A Look at 10 Famous Lawyer Entrepreneurs

A LOOK AT 10 famous LAWYER ENTREPRENUERS ince the founding of the United States, lawyers have often found that their unique skill sets are well suited to many different business ventures. From those who mix entrepreneurship with politics, to those who manage social media and philanthropy, the following is a list of some of famous lawyer come entrepreneurs who, in one way or another, have found a way to leave their mark. 1. John Adams 1735 - 1826 The 2nd President of the United States (1797-1801) and a Founding Father Pre-Presidency served as the first Vice-President (1789-1797) in U.S. history Was a key player in the drafting of The Declaration of Independence (1776) In 1776 Adams was a key The Massachesett Constitution (1780) player in the drafting of Was the main writer of Oldest continuously functioning constitution in the world and served as a model for the Constitution of the United States of America (1787). The Wrote Thoughts on Government, Applicable to the Present State of the American Colonies (1776) Declaration Independence. and was in favor of a separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial government branches. As head of the Board of War and Ordinance (1777), he played an important role in negotiations with France. 2. Brian Lee A UCLA Law graduate, Lee is an incredibly experienced lawyer who has turned his attention to two celebrity-endorsed e-commerce websites. Shoedazzle.com was started in 2009 with Kim Kardashian, and now has 15 million registered users. Shoedazzle.com reported $100 million in revenue in 2012 – an increase of 80% from 2011. Shoedazzle reported The company sells up to 250,000 pairs of shoes per month. $100 In 2001, Lee got his start by founding million LegalZoom.com, an online legal documentation in revenue service which also offers adult education on legal in 2012 matters. Lee has contributed majorly to the growth in online business as well as promoting the potential of women in entrepreneural roles. 3 4. and David Sacks Peter Thiel Thiel is one of the original founders of online payment system, PayPal, while Sacks served as their chief operating officer facebook The company was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion. In 2004 Thiel's 3.7% share in the company made him Thiel became close to $55 million the first outside investor in In 2004, Thiel became the first outside investor Facebook with a in Facebook with a 10.2% stake 10.2% In 2011, Thiel was ranked #293 on the Forbes stake. 400 List with a net worth of 1,2 billion. Sacks since founded: Geni.com (2006) and Yammer (2012) Sacks recently sold Yammer to Microsoft for 1.2 billion. 5. Sanjukta Basu Used to practice law in New Delhi at the Delhi Bar Council as an advocate. Founder of Samyuta Media, which provides digital marketing services to small and start-up business, and SWBT (Single Woman Budget In 2009 Basu was Traveler), a website designed to cater for specific awarded a clientele. TED In 2009, was awarded a TED Fellowship to give Fellowships lectures on various social media and communications-based topics. to give lectures on social media and Although not as famous as many of the others on communicatios this list, Basu has paved the way for exploring based topics. gender differences in India and frequently works with NGOS. 6. Maria Constantinescu Born in Romania, Constantinescu studies law at Columbia University and worked as an intellectual property lawyer. In 2012 Constantinescu In 2012, launched SlickFlick, an iPhone launched the iPhone app app designed to edit and enhance photos. Within a few months the company had raised £100,000 SlickFlick, and within a few Still a player in the global scheme of things, months raised Constantinescu has shown remarkable staying £100,000 power for start-ups as well as continuously pushing for technological development in her native Romania. 7. Malcom Turnbull An Australian politician whose been included in the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and In 1999 Leader of the Liberal Party from 2008 – 2009. Turnbull sold Turnbull studied Civil Law at Oxford University OzEmail to Worldcom for close to and served as a barrister before turning to politics. Turnbull has had many successful business ventures: Chair of OzEmail, a large Australian $60 Internet Service Provider from 1994 – 1999. million In 1999, Turball sold OzEmail to Worldcom for making him the richest Australian close to $60 million, making him the richest Australian parliamentarian, showing that it is parliamentarian. capable to mix business, law and politics. 8. Elizabeth Holloway Marston 1893 - 1993 During a time when it was uncommon for women to obtain higher education, Marston completed three degrees, including a LLB from Boston University. In 1918 Marston was one of only three Working with her husband, she served as the women to inspiration for the famous comic book character, graduate from Wonder Woman. She was also involved in developing the systolic Boston University School of Law. blood-pressure test, which eventually evolved into the modern polygraph. 9. Patrice Motsepe In 1994, Motsepe became the first black lawyer to be made partner at a South African law firm. In 1997, he formed African Rainbow Minerals Forbes ranks (ARM), a mining and minerals company. Motsepe as the He is also the non-executive Chairman of Harmony, the Deputy Chairman of Sanlam and president of the Mamelodi Sundowns 442ND richest Football Club. person in the world, and Forbes ranks him as the 442nd richest person in considers him the world and considers him South Africa's first South Africa's first black millionaire. black millionaire. In 2012, his personal fortune was estimated at $2.7 million. 10. Sumner Redstone Chairman of National Amusements, a privately-owned theatre company He completed Law School at Harvard University and then went into private practice before Forbes ranks Redstone as the returning to the family business. Redstone and his family are still majority shareholders in various media companies, 86TH richest including Viacom, CBS corporation, MTV Networks, BET and Paramount Pictures. person in the world. In 2007 he was ranked #86 on Forbes Magazine's list of richest people in the world. In 2013, Forbes estimated his worth at $4.7 billion. Money makes the world go round, and the men and women on this list have definitely learned that lesson. Whether they've mixed politics, law or business sense with their brand of entrepreneurship, they've clearly understood consumer needs and found a way to cement their legacy for years to come. upcounsel SOURCES https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/09/business/la-fi-himi-brian-lee-20130210 http://thestoryexchange.org/legalzoom-cofounder-brian-lee-talks-women-entrepreneurship/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DavidO_Sacks http://www.crunchbase.com/person/david-sacks http://fellows.ted.com/profiles/sanjukta-basu http://sanjukta.wordpress.com/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/16/slickflick-lands-seed-round-to-let-users-hollywood-ize-theirphotos/ http://creativeboom.co.uk/features/five-minutes-with-maria-constantinescu/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Turnbull http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Holloway_Marston http://www.blackentrepreneurprofile.com/profile-full/article/patrice-motsepe/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_Redstone