The Long Game: Ben Crump Is Leveling The Playing Field And Leveraging His Brand

By Liane Jackson Forbes Staff Forbes Ranking: America’s Top 200 Lawyers 2024

In the traditional sense, Ben Crump has lived the American Dream. He grew up the oldest of nine children in rural North Carolina and is now one of the most successful and recognized plaintiff’s attorneys in the country.

But if you flip the mirror, Crump is still fighting for the American Dream—on behalf of others—by tackling cases of police misconduct and excessive force; and fighting for victims of health, employment and environmental discrimination.

“This is a journey to justice,” Crump says. “It’s not going to happen overnight.”

In addition to civil rights cases, Crump’s firm handles everything from class actions and mass torts to personal injury and environmental lawsuits. Crump says his firm receives hundreds of requests a day for representation, but the civil rights cases he’s become famous for constitute only a small fraction of his practice. Crump is leveraging his legal brand to build a thriving nationwide business by partnering with firms in other jurisdictions on a variety of cases.

While the police brutality cases he’s handled, including those involving Tamir Rice, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tyre Nichols—just to name a few—may not compose the bulk of his practice, they’re the ones that keep him motivated. He says he remains encouraged by the incremental progress he’s seen so far, whether in the form of multimillion dollar verdicts or changes in police policy, like chokehold bans.

When it comes to career choice, the eponym of the new Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University in Florida wants law students to consider the value and benefits of following a path less traveled, and advocates for lawyers to consider social justice work.

“Just because you go out and try to help people who don’t have a voice and can’t fight for themselves, that doesn’t mean you have to take a vow of poverty,” Crump says. “You can do good and still do well in life.”

In the traditional sense, Ben Crump has lived the American Dream. He grew up the oldest of nine children in rural North Carolina and is now one of the most successful and recognized plaintiff’s attorneys in the country.

But if you flip the mirror, Crump is still fighting for the American Dream—on behalf of others—by tackling cases of police misconduct and excessive force; and fighting for victims of health, employment and environmental discrimination.

“This is a journey to justice,” Crump says. “It’s not going to happen overnight.”

In addition to civil rights cases, Crump’s firm handles everything from class actions and mass torts to personal injury and environmental lawsuits. Crump says his firm receives hundreds of requests a day for representation, but the civil rights cases he’s become famous for constitute only a small fraction of his practice. Crump is leveraging his legal brand to build a thriving nationwide business by partnering with firms in other jurisdictions on a variety of cases.

While the police brutality cases he’s handled, including those involving Tamir Rice, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tyre Nichols—just to name a few—may not compose the bulk of his practice, they’re the ones that keep him motivated. He says he remains encouraged by the incremental progress he’s seen so far, whether in the form of multimillion dollar verdicts or changes in police policy, like chokehold bans.

When it comes to career choice, the eponym of the new Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University in Florida wants law students to consider the value and benefits of following a path less traveled, and advocates for lawyers to consider social justice work.

“Just because you go out and try to help people who don’t have a voice and can’t fight for themselves, that doesn’t mean you have to take a vow of poverty,” Crump says. “You can do good and still do well in life.”