19 WORLD FAMOUS LAWYERS (MEN AND WOMEN) - JOB - 2024

We remember the 20 most famous lawyers in history, some are recognized for their achievements, others are infamous for their extra-professional life or scandals. "Made the law, made the trap", the saying goes, and if the story is full of something, it is of rules and crimes.

Justice has accompanied man from the beginning of his existence and lawyers are his main protagonists. Responsible for legal defense, lawyers are present in the world occupying a preponderant role for the rights of all human beings.

In his Decalogue of the "Lawyer's Commandments", the Uruguayan jurist Eduardo Couture established: love the profession, study to keep up to date, fight, forget resentment, think, be loyal, have faith and patience, be tolerant and work.

There were lawyers throughout history, many of them came to occupy the presidency of the most important countries in the world, to be social leaders, to govern the main institutions of the planet and even to be stars of show business.

You have to go back to ancient Rome and Greece to see the first lawyers in action. In 106 BC, Marco Tulio Cicero was one of the first to mark the profession, with an innovative and passionate style.

"If there were no bad people there would be no good lawyers," said Charles Dickens to define in some way the task of these legal professionals.

Some proverbs consider them bad neighbors and compare them to painters, because they are the only ones capable of changing something from white to black. The truth is that a good lawyer is often necessary.

At the risk of being unfair to those who are absent, here I show you a ranking of the most remembered lawyers throughout history.

Top 19 best known lawyers in history

1- Nelson Mandela

One of the most prominent personalities in history for his fight for race equality in South Africa. Mandela was born in 1918, died in 2013 and spent 27 years, and a few months, imprisoned between 1962 and 1990 by the regime that imposed racial segregation.

He began his studies free and finished almost two decades later in prison. However, his career as a lawyer began long before graduation when he surprised the world with a three-hour plea (known as "I am prepared to die"), inspired by Fidel Castro's own "History will absolve me."

In 1952 he founded the first African law firm in his country, which he defined as: "A place where blacks were not rejected or deceived, where they could feel safe being represented by people of their own color."

After 27 years in prison, where he had to endure all kinds of torture (such as working in a lime mine without glasses, which caused severe visual damage), he regained his freedom and became one of the leaders of the pacification of South Africa. He was president of his country between 1994 and 1998 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

There is a long repertoire of books and films that tell his story, including his autobiography. We highlight the film Invictus, based on the real novel by John Carlin.

2- John Gregory Branca

Branca, in addition to being a lawyer, is almost a rock star, not because he dedicates himself to music but because he represented great musicians and bands for much of his career.

He represented artists such as The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5, Carlos Santana, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, Earth, Wind And Fire, John Fogerty, and The Doors.

In addition, his clients include Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, the Backstreet Boys, magazines such as Forbes, Penthouse and Playboy or Mike Tyson. And he was the one who financed the Michael Jackson video Thriller, the most expensive when it was released in 1982.

He is a source of consultation and advice for large financial movements of huge companies and in 2016 he received the award for "Lawyer of the year" by Billboard Magazine.

3- Robert George Kardashian

This lawyer is known for two reasons: to represent OJ Simpson and to be the father of the Kourtney sisters, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, Hollywood stars.

Along with Robert Leslie Shapiro, they defended the former American football player, accused of murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, in one of the most popular court cases in the United States.

The verdict was followed by half of the North American population. There the judges declared the athlete not guilty, that two years he would be sentenced for the crimes.

4- Barack Obama

He was the first black president of the United States. After winning the elections in 2008, he was reelected in 2012 and completed two terms in the White House.

A graduate of Columbia University and the prestigious Harvard Law School, Obama began his political career at a young age in Chicago.

Owner of a unique charisma, he conquered the masses of his country and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, for “his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation among peoples, standing out for his vision of a world without nuclear weapons. ”.

5- Carlos Saavedra Lamas

His names may surprise you on this list, but he was the first Latin American to win a Nobel Prize, when the Swedish Academy gave him the Peace Prize in 1936 for his mediation in the bloody Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia.

6- Sarmiza Bilcescu

She was the first woman in Europe to earn a law degree from the University of Paris in 1890. She then reaffirmed her laurels when she became the world's first woman with a doctorate in law.

She will be remembered for her fight in favor of women's rights. In 1915 she started a campaign to offer education to those women who could not complete their studies due to being excluded from the system.

7- Mahatma Gandhi

Another fighter for peace and freedom in his country, like Mandela. From 1918 he led the Indian nationalist movement, with which his country fought for independence.

He will be remembered for his innovative methods of fighting the violence of the British government of the day. His defense of non-violence led him to resist with hunger strikes, marches and demonstrations.

He was imprisoned for his ideals but in 1943 he achieved his goal by making India independent. Gandhi thought that capital was not more important than work, he was vegetarian and rejected all forms of animal abuse.

8- Margaret Tatcher

One of the infamous personalities on this list, known as the Iron Lady, her ideals can be located on the opposite side of Gandhi and Mandela.

She graduated from Oxford and was the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of England, a position she held between 1979 and 1990, being the longest-running person in the country during the last century.

Her strong character and her ideals led her to win numerous enemies in the world. She promoted the privatization of state companies, education and the means of social aid in her country.

His most memorable events for the world are the Malvinas War, for the islands of the South Atlantic with Argentina, and his refusal to form the European Union.

9- Alexis de Tocqueville

Considered the father of democracy, this French lawyer developed his career during the 19th century. His ideas about equality and his warnings about the dangers of tyranny, influenced numerous thinkers and political leaders, who transformed the world.

"I conceive then a society in which everyone, looking to the law as their work, love it and submit to it effortlessly", was his most famous phrase.

10- Mikhail Gorbachev

He was head of state of the Soviet Union between 1988 and 1991. In 1990 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his fight for peace during the Cold War, the largest non-war conflict of the 20th century.

11- Geoffrey Lawrence

This British lawyer played a leading role in the Nuremberg Trials, which after the Second World War tried and convicted 24 Nazi leaders.

12- Francis Biddle

He was an American lawyer who represented the United States in the Nuremberg Trials, one of the most successful criminal trials in modern history.

13- Henri Donnedieu de Vabres

Like Biddle and Lawrece, he was one of the four judges who punished the Nazi leaders in 1946 representing France. He had a long career as a jurist in different cases related to genocides around the world and founded the International Association of Criminal Law.

14- Iona Nikitchenko

Representative of the Soviet Union in the Nuremberg Trials, in which the Nazi leaders were convicted of crimes of war, against peace and against humanity.

The rulings gave 12 death sentences, three life sentences, two 20 years, one 15 and one 10 against those responsible for the genocide in Germany.

15- René Samuel Cassin

French lawyer, he is the main person in charge of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognized by the UN on December 10, 1948.

This declaration establishes 30 basic rights of every human being and they are one of the most important advances of the 20th century in terms of equality and human respect.

Cassin was the creator of UNESCO in 1947 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968.

16- Cordell Hull

His importance as a lawyer in the world is given by being one of the precursors of the Organization of Human Nations in 1945, which led to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Furthermore, Hull is considered one of the intellectuals behind the current trading system of the World Trade Organization.

17- Robert Schuman

This French lawyer led the peace negotiations during World War II and was the main promoter of the European Union.

He died in 1963 without seeing his finished continental work, but with the foundations laid for what would happen in the following years. "Peace can only be based on equality", was his most famous phrase.

18- Karl Loewenstein

Considered the best constitutionalist in history, he fled his native Germany persecuted by the Nazi regime. Loewenstein was one of the leading intellectuals of modern constitutionalism.

With his theory, he promoted the form of states that today expand throughout the world. His ideas on popular sovereignty and the independence of powers are his greatest legacy.

18- Vernon Jordan

His fame is based on his fight for civil rights in the United States, but also for being considered the most expensive lawyer in the world.

He was an advisor to Bill Clinton, when he was president, and his words against Ronald Reagan in 1981 traveled the world and symbolized his fight for equality.

“I do not question the conservatism of this administration. I challenge their failure to exhibit a compassionate conservatism that accommodates the realities of a society driven by class and racial distinction, ”said Jordan.

19- Bill Clinton

He studied law and, after graduating, began a marathon political career that led him to be president of the United States in two terms between 1993 and 2001. He retired with a 76% positive image, the highest since World War II.

Husband of Hillary Clinton, who lost the last presidential election to Donald Trump, Bill became famous worldwide for his relaxed style and charisma.

During his tenures, the American economy grew considerably and it was normal to see him in funny situations along with other world leaders.

But undoubtedly the scandals during his second term in the White House gave him greater world fame.

Problems began to surface when fellow Monica Lewinsky admitted to having sex with the president in his office.

He was subjected to impeachment proceedings for abuse of power and obstruction of justice, which he was successful in in 1998 after Congress vetoed the trial.

Clinton acknowledged having "inappropriate physical behavior" but fervently denied having committed any crime as president. In that same year, 1998, he ordered the bombing of Iraq.

There is a long repertoire of cultural works that portray his life and his affairs, among them Primary Colors stands out, which narrates his first presidential campaign in 1992.