Best Lawyers Of All Time

So, who are they? Here is a fast look in the wealthiest lawyers in the entire world, ranked from the lowest net value to the greatest. Please note that the people on this list are all practicing attorneys or judges. There are loads of other "attorneys " using a substantially higher net worth, but they simply have a law degree and no more use it.

Thomas Mesereau: $25 million

Additionally a criminal defense lawyer (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" by the National Trial Lawyers. (He has won lots of other awards such as "Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year. ") He is notorious for carrying high stakes instances with hopeless odds and getting extraordinary results. He was Michael Jackson's attorney when he had been acquitted of 14 child molestation charges and has won an unprecedented three federal criminal jury trials in a row. While his hourly rate is so large it's not published, he does pro bono work through the Mesereau Free Legal Clinic.

Harish Salve: $6 million

At 59 years old, Harish Salve has worked hard to create a reputation among India's top (and most expensive) lawyers, specializing in commercial, constitutional, and taxation law. Salve, who comes from a long line of attorneys and formerly served as the Solicitor General of India, currently costs clients about $45,000 per day. Along with representing many government entities, big corporate clients, and industrialist Mukesh Ambani, he has represented Bollywood stars in criminal cases. In fact, he is often referred to as famed actor Salman Khan's "guardian angel" for keeping him from prison on a hit and run charge. (Indian prisons are notorious for harsh conditions.)

David Boies: $20 million

Currently serving as the chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, David Boies formerly served as Chief Counsel for the US Senate. He graduated from Yale University in 1966 and almost immediately made a name for himself. He amassed his fortune by representing a number of large corporations, such as IBM, Napster, George Steinbrenner (proprietor 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-one hired gun. "

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 tobacco and asbestos 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 case 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 eventually served six years in federal prison. Today, at age 70, he has completed his sentence, and it has retained his massive fortune.