Ram Jethmalani was one of the highest-paid lawyers who died in Sept 2019, was known for his candid personality whether in court or in the media.
He fought the famous 1992 Stock Market Scam case, in defense of Harshad Mehta before the court. he used to charge INR 25 lac per appearance and was one of the highest-paid lawyers of India. We are going to mention some of the known lawyers like the late Jethmalani, who are the most expensive to hire at present time.
Here we are listing the top 10 highest-paid lawyers:
1- Fali S Nariman
He is a known lawyer and Indian jurist who received Padma Bhusan (1991) and Padma Vibhushan(2007) for his contribution to the law and judicial system. He appeared in known cases like Golak Nath, S.P Gupta, Pai Foundation, who also represented govt. of Gujarat and appeared for the bail of former C.M of Tamilnadu state J. Jayalalithaa.
He charges INR 10-15 lakhs per appearance. He was Additional Solicitor General of India from May 1972 to June 1975. His full name is Fali Sam Nariman.
2- Harish Salve
He is a former solicitor general of India (Nov 1999 to Nov 2002), known for fighting in defense for Kulbhusan Jadhav at the International Court of Justice, he charged only Rs. 1 for the case as a legal fee.
He has had diverse clients in the past Salman Khan, Tata Group, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited, etc. demands a fee of around INR 12-14 lakhs per appearance. He was in 43rd no. of India Today Magazine of ‘India’s 50 Most powerful people.’
3- K Parasaran
he charges around INR 10-12 lakhs fee per appearance, is a recipient of Padma Vibhusan (2011) and Padma Bhusan (2003). he is a senior advocate, known for his sharp mind and sense of humor. He was the Solicitor general of India during PM Indira Gandhi and Attorney General of India during PM Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure.
He is known for defending the rights of the deity & Devouts in the Sabarimala Case & the Ayodhya Land Dispute case. former Supreme court judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul described him as the ‘Pitamah of Indian Bar Council’.
4- Abhishek Singhvi
He became the youngest Additional solicitor general of India at the age of 37, he is currently the National spokesperson of the Indian National Congress and a member of the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal.
He charges in the range of Rs 6-11 lakh fee per appearance. He completed his Ph.D. in law under Sir William Wade, a constitutional lawyer at Cambridge University, his topic was emergency powers. his full name is Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
5- K.K. Venugopal
at the 6th spot, we have the current Attorney General of India, who is a recipient of Padma Bhusan (2002) and Padma Vibhushan (2015). He demands a fee of around Rs 7-10 lakh per appearance, though he can’t fight cases on behalf of others as he is currently chief legal advisor of Govt. of India.
He fought the Babri Demolition Case in defence of BJP leader L.K Advani. He was Addtnl. Solicitor General in Morarji Desai govt. He was chosen the constitutional Adviser by Bhutan Govt. for drafting the constitution of Bhutan.
6- Mukul Rohatgi
The 14th attorney general of India was succeeded by K.K. Venugopal is known for fighting the case in defense of Gujarat Govt, Best Bakery & Zahira Sheikh’s case as well.
He charges a fee of INR 9 lakhs per appearance. He studied law from Govt. law College, Mumbai. He was the Additional Solicitor General of India during Vajpayee Government.
7- Gopal Subramanium
He is the former solicitor general (2009-2011) and Additional solicitor general of India (2005-2009). He fought on behalf of Govt. of India’s infamous 2G spectrum case, and also fought the case against Ajmal Kassab. He also served as a chairman of the Bar Council of India from the year 2010 to 2011.
He completed his degree in law from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He is known for fighting the BALCO case (2012), Novartis Vs Union Of India & Others (2013), Devidas Ramchandra Tuljpurkar vs State of Mahashtra (2015). he demands the fee of INR 8 to 9 lakhs per appearance.
8- Aryama Sundaram
He is a senior advocate, has represented many high-profile clients before the courts like Anil Ambani, BCCI, etc. In the S. Rangarajan case where he was the lawyer, which was considered as one of the landmark judgments on the freedom of speech and expression. he charges around Rs 6 to 8 lakhs per appearance. His full name is C. Aryama Sundaram.
9- K.T.S Tulsi
he was born in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, completed his law degree in 1971. he fought in the defense of govt. of India many times before the Supreme Court in the cases related to the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, Constitutional validity of TADA Act (now no longer exist).
He has also represented Robert Vadra (Sonia Gandhi’s Son-in-Law) in the Vadra-DLF land case. He demands around Rs 5 to 8 lakhs fee per appearance.
10- P. P. Rao
His full name is Pavani Parameswara Rao, In his list of clients includes Govt. of India & Many State Govts. He is a former president of the supreme court bar association, he is congress president Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer.
He charged approximately INR 5 lakhs per appearance. he completed his LLB and LLM from Osmania University, Hyderabad.