60 Famous J.D.'s Through Time

If you read our pre-President's Day post, you may already know that 26 of the 44 U.S. Presidents were attorneys before taking office. Which makes one wonder, which other famous J.D.'s have flexed their muscle in notable ways, and across all fields.  However the recent law school rankings affect you (or don't), here's a list of 60 famous J.D.'s through time...

1. Bob Woodruff, television journalist
2. David J. Stern, Commissioner of the NBA
3. Nina Zagat, co-founder of Zagat Survey
4. Brad Meltzer, author and tv show co-creator
5. Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
6. Jerry Springer, talk show host
7. Charlotte E. Ray, first African American woman to earn a J.D., in 1872
8. John Cleese, writer, director, actor and comedian
9. William Sanderson, actor
10. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
11. Howard Cosell, sportscaster
12. Mike Leach, football coach at Texas Tech University
13. Jay Bilas, sports analyst for ESPN, former professional basketball player
14. Ben Stein, actor, tv show host, author, commentator
15. George Pataki, former Governor of New York
16. Greta Van Susteren, tv show host and journalist
17. Barbara Jordan, former U.S. Congresswoman
18. David Baldacci, novelist
19. Alan Page, former professional football player
20. Elizabeth Wurtzel, writer and journalist
21. Oscar Hammerstein II, director of musicals
22. Henri Matisse, painter
23. David E. Kelley, screenwriter and tv producer
24. Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner
25. F.W. de Klerk, former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner
26. Marjorie Scardino, CEO of Pearson PLC
27. Roland Berrill and Lance Ware, founders of MENSA
28. Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba
29. Andrea Bocelli, opera crossover singer
30. Robert M. Parker Jr., wine critic
31. Paolo Conte, singer, pianist, and composer
32. Niccolo Machiavelli, philosopher, writer and founder of modern political science
33. Marian Wright Edelman, activist and founder of Children's Defense Fund
34. Nicolaus Copernicus, astronomer and mathematician
35. Star Jones, television personality
36. Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
37. Philip Graham, publisher and former co-owner of the Washington Post
38. Elijah Bond, invented the Ouija Board and a steam boiler
39. Margaret Mellon, scientist and director at Union of Concerned Scientists
40. Kalyn Free, tribal member of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, lawyer, and former political candidate
41. Robert Rines, inventor, composer, professor, and holder of more than 80 patents
42. Frederick Weatherly, author, songwriter of over 3000 songs
43. Vladimir Lenin, revolutionary of Russia and head of the Soviet Union
44. Mohandas Gandhi, father of Indian independence and pioneer of satyagraha
45. Otto Preminger, film director
46. Tim Greene, radio and tv personality and former professional football player
47. Daniel Dolan, founder of It's Just Lunch
48. John F. Kennedy, Jr., magazine publisher and former New York City prosecutor
49. Gerald Posner, investigative journalist and author
50. Catherine Crier, tv personality and author
51. Geraldo Rivera, tv host, reporter, and author
52. Louis Renault, jurist, educator, Nobel peace prize winner, and famous arbitrator of high-profile international cases
53. John William Corrington, tv writer, novelist, and poet
54. Lana Cantrell, singer
55. Wallace Stevens, poet and lawyer
56. Paul Robeson, artist, athlete, scholar, activist 
57. Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of England
58. Willie Banks, three-time Olympian in triple jump
59. Etty Hillesum, author and activist
60. Robert M. Cohen, founder of California Pizza Kitchen

 

Related Resources:

• What Else You Can Do With a Law Degree (LSU.edu)
• 99 Things to Do With Your JD, Besides Practice Law (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
• 9 Tips to Landing a Legal Job or Internship (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
• Son of a...Lawyer. And Daughters Too. (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
• Public Interest Law Job Seekers: Public Do-Gooders, Post-J.D. (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
• Should I Go to Law School? The Pop Quiz (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
• 14 Things I Wish I Had Known When Graduating From Law School (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)

*Please note: this post has been updated to correct Barbara Jordan's name that was incorrectly written. Thanks to the reader who caught the error.