Graduated top of her class at Columbia Law School — but was rejected by every law firm in New York because she was a woman, Jewish, and a mother. She became a groundbreaking civil rights attorney, arguing landmark sex discrimination cases before the Supreme Court in the 1970s, then becoming a Supreme Court Justice herself in 1993. Known as "The Notorious RBG," she served until her death at 87. Her career is a study in turning every obstacle into a case argument.

The most important lawyer in American civil rights history. Applied to the University of Maryland Law School and was rejected because of his race — so he sued them and won. He argued Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, successfully ending racial segregation in American schools. He argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and won 29. President Johnson appointed him as the first Black Supreme Court Justice in 1967.

Born in Glasgow to a working-class family, she became one of the UK's most prominent barristers, specialising in criminal law and human rights. She defended the Birmingham Six — wrongly convicted of the 1974 IRA bombings — and numerous other miscarriage of justice cases. She sits in the House of Lords and authored Eve Was Framed — a landmark examination of how the law fails women. Named one of the 50 greatest barristers of the last 50 years.

Born in Beirut; fled Lebanon as a toddler during the civil war. Studied Jurisprudence at Oxford (St Hugh's College), then LLM at NYU Law, where she interned with future Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in international law and human rights. Her clients include Yazidi genocide survivors — she secured the world's first conviction of an ISIS member for genocide — Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, and Julian Assange. Professor of Practice at Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. Co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice, providing free legal aid in 40+ countries.

Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Harvard Law graduate who chose to work in the Deep South defending death row inmates — among the most underfunded work in American law. He has personally won relief, reversals, or release for over 140 wrongly-condemned prisoners. His 2012 Supreme Court victory banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children under 17. His memoir Just Mercy became a global bestseller and major film. He also founded the National Memorial for Peace and Justice — America's first memorial dedicated to victims of racial terror.

Before he was South Africa's President, Mandela was a lawyer. He co-founded South Africa's first Black law firm — Mandela and Tambo — in Johannesburg in 1952, providing legal services to thousands who couldn't afford them. Arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, he served 27 years on Robben Island. After his release in 1990 and election as President in 1994, he became a symbol of what legal conviction combined with moral courage can achieve. He never stopped identifying as a lawyer — it was the foundation of everything.

One of the world's leading public international lawyers. Professor at UCL and NYU. Has appeared before the ICJ, ICC and European Court of Human Rights. Author of East West Street (2016), which traces the origins of the terms 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity' through his own family history in Lviv, Ukraine — one of the most acclaimed legal memoirs ever written. He coined the term 'ecocide' and has been instrumental in the campaign to make it an international crime.

One of the most influential international lawyers of the 20th century. Australian; Professor at Cambridge and later judge at the International Court of Justice. His 1979 book The Creation of States in International Law remains the definitive text. He argued cases before the ICJ on behalf of Bosnia, Congo, and many other states. Described by colleagues as 'the Mozart of international law' for his extraordinary command of the entire field.

Harvey Miller (1932–2015) was the leading bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer in American history. As a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, he handled the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers (the largest in US history), General Motors, Drexel Burnham Lambert, and Eastern Airlines. In the 2008 financial crisis, he was called the 'Dean of Bankruptcy Law.' He worked until the end of his life — reportedly still billing 2,000+ hours per year in his 80s. A study in what it means to build the most specialised practice in a field.

Martin Lipton (born 1931) of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz invented the 'poison pill' takeover defence in 1982 — a mechanism that allows a target company's board to resist a hostile acquisition. It fundamentally changed corporate law and M&A practice globally. Wachtell is unique in Big Law: it has fewer than 300 lawyers but consistently ranks among the top earning firms in the world, charging premium rates for the most sensitive corporate matters. Lipton still practices at over 90.