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Top Ten Richest Lawyers

So, who are they?  Here is a fast look at the   richest lawyers in the world, ranked from the lowest net value to the greatest. Please be aware that the individuals on this list are practicing lawyers or judges.  There are loads of other "lawyers" with a substantially higher net value, but they just possess a law degree and no more use it.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr.: $12 million

Born in 1935, Jordan has enjoyed a long law career that started after his graduation from Howard University.  (In addition, he holds more than 70 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities.)  He is currently the senior council, focusing on general council, business, and global law, at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld LLP.  His early career focused primarily on civil rights, while he later served as an advisor to President Clinton.  The majority of his fortune was earned by representing huge corporations, including Xerox and American Express, in addition to spending time as Wall Street banker.

Judy Sheindlin: between $150 million and $250 million

Best known for being a no-nonsense TV judge, Judge Judy earns $47 million a year.  A 1965 graduate of New York Law School, Judge Sheindlin was originally a corporate lawyer, though she immediately grew tired of it and decide to become a household court prosecutor.  Back in 1982, she was appointed as a criminal court judge, where she gained a reputation as a "tough" judge and presided over more than 20,000 cases. This, together with several novels she wrote, caught the attention of TV executives and eventually led to her TV series.  Additionally, she's the author of seven novels and has served as legal counsel on various TV shows.

Wichai Thongtang: $1.1 billion

Thought of by many in the industry to become "one of the top names in the profession from around the planet," Wichai Thongtang is a strong lawyer in Thailand.  After graduating from Thammasat University in 1970, he moved to corporate law, by which he represented a range of leading Thai executives and corporations and took the opportunity to learn about the stock exchange and investing.  Besides his law career, Thongtang is the Chairman of Cable Thai Holding PLC and owns 15 percent of Dusit Medical, a Bangkok healthcare company.

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 been appointed "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 known for carrying high stakes instances with hopeless odds and getting extraordinary results.  He was Michael Jackson's lawyer when he had been acquitted of 14 child molestation charges and has won an unprecedented three national criminal jury trials in a row.  While his hourly rate is so large it's not published, he also does pro bono work through the Mesereau Free Legal Clinic.

Willie E. Gary: $100 million

Nicknamed "The Giant Killer," Willie Gary has taken on several of the nation's most important corporations, including Anheuser-Busch and Disney.  He's won a number of the largest settlements and jury awards in the U.S., including several cases valued at more than $30 billion.  A graduate of Shaw University, he's now the managing partner at Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson, and Gary, P.L.L.C., works as a motivational speaker, and has appeared as a legal analyst on "The Early Show. "