Male Lawyers

The first African-American member of the US Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall was an associate justice from 1967 to 1991. Earlier as an attorney, he fought for the abolishment of racial segregation in American public schools. He was also a strong proponent of individual rights. A symbol of black icon, there are numerous memorials in America to honour his legacy.

Martin D. Ginsburg was one of the most successful tax attorneys and the husband of U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Apart from serving as a lawyer, Martin also taught at several prestigious law schools, such as New York University Law School, Columbia Law School, and Harvard Law School. After representing business magnate Ross Perot in a case, the two became good friends.

A politician and attorney, Beau Biden was the eldest child of politician Joe Biden. As a little boy, he was severely injured in a car accident in which his mother and sister perished. He overcame several challenges to become a successful attorney. However, fate was cruel to him and he died of brain cancer at the age of 46.

Christopher Darden is a man who dons many hats. He is a lawyer, author, actor, and lecturer with 15 years of experience in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. He was a co-prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case. He resigned after the case and started teaching criminal procedure and trial advocacy to university students.

Described by The Wall Street Journal as the man Vladimir Putin fears most, Alexei Navalny is widely regarded as Russia's opposition leader. He is famous for his accusations of corruption in Russia and Putin's government. In 2011, he created the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was dissolved in 2020. In August 2020, there was an attempt to assassinate him, when he was poisoned during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow.

Stephen Breyer is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and jurist. Since August 1994, Breyer has been serving as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court after being nominated by President Bill Clinton in May 1994. He is also credited with writing several influential textbooks while working as a lecturer and law professor at Harvard Law School in the 1960s. 

The current associate justice of the Supreme Court of the US, Samuel Alito is only the second Italian American to serve on the court. Samuel Alito's journey from being an adjunct professor to one of the most powerful men in the American justice system is quite inspirational.

Lawyer and social justice activist, Bryan Stevenson, is known for challenging bias against the poor and minorities in the criminal justice system. He advocates for the poor, fights for children’s rights, and condemns the death penalty. He is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. He was honored with the Benjamin Franklin Award from the American Philosophical Society.

Best remembered for his contributions to the National Basketball Association, David Stern began his stint with the NBA as an outside counsel before becoming its General Counsel, eventually the Commissioner, holding the post for thirty years. Credited with broadening the NBA's audience, he made the game popular both in and outside USA and helped to found Women's National Basketball Association.

Robin Cavendish was an English medical aid developer and advocate for disabled people. He is credited with aiding the development of medical devices aimed at providing independence to paralyzed people. One of Britain's longest-lived responauts, Cavendish was given three months to live at the age of 28. He lived for 64 years and his story inspired the 2017 film Breathe.

Byron White was an American lawyer and football player. He served as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court from 1962 to 1993. Before beginning his legal career, White was part of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Football League. He also played a crucial role during World War II, serving as an intelligence officer in the US Navy.

Thomas E. Dewey was an American politician, prosecutor, and lawyer. A member of the Republican Party, Dewey held the office of the governor of New York between 1943 and 1954. In 1952, Dewey played a major role in helping Dwight D. Eisenhower win the presidential election. After retiring from politics, Dewey served as a corporate lawyer from 1955 to 1971.

One of the most famous American lawyers, Alan Dershowitz is known for handling high profile cases. In 1995, he was part of the Dream Team on the O. J. Simpson murder trial. He has also been part of the defense team for cases involving personalities like Donald Trump. He has written many books about law and politics.

From being the youngest vice-president of the United States to joining the Confederate Army during the American civil war, John Breckinridge was a controversial figure in politics. While he was regarded as a shrewd military commander, the former Democratic Congressman was considered a traitor in the northern region. He fled the US after the Civil War but later on returned.

Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig established Creative Commons, a non-profit geared at reducing copyright restrictions, thus helping artists and creative professional share their works legally. A Democrat, he also co-founded Rootstrikers, aimed at combating corruption in Congress. He is also a TED speaker and has penned books such as Lesterland.

Neal Katyal is an American academic and lawyer. Born to immigrant parents from India, Katyal has argued the most number of Supreme Court cases for any minority lawyer in American history. He was honored with the Edmund Randolph Award by the US Justice Department. He was also named in Legal Times' 90 Greatest Lawyers over the Last 30 Years list.

Giovanni Falcone was an Italian judge, who spent several years of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian Mafia. He studied law at the University of Palermo and had a brilliant career. He eventually became a prosecuting magistrate and was involved in a long legal battle with the Sicilian Mafia. He was assassinated in 1992. 

Adrian Joseph Cronauer, a United States Air Force Radio and Television Broadcasting Specialist, posted in Vietnam during 1965-1966, opened his show, the Dawn Buster, with "Goooooood morning Vietnam!", an experience that later inspired the 1987 film, Good Morning, Vietnam. In later years, he practiced law, specializing in information and communications law, concurrently continuing to remain involved with radio and television.

Though a qualified lawyer, Paul Martin never practiced law. He focused on business instead and purchased the domestic-freight carrier Canada Steamship Lines. He later joined the Liberal Party and also served as the prime minister of Canada. He has also received awards such as the Companion of the Order of Canada.

One often hears of "draconian" laws in the context of archaic, harsh, and severe laws in the modern times, and the adjective was derived from Draco, a 7th-century Athenian legislator and the first on record. He replaced the oral law with a written code, which punished almost all crimes with death.