Being criminal lawyers is one of the toughest jobs out there. The life of a person depends on the lawyer and how he represents the case in front of the court. Good criminal lawyers must possess some significant qualities that make them stand out from others. Dedication, hard-working, extremely intelligent and presence of mind, a load of perseverance and stamina, good communication skills, analytical skills, judgment, creativity, research skills, and many more.

Best Criminal Lawyers In the World

1) Johnnie Cochran :

Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. is a lawyer born in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 2, 1937. Johnnie was excellent as a student and was brought up in a racially integrated environment. In 1959 he received his bachelor’s degree from the University Of California, later he attended Loyola Marymount University Law School graduating in 1962.

Johnnie worked as a deputy criminal prosecutor in Los Angeles. After entering the field of private practice, he started to build a reputation for taking cases regarding unlawful police actions taken against African Americans. In 1966, a black guy was killed by the American Police while he was taking his pregnant wife to the hospital. Cochran On behalf of the rhythms family filed a civil suit. Although he lost the case, his case made a great impact. During the early 1980’s he took the case of an African American football player who died in the police cell under questionable circumstances. Apart from it, Cochran has other significant works that earned his name as a lawyer.

2) Leslie Abramson

Leslie Hope Abramson was born in New York in 1943. She attended her law school at UCLA and was admitted to the state bar of California in 1970. After starting her private practice, she earned a name for her take no prisoner attitude. She had high-profile clients and was called upon whenever there was a death row situation. Among her several cases, the most noticeable one was when she won the acquittal for Dr. Khalid Parvez, a Pakistani gynecologist accused of strangling his 11-year-old son. In 1988 a 17-year-old client was accused of manslaughter in the death of his father. He was sentenced to probation after Abramson proved that he was abused by his late father. This was one of her remarkable cases; Abramson to the case of Erik Menendez and his brother when they were accused of murdering their parents. She stated that they were not murderers. They are troubled kids brought up in a very difficult situation and environment. Although she lost this case, get remarkable effort made a strong impact on the judiciary system.

3) Anne Bremner

Anne Bremner is a Seattle based trial attorney. Her area of specialization includes sexual abuse, police government liability, personal injury, real estate; she is listed in the 25 smartest people in Washington by the Seattle magazine. She has received numerous cases of the high profile; among them, the noticeable one is Mee massacre trial. It was multiple homicides that occurred in February 1983. The killer Benjamin and Kwan Fai Mak killed 14 citizens in the gambling club WahMee, and they were charged the murder of first-degree. Benjamin was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Mak was sentenced to death.

In the October 2008, she helped Knox, a student of Washington University and she accused of murdering Meredith Kercher. Anne believed that no strong evidence proves Knox as guilty. The greatest achievement of Anne was to getting Knox back home to Seattle.

4) Ram Jethmalani:

Mr. Ram BoolchandJethmalani is the greatest criminal lawyer in India. He is the highest-paid lawyer in India charging 40 lakhs for taking up the case and 10 to 20 lakhs per appearance after that. At the age of 93, he is the oldest working lawyer. At the age of 18, he was the younger member of the bar council. An exception was made for him as the minimum are required to enter the bar council was 21.

He has a great ability to cross-examine the witness and has enviable skills as a lawyer. He defends clients whose political point of view is vastly different from him. He is also noted for defending cases free of cost. Some of his Noble works are mentioned below.

  •    He defended Kehar Singh and Satwant Singh who were convicted of murdering late PM Indira Gandhi by changing the medical evidence given by T D Dogra.
  •    Jethmalani also defended the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi’s killer V Sriharan.
  •    He had also appeared intended for Ketan Parekh and Harshad Mehta’s stock market scam case.
  •    In Hawala Scam He defended LK Advani.
  •    Convicted of Jessica Lal murder case Jethmalani was the lawyer of Manu Sharma. In the several false encounters, he defended Amit Shah.
  •    He defended underworld don Haji Mastan in a smuggling case.
  •    He has also defended the Gujarat government in the 2002 riot.
  •    He argued with 2G scam accused Kanimozhi.
  •    He bailed out AsaramBapu, who was charged with sexually abusing the old girl age of 16-year in his Jodhpur ashram.

5) Subhas Anandan

Late Subhas Anandan was diagnosed with heart and kidney failure a year ago. He was the senior partner at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing and president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers in Singapore. He was famous for defending criminals. In spite of his health condition, he continued his law practice. He graduated from the University of Singapore. He defended Anthony Ler, a 35-year-old man who talked a 15-year-old boy into murdering his wife.

  • A 52-year-old married man was guilty of murder in 2005. Mr. SubhasAnandan argued with the three judges and won the case.
  • Convicted child killer Leng How was defended by SubhasAnandan.
  • He saved Chee Cheong Hin by helping her to reduce the life imprisonment sentence to 13 years.
  • He stood for a former triad leader who gunned down a nightclub owner in 2006.

6) Gerald Schwartzbach:

Gerald Schwartzbach is one of the most famous lawyers in America. In 2017, Mr. Zamora’s great-aunt was killed by him; Mr. Gerald defended him and won the case in 2017. In 2008 Gerald won the case of Dr. Hooten Roozrokh who was charged with hastening the death of an organ donor. In 2005 he successfully defended NFL star, Marshawn Lynch. Gerald won Robert Blake’s acquittal in some highly political murder case that received international attention. In 2003 he led Glen Buddy Nickerson’s counsel. He was incarcerated for around 18 years before he was released from prison for a double murder. In 1999 he obtained the jury verdict of more than$295 million person injury Remo V. Ford Motor Co’s liability case. Mr. Gerald has won the judgment on behalf of the police officer of San Francisco named Joanne Welsh for the discrimination of sex and the retaliation against the city.

He was the chief train counsel of Murray John Lodge Jr.Two trials were long after which he received a life sentence which was primarily a death sentence for two double murders and murder that was attempted and 43 other incidents. He was the leader trial adviser for accused of Stephen Bingham, who was charged with murder and conspiracy in Marin County Supreme Court. Gerald successfully defended Delores Churchill against an attempted murder charge in San Francisco in 1982. This is just a glimpse of what Gerald has achieved throughout his career. He has won several other cases which received national and international attention thus making him one of the greatest criminal lawyers.

Several other lawyers have achieved remarkable heights in their career starting from reducing the death sentence to winning case that had very narrow chances of winning. The court needs evidence to announce a suspect guilty. It depends on the lawyer, how he represents the case in front of the court, and his ability to influence the judge. That is what makes a good criminal lawyer stand apart from lawyers. Other honorable mention includes Truc Do, Blair Berk, Janet L. Altschuler, and Keith B. Johnson.

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Attributes Of A Good Criminal Lawyer

1) Good Communication Skills

A good lawyer must possess good oral articulate skills, a good listening and communication skills. After studying the case thoroughly and preparing himself, a lawyer must be able to speak in front of the judge and jury without any hesitation. Communication skills are developed through studies, and taking part in moot courts and public speaking.

Criminal lawyers can clearly and concisely produce a diversity of legal documents to produce in front of the court. Apart from having good speaking power and writing skills, a lawyer must be a good listener. A good criminal lawyer must listen to his client and analyze it or follow a complex testimony. This skill is an utmost necessity when a judgment of someone depends on your statement.

2) Judgement

Sometimes the lawyer is not provided with enough evidence and information to prepare the case. On these occasions, the lawyer must use his judgment to draw a logical conclusion. Criminal lawyers must judge the case from the opposition’s point of view to find out the weaknesses in the argument that should be fortified. He should impart unbiased decisions.

Likewise, a lawyer can find the spots of weakness in the opposition’s argument. In the judgment decisiveness is the addition part. There might be lots of judgments to make in a short period.

3) Analytical Skills

Studying and practicing law both involve absorbing a lot of information and then turning it into a logical and manageable argument. At times there might be more than one conclusion present. In that case, the criminal lawyer must use his analytical skills to choose the best feasible solution to this problem.

4) Research Skills

After studying a case thoroughly, criminal lawyers might not be able to get much time to research on that topic. It takes a lot of hard work to be able to examine and research quickly and effectively to understand the client and their requirements and to build a proper legal strategy. Preparing a strong legal strategy requires comprehending large information and distilling down the information to a useful conclusion.

5) People Skills

Law is something that is practiced abstractly. It doesn’t matter how someone performs academically. To prove his skills as a good lawyer, criminal lawyers have to work and interact with people, and also speak on behalf of them.  The decision that is made reflects on their lives.

A good lawyer must have a good personality and have the ability to read and understand others. In this way, the lawyers can assume the reaction of the jury and the honesty of the witness. Judging the honesty of the witness helps the lawyer to take the most appropriate approach which will provide the best outcome.  The slightest callousness can take a huge toll on the life of the victim.  

6) Perseverance

The study that is required to become a successful criminal lawyer takes a lot of commitment and perseverance.  Normally, a lawyer undergoes an undergraduate law degree before qualifying as a lawyer. A lot of vacation schemes, seminars, and training courses need to be done to gather experience certificates. While working on any case, one is very patient and also has perseverance enough to finish the work successfully.

7) Creativity

The most famous criminal lawyers in the world are not always very logical or analytical, but these lawyers can think outside of the box. The best possible solution does not always come in an obvious manner but rather the one that will puzzle your challenger and ultimately make you the winner.

8) Self-Motivation

To become a good lawyer you need to motivate yourself constantly. You need to have a good idea about the fields you need to work on. It is very important to be able to self-identify your learning needs, as a lawyer you need to change yourself and update your knowledge with time constantly.

9) Commitment To Lifelong Learning

While your legal career begins with extensive LSAT prep; it doesn’t stop there. Unlike other professions, being a good lawyer requires lifelong study. You need to commit yourself to lifelong study before choosing this profession. It has a long-lasting value for your clients and partners.