Which of the two lawyers makes the most money, a class action lawyer or a criminal defense lawyer?
Question:
Criminal defense. Microsoft has a law firm on retainer, with specialists in various areas to handle various issues (IP, contracts, employment, liability, and so on.) The lawyers get a cut of the retainer according to their pecking order - partners, jr. partners, and so on. By the time it trickles down to the law clerks who are doing the grunt work, there isn't much left.
Celebrities, on the other hand, will pay a lot of $$ to avoid bad press and/or jail time, and a good criminal defense lawyer gets to keep the biggest piece of the pie for him/herself.
Well overall, lawyers who do class action lawsuits are civil litigators by trade.
In general, civil litigators make more than criminal defense attorneys, but it is really on a case by case basis.
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