Named to the TIME100 list of the 100 most influential people in 2021, Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 Most Influential African Americans, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers, and in 2026 he was named The NNPA Top Black Newsmaker of the 21st Century, Attorney Ben Crump is referred to as “Black America’s Attorney General.” Through a steadfast dedication to justice and service, this renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney has established himself as one of the nation’s foremost lawyers and advocates for social justice.
He has successfully battled to protect constitutional rights at the local, state, and federal levels, using his advocacy skills and the high profile of his cases to provide a voice to those long silenced and hope to those pushed to the outside. He is the founder and principal owner of Ben Crump Law. Attorney Crump’s tireless advocacy has led to legislation preventing excessive force and developing implicit bias training and policies across the nation, leading him to represent clients in some of the most high-profile cases in the United States.
His work spans landmark cases including those of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sonya Massey, and Stephon Clark, as well as the precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court case involving Robbie Tolan. He represented nine Black women in the Holtzclaw Oklahoma City Police rape case and fought for the residents of Flint, Michigan affected by poisoned water, securing a $626 million settlement. More recently, he has represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Henrietta Lacks in a landmark reparations case. In the historic case of Lanier v. Harvard, he achieved a unanimous victory for Tamara Lanier, who sued the university over photographs of her enslaved ancestors valued at approximately $100 million.
Crump has helped secure record-breaking verdicts and settlements for families facing injustices. Among his significant victories is a $310 million verdict for the family of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson, who died after falling from the Free Fall ride at ICON Park in Orlando, a verdict that led to Florida’s “Tyre Sampson Act” focusing on amusement park safety. In 2025, he represented the family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala in a case involving Universal’s Epic Universe and secured a record-breaking $779 million wrongful death verdict for the family of security guard Lewis Butler, who was fatally shot at his place of work.
He continues advocating for families facing catastrophic death cases. His other notable victories include a $98 million verdict for the family of Botham Jean, a $411 million trucking accident verdict, and $500 million in settlements in banking while Black cases. His $27 million settlement for George Floyd’s family and $12 million for Breonna Taylor’s family have set powerful precedents for accountability in cases of police violence. Beyond the courtroom, Crump is co-founder of DreamFi, a financial empowerment platform focused on expanding access and equality in finance. As a filmmaker and storyteller, he produced the Emmy® Award-winning documentary How to Sue the Klan, which tells the story of five Black women from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who took on the Ku Klux Klan in a landmark 1982 civil trial.
He has served in leadership positions at the highest levels of the legal profession and has been recognized for his efforts by numerous esteemed organizations. He served as the 73rd President of the National Bar Association and currently serves as President of the National Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association. He was also the first African American to chair the Florida State University College of Law Board of Directors.
Among Crump’s many accolades are the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award, the SCLC Martin Luther King Servant Leader Award, the American Association for Justice Johnnie Cochran Award, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Eleanor Roosevelt Medallion for Service. His storytelling extends beyond documentaries to film and television. He served as executive producer of the groundbreaking documentary Woman in Motion and hosted the acclaimed legal docudramas
Evidence of Innocence and Who Killed Tupac: The Search For Justice. He portrayed legendary civil rights attorney Z. Alexander Looby in the film Marshall and has appeared in documentaries including Beating Justice and BET’s I Am Trayvon. As an author, Crump published Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People in October 2019, reflecting on landmark cases he has fought and exposing systemic discrimination in the legal system. His debut novel, Worse Than a Lie, is a crime thriller exploring justice and power through the story of a Black former police officer attacked during a traffic stop. Despite his national prominence, Attorney Crump has prioritized his local community, serving as Board Chairman of Legal Services of North Florida and, alongside his former law partner Daryl Parks, donating $1 million to the organization’s capital campaign.
Born in 1969 in Lumberton, North Carolina, Attorney Crump graduated from Florida State University and received his law degree from FSU College of Law. He is married to Dr. Genae Angelique Crump.
