Shawn Holley

Oftentimes, Holley's biggest victories are the ones you won't get to read about in the newspaper.

She has represented celebrities in civil and criminal matters with a list of clients that included Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg and Mike Tyson.

Though Holley would not confirm, she's reportedly representing actor Russell Crowe, musicians Justin Bieber and Tyga, and the Kardashian and Jenner families.

The exact specifics of the aforementioned legal matters are a mystery. Holley said that shows she's doing her job.

"A lot of the people I represent are people who don't want their matters publicly known about," she said. "A real victory in my mind is something that no one will know about."

What has ended up in the media evidences a track record of client victories. Holley defended actress Nicole Richie in her second-time DUI, successfully effectuating a jail sentence of 82 minutes for her client. She was lead counsel for Lindsay Lohan in three high-profile cases over alleged theft and hit-and-run charges, in which she persuaded New York prosecutors not to file charges.

"In my experience, celebrities and those with high profiles are understandably protective of their images, reputations and brands. Allegations of misconduct - even if provably false - jeopardize these valuable commodities," Holley said. For this reason, the ability to keep negative information out of public view is always the objective.

While matters involving her celebrity clientele tend to draw the most attention, Holley said much of her practice is traditional civil and criminal litigation. A former managing partner of the Cochran Law Firm's Los Angeles office, Holley paraphrased her old colleague Johnnie Cochran, saying she represented both "the OJs and the no-Js."

— Steven Crighton