullerton Union High School. Boies attended the University of Redland from 1960 to 1962. In 1964, he received a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University.
Boies received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Yale Law School in 1966. In 1967, he also earned an LL.M. from the New University School of Law.
The American attorney received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Redlands. Today, Boies is a member of the National Constitution Centre’s board of trustees in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After prosecuting Microsoft in United States v. Microsoft, Boies became a well-known American lawyer. In addition, he represented a variety of clients, including one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Gluffre, and former film producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.
8. Robert Shapiro
Following on our list of the Best Lawyers in the World is Robert Leslie Shapiro.
Robert Leslie, an American attorney born on 2 September 1942, is widely renowned as Erick Menendez’s short-term defense attorney.
Shapiro was a member of the Dream Team who represented O.J. Simpson against the murder charges of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.
Robert Shapiro attended Hamilton High School and graduated in 1961. In 1968, he earned a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, in addition to his Bachelor of Science from UCLA.
Robert Leslie Shapiro was admitted to the California State Bar in 1969. Shapiro represented O.J. Simpson, Jose Canesco, Vice Colman, and Darryl Strawberry, among others.
In addition to representing the Kardashians, Shapiro also represented Johnny Carson, Christian Brando, F. Lee Bailey, and Linda Lovelace.
9. Mark Geragos
Mark John Geragos, an American criminal defense attorney, is the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos in Los Angeles.
The American attorney was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 5, 1957. In 1979, Geragos received a bachelor’s degree from Haverford University.
In 1982, Geragos graduated from Loyola Law School at Loyola Marymount University with a Juris Doctor degree. A year later, Geragos was admitted to the California State Bar.
Geragos’ clients include included NASCAR racer Jeremy Mayfield, Gary Condit, Scoot Barney, and Scott Peterson.
In 2001, the American attorney also defended Winona Ryder against charges of stealing more than $5,500 from a Beverly Hills business.
10. Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz, an American attorney, is one of the Best Lawyers in the World.
The retired law professor was born in New York on September 1, 1938. Dershowitz is most renowned for his contributions to American constitutional law and criminal law.
Alan attended Brooklyn College and obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1959. He also attended Yale Law School and served as the chief editor of the Yale Law Journal.
13 of the 15 murder and attempted murder cases Dershowitz handled were successful. Also, he has represented notable personalities including Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst, Julian Assange, and Jim Bakker.
11. Jose Baez
Jose Baez, an American criminal defense attorney who was born on September 17, 1970, is most known for representing high-profile offenders.
Baez attended Miami Dade Community College before transferring to Florida State University to earn a Bachelor of Arts. Baez obtained his Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law in 1997.
José served three years in the U.S. Navy before enrolling at Miami Dade Community College. Baez continues to be one of the Best Lawyers in the World.
12. Kirsten Gillibrand
Kristen Elizabeth Gillibrand, born on December 9, 1966, is an American politician and attorney.
She was raised in upstate New York. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and her Juris Doctorate from the UCLA School of Law. In 1991, Kristen also passed the bar test.
The American attorney joined the legal firm Davis Polk & Wardwell in Manhattan, New York. Gillibrand took a leave of absence from the Manhattan legal firm Davis Polk to clerk for the late Judge Roger Miner of the United States Court of Appeals for the second circuit in Albany.
Gillibrand is the current senator for New York in the United States.
13. Lynn Toler
American attorneys Lynn Toler is a judge, arbitrator, and television host. She was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 25, 1959.
Toler earned a bachelor’s degree in English and American literature from Harvard University in 1981. She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School three years later.
The American attorney replaced Andrew Napolitano as the judge on the unconventional court show Power of Attorney. She achieves greater success after becoming the arbitrating judge for Divorce Court, one of the longest-running syndicated programs ever.
14. Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown, an American attorney, was born on April 7, 1938 in San Francisco, California. Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. served as the 34th and 39th governor of California. He is also an author and a politician.
Brown attended both Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley. In the late 1960s, he began his political career as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees.
Brown was elected California governor at the age of 36 in 1971. In 2011, he was re-elected as governor of California.
Brown was also the 31st Attorney General of California, making him one of the Best Lawyers in the World.
15. Thomas Mesereau
Thomas Arthur Mesereau Jr. is best known for defending the late pop star Michael Jackson in his 2005 trial for child molestation.
Mesereau attended Harvard, the London School of Economics, and the University of California, San Francisco, College of Law.
In addition to representing Mike Tyson, Robert Blake, Claudia Haro, Bill Cosby, and Marion “Suge” Knight, Thomas Mesereau has also represented other celebrities, including Robert Blake, Claudia Haro, Bill Cosby, and Marion “Suge” Knight.
FAQs On Best Lawyers in the World
What lawyer has won the most cases?
Gerald Leonard Spence (born January 8, 1929) is a semi-retired American trial lawyer. He is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. Spence has never lost a criminal case before a jury either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney, and has not lost a civil case since 1969.
What is bigger than a lawyer?
A principal is an executive-level attorney, equivalent to a chief executive officer.
Which country has the most lawyer?
United States. When it comes to the number of lawyers per capita globally, the United States easily has the lead. There are more lawyers per capita in the United States than in any other country. In the United States, there are 1.26 million lawyers.
What type of lawyer goes to court the most?
Criminal defense lawyers may appear in court more frequently than other types of lawyers—especially if a case goes to trial.
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