[Lawyer] Biographies & Profiles
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American attorney and author who was the first African-American First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, serving alongside her husband former President Barack Obama. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago and attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School, subsequently working in nonprofits and as a university administrator. After her husband's candidacy for president, Michelle campaigned for him and became a role model for women and an advocate for poverty awareness, education, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating. Her fashion choices were highly acclaimed, and even after her husband's presidency she remained a highly admired public figure, topping Gallup's poll of the most admired woman in America for the third year running in 2020.
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris is the 49th and current vice president of the United States, making her the first female vice president, highest-ranking female official, African American, and Asian American to hold that office. She has previously served as Attorney General of California and a United States Senator for California. Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings. Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew prior to the primaries, after which Joe Biden selected her as his running mate, and they went on to win the 2020 election.
Marine Le Pen
Marion Le Pen is a French lawyer, politician and member of the National Rally who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017 and 2022. She has been the leader of the party since 2011. Le Pen has been described as far-right on the political spectrum and has been an advocate of economic nationalism, favoring an interventionist role of government, and is opposed to globalization and multiculturalism. She has been featured by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011 and 2015 and ranked as the second-most influential MEP in the European Parliament by Politico in 2016.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru was a key leader of the Indian anti-colonial nationalist and independence movements in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming India's first prime minister in 1947. He established parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science as guiding principles of the newly formed Republic of India. After leading the country to independence from Britain, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War, and founded the Non-Aligned Movement. A highly respected author, Nehru was praised for his contributions to India, winning numerous awards and popular acclaim, before his death in 1964.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is an American environmental lawyer, author, and nephew of President John F. Kennedy who is best known for promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. He served as assistant district attorney in New York City and he has been a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, board member and attorney for Hudson Riverkeeper, adjunct professor of Environmental law at Pace University School of Law, supervising attorney and co-director of Pace Law School's Environmental Litigation Clinic, which he founded in 1987, and founder and chairman of Children's Health Defense.
Deval Patrick
Deval Patrick is an American politician and civil rights lawyer who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Governor of the state in 16 years. Raised by a single mother on the South Side of Chicago, Patrick earned a scholarship to Milton Academy and graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He then worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and a Boston law firm. As U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, he worked on issues such as racial profiling and police misconduct. As Governor, he increased funding to education and life sciences, won a federal Race to the Top grant, and introduced casinos to the state. After he ended his second term in 2015, he became a managing director at Bain Capital and board director at American Well. Although initially ruling out a 2020 presidential bid, he formally entered the race in November 2019, but ended it after poor showings in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.
Bill Weld
William Floyd Weld is an American attorney, businessman, author, and politician who has had a long and varied career. He began with legal counsel to the US House Committee on the Judiciary before becoming US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, and then Governor of Massachusetts from 1991-1997. He unsuccessfully ran for the US Senate in 1996, and later withdrew his nomination for US Ambassador to Mexico due to opposition. Weld also ran for Governor of New York in 2006 and served as running mate of Gary Johnson in the 2016 Libertarian presidential race. In 2020 he unsuccessfully challenged President Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, winning one delegate in Iowa and eventually endorsing Joe Biden.
Hunter Biden
Robert Hunter Biden is the second son of President Joe Biden and his first wife Neilia Hunter Biden. He is an attorney and investor, as well as a former lobbyist and banker. In 2020, Biden started painting and in late 2018, his tax affairs were investigated by federal criminal investigation. He served on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas producer, from 2014 to 2019. In October 2020, the New York Post published a story about his laptop found with 129,000 emails and other materials, but the lack of provenance caused other media outlets to decline covering it. In March 2022, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported some of the emails were authentic. Some claimed the laptop contents showed corruption by President Joe Biden, but there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Kellyanne Conway
Kellyanne Conway is an American political consultant and pollster, who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the administration of Donald Trump between 2017 and 2020. She was the first woman to have run a successful U.S. presidential campaign and previously held roles as campaign manager and strategist in the Republican Party. During her involvement in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Conway endorsed Ted Cruz before going on to be Trump's campaign manager and later counselor. Her time in the White House was marred by controversies, including the 'alternative facts' remark, as well as allegations of ethics violations after endorsing commercial products related to Ivanka Trump. In August 2020, she left the administration following months of public feuding with her teenage daughter, Claudia.
Ronan Farrow
Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow is an American journalist best known for his investigative reporting of allegations of sexual abuse against film producer Harvey Weinstein, which was published in The New Yorker magazine, leading to the magazine winning the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Megyn Kelly
Megyn Kelly is a highly acclaimed journalist and media personality who has worked for Fox News, NBC News, and SiriusXM. During her time at Fox News, Kelly hosted America Live and co-hosted America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer, and garnered an impressive following. She also hosted The Kelly File and was included in TIME's list of 100 most influential people. In 2017, she moved to NBC News where she hosted Megyn Kelly Today from September 2017 until October 2018 when the show was cancelled due to a controversial discussion about blackface. Kelly left the network in January 2019.
Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Clark Guthrie is a broadcast journalist and attorney best known as the main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today, which she has held since July 2012. She joined NBC News in 2007 as a legal analyst and correspondent, and later went on to become White House correspondent between 2008 and 2011, as well as the co-anchor of the MSNBC program The Daily Rundown during 2010 and 2011. Guthrie was then announced as the co-host of Today's third hour alongside Natalie Morales and Al Roker, acting as the news anchor and chief legal analyst across all NBC platforms. In 2012, she replaced Ann Curry as the co-anchor of Today.
Sunny Hostin
Asunción “Sunny” Cummings Hostin is a prominent American lawyer, journalist, television host, and executive producer. She has co-hosted ABC's morning talk show The View, served as the Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News, and hosted and produced Investigation Discovery's true crime series Truth About Murder with Sunny Hostin.
David Otunga
David Daniel Otunga is an American actor and former professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE. He competed on the first season of WWE's reality series NXT, and was a founding member of the Nexus and New Nexus factions. As part of the groups, he held two Tag Team Championships with fellow Nexus members John Cena and Michael McGillicutty.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. He was a prominent leader of the Democratic Party, winning four consecutive presidential elections. During the Great Depression, his New Deal Coalition implemented his domestic agenda, leading the country out of crisis. He also helped formed the Allies and steered the country to victory in World War II. Born into a prominent family in New York, Roosevelt graduated from Harvard College and Columbia Law School. He married Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905 and they had six children. In 1921, he was struck down by polio, becoming permanently paralyzed in the legs. He returned to public office, being elected as the Governor of New York in 1928 and then the US President in 1932. His first 100 days in office saw enormous legislative productivity, introducing sweeping reforms to relieve unemployment and agricultural distress. He also spearheaded the repeal of Prohibition and the establishing of the United Nations. Despite his popular New Deal legislation, the Supreme Court frequently struck down his policies. Despite declining health, he was re-elected in 1940 and 1944. He passed away in 1945 and was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman. He is often considered one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, becoming the country's first black head of state. A Xhosa and an African nationalist and socialist, he joined the African National Congress party in 1943 and co-founded its Youth League a year later. As leader of the ANC’s armed faction, he was arrested and imprisoned in 1962 and after being sentenced to life imprisonment he served 27 years in prison until his release in 1990. After leading a multiracial coalition government which promulgated a new constitution, Mandela focused on reconciliation between the country’s racial groups and serving as international mediator, and he was internationally acclaimed for his activism, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and being described as the “Father of the Nation”.
John Phillips (mayor)
John Phillips was an American politician, serving as the first mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1822 to 1823. He was the father of abolitionist Wendell Phillips.
George S. Patton (attorney)
George Smith Patton was an American attorney, businessman and politician who served as Los Angeles County District Attorney and the first mayor of San Marino, California. Patton was the son of Susan Thornton Glassell and George S. Patton Sr., a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War. His mother moved to California after his father was killed during the war, and Patton was educated in Los Angeles. He returned to Virginia to attend Virginia Military Institute, from which he graduated in 1877. After studying law at his uncle's firm, he was admitted to the bar and practiced in Los Angeles. He served in local offices including school board member and was county district attorney in 1887. Patton married the daughter of Benjamin Davis Wilson, one of California's wealthiest men, and moved with his family to a San Gabriel estate called Lake Vineyard. He was active in politics as a Democrat and made unsuccessful races for Congress in 1894 and 1896. When San Marino was incorporated as a city separate from San Gabriel, he was elected San Marino's first mayor, a post he held from 1913 to 1922 and 1922 to 1924. In 1916 he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator. A longtime friend of Henry E. Huntington, in 1902 Patton became an executive in Huntington's real estate development company, and played a major role in developing the San Gabriel Valley and other areas of southern California. He died in San Marino in 1927, and was buried at San Gabriel Cemetery in San Gabriel. Patton was the father of two children, including General George S. Patton.
Richard Parker (congressman)
Richard Parker was an important figure in nineteenth-century Virginia. He was a lawyer, politician, and judge, who served in the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate, and the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. He was known for his legal skills, advocating for civil rights and those facing the death penalty. He argued cases in the Supreme Court four times, winning three out of four. He was a strong proponent of the Constitution and firmly believed in the separation of powers. Parker also advocated for the construction of roads and canals in an effort to improve transportation in Virginia. He was also dedicated to improving public education and was an important figure in the passage of the Public Schools Act. He died in 1891, and is remembered as a great public servant and legal scholar who fought to bring fairness and equality to the law.
Morgan Lewis (governor)
Morgan Lewis was an American lawyer, politician, and military commander. He was the second son of Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and he fought in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He also served in the New York State Assembly, New York State Senate, and was New York State Attorney General and governor of New York.
William Adams (lawyer)
William Adams was an English lawyer most notable for his part in negotiating settlements with the United States in the 1814/1815 period.
Richard Jones (cricketer, born 1857)
Richard Stokes Jones was an English lawyer and cricketer who had a long career playing for Cambridge University, Kent and Marylebone Cricket Club. He was born and died at Dymchurch, Kent, having attended Chatham House School in Ramsgate and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After graduation, he practiced as a solicitor in his home town for over 50 years.