Leslie Abramson is a prominent American criminal defense attorney known for defending Lyle and Erik Menendez during a high-profile mu*der trial.
She gained significant media attention for her role in the case, and her story is portrayed in the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Highlights
- Leslie Abramson, a criminal defense attorney, gained recognition for defending Lyle and Erik Menendez.
- It is reported that Leslie received $650K for the first trial and $125K for the second trial in the Lyle and Erik case.
- Only one client of Abramson received a d*ath penalty throughout her career of about four decades.
Leslie is widely recognized as one of the influential lawyers for criminal cases that especially engage teenagers.
Her defensive argument and evidence mostly inclined the court verdict to favor her client. Thus, she had the reputation as the “Most Brilliant Los Angeles defense lawyer.
81 Leslie Hope Abramson, a year-old, is now retired from her work and lives in California, USA.
In Her Prime, Leslie Abramson’s Fees Per Case Was Around $150K Per Trial
Leslie was an in-demand attorney in her 1980s and 1990s. When she took the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, the public attention was at her every step.
As of 2024, the former lawyer’s net worth is $3 million, and she is now retired from her job.
According to the reports available, Abramson received about $150K per case annually in her prime.
In the case of Lyle and Erik, Leslie was paid $650K for four years of work. When Menendez ran out of money, she was given $125K in public funds in the second trial.
TRIGGER WARNING: GRAPHIC DISCUSSION OF SยฃX ABUSE
Leslie Abramson delivers her closing argument in defending Erik Menendez in 1993; including the infamous moment where she stuck tacks in the child p0rn photo of Erik, showing what Erikโs father would do to him during the sยฃx abuse pic.twitter.com/jb39SlFrnT
โ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ (@graveburgers) December 20, 2023
Abramson’s hourly pay range was about $100, but in Lyle and Erik’s second trial, she got $65 per hour.
Abramson was a State Bar of California student and completed her studies in 1970.
She began her career in the Los Angeles County Public Defender‘s office and worked there for six years. In 1976, she entered private practice as a defense attorney.
Throughout her career of about four decades, one client, Ricky Sanders, whom she represented, received the death penalty.
Furthermore, in 1988, Abramson was able to obtain a verdict of manslaughter with a sentence of probation rather than murder for 17-year-old Arnel Salcatierra.
Similarly, in 1990, Leslie won the acquittal of Dr. Khalid Parwez, accused of strangling and dismembering his 11-year-old son.
When Abramson represented music producer Phil Spector in 2004, she was rumored to receive approximately $1 million for the trial.
However, later on, Leslie resigned from the case, commenting on the unexpected development.
Additional Informaiton
- Leslie Abramson was married to a pharmacist but divorced in 1969. Later, she married Los Angeles Times reporter Tim Rutten and filed for divorce in 2007.
- Abramson published The Defense Is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law in 1997. It is a dive into the world of criminal justice attorneys.
- Leslie is mother to her daughter Laine from her first marriage and an adopted son.
