In 1988, more than a decade after the Supreme Court legalized lawyer advertising, 32-year-old John Morgan set out to make his name into the "Kleenex" or "Xerox" of personal injury law. Today, Orlando, Florida-based Morgan & Morgan spends $350 million annually on billboards, cable television and other ads, most featuring Morgan, now age 68, alongside UFC fighters or depicted as Santa Claus, Benjamin Franklin or a swimsuit model.
Morgan & Morgan has 6,000 employees, including 1,000 lawyers, and generated over $2 billion in 2023 revenue. As a contingency firm, it typically keeps 30% to 40% of what plaintiffs win. Forbes figures it's worth a minimum of $2 billion, with Morgan and his family likely owning about half. (His wife, Ultima, whom he met in law school at the University of Florida in 1981, and their three sons are all partners.)
The law firm accounts for only some of Morgan and his family's wealth, however. Last year, they were part of a group that got $300 million for 60% of their shares in Litify, a legalsoftware company Morgan cofounded in 2016.(Morgan says his family got less than half of that and all the after-tax proceeds went to his kids.) Other holdings (all debt-free) include real estate, a chain of six WonderWorks science museums and the Alcatraz East crime museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, featuring O.J. Simpson's infamous white Bronco. Add it all up and Forbes reckons the family is worth at least...
Morgan & Morgan has 6,000 employees, including 1,000 lawyers, and generated over $2 billion in 2023 revenue. As a contingency firm, it typically keeps 30% to 40% of what plaintiffs win. Forbes figures it's worth a minimum of $2 billion, with Morgan and his family likely owning about half. (His wife, Ultima, whom he met in law school at the University of Florida in 1981, and their three sons are all partners.)
The law firm accounts for only some of Morgan and his family's wealth, however. Last year, they were part of a group that got $300 million for 60% of their shares in Litify, a legalsoftware company Morgan cofounded in 2016.(Morgan says his family got less than half of that and all the after-tax proceeds went to his kids.) Other holdings (all debt-free) include real estate, a chain of six WonderWorks science museums and the Alcatraz East crime museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, featuring O.J. Simpson's infamous white Bronco. Add it all up and Forbes reckons the family is worth at least...
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Forbes (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2024/January 2025