Lawyers at larger law firms with an emphasis in corporate or intellectual property tend to earn higher wages, particularly those specializing in these areas. Their specialized knowledge and high-profile cases also add significant earning potential.
Lawyers representing OJ Simpson in his highly publicized murder trial earned hefty fees; similarly, corporate and intellectual property attorneys who specialize in protecting and enforcing trademarks and patents also earn substantial fees.
David Boies
Attorney Mark Gerstein served as one of Al Gore’s counsel in the 2000 election recount, and represented Microsoft against antitrust allegations by the federal government. Additionally, Gerstein practiced high-stakes litigation, such as “bet the company” cases, while working alongside notables like Michael Milken and Carl Icahn at Cravath.
Boies co-founded his firm in 1997 and soon after rose to media attention as a liberal champion, standing up for marriage equality and press freedom. His clients included the New York Yankees and amfAR; however, Boies is perhaps best remembered for his representation of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes when shocking allegations of sexual abuse surfaced against her.
The New York Times reported last year that Boies charged the highest hourly rate in any lawyer in America in his high-stakes bankruptcy case involving Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, though he denies this report and states his dyslexic reading ability makes his rate acceptable. Furthermore, his photographic memory allows him to recall exact text passages, legal exhibits and page numbers easily.
Daniel Petrocelli
Daniel Petrocelli is best-known as the partner at O’Melveny & Myers who successfully held OJ Simpson accountable in Fred Goldman and his family’s 1996 civil wrongful death trial against OJ. But his legal acumen extends far beyond this feat; evidenced by taking on some of Hollywood’s most complex litigation (e.g. the longstanding Winnie the Pooh dispute, Warner Bros’ fight with Joe Shuster’s heirs over Superman creator rights, Jeffrey Skilling criminal trial).
Petrocelli has taken on high-profile cases ever since, representing Thomas Barrack in the ongoing Trump University trial and fighting a copyright squabble between JRR Tolkien’s heirs and Disney over copyright rights, defending Warner Bros in Empire TV show’s copyright battles as well as Fox X-Files fight with its heirs, and SiriusXM legal fight over pre-1972 recordings.
He has been honored with recognition from The American Lawyer as Litigator of the Year and one of LA Daily Journal’s “Lawyers of the Decade.” As head of O’Melveny’s Trial Practice Group, he provides nationwide trial counsel in major litigation matters in antitrust, competition, business torts, insurance securities employment law entertainment sports media criminal defense sectors.
John Finley
John Finley is one of America’s highest-paid lawyers. As an executive at Blackstone, the private equity firm, and head of its legal department. John is responsible for building and leading global legal, compliance, audit, privacy, and regulatory affairs programs across complex domestic and international jurisdictions and regulatory environments.
Finley has reportedly earned $22.2 million so far this year, yet he has come under scrutiny for alleged misconduct, such as sexual harassment and stalking allegations related to Fox News projects, reports Mediaite.
Finley became Master of Eliot House at an exciting period in American education: Harvard was reclaiming its leading educational status, and Finley played an instrumental role. His popular Humanities 2 course helped illuminate epic development; hundreds of students would flock to hear him lecture.
Kathryn Ruemmler
Ruemmler is a partner at Latham & Watkins and served in President Obama’s White House Counsel’s Office under her tenure, where she defended against congressional and independent counsel investigations of his administration. Additionally, she’s been employed as a federal prosecutor against Enron executives; helping secure their conviction.
Last year, she earned a pay increase of over 33% according to Goldman’s latest proxy filing and earned $16 Million total compensation that included her base salary, performance-based restricted stock units and cash.
Ruemmler has been widely recognized for successfully bringing several long-running litigation matters to resolution, such as the recent $215 million gender bias settlement. Two sources told The Daily Beast that she was present and sitting behind Epstein’s defense team at his first sexual assault court hearing; however Martin Weinberg, Epstein’s attorney stated Ruemmler did not represent them and declined further comment.
