[lbo-talk] The Party of Lincoln

[J Cullen]

Lincoln was a general practitioner but was much sought-after in his 
circuit. He handled an average of more than 200 cases each year, for 
25 years and his workload was not only heavy but also diverse.  "Most 
of his cases involved civil matters, tried in common law or chancery 
courts (the distinction was largely procedural), but he also appeared 
as counsel in numerous criminal and bankruptcy cases.  He represented 
plaintiffs more often than defendants, but only by a ratio of about 
three to two. The great majority of his cases were tried at the state 
circuit court level, but he also had hundreds of federal cases (even 
omitting those for which no records have survived), and appeared 
hundreds of times before the Illinois Supreme Court." His clients 
included freed slaves as well as corporations. See a review of "The 
Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition," at 
http://www.papersofabrahamlincoln.org/DEReview.htm


>--- R <rhisiart at charter.net> wrote:
>
>>  people forget lincoln was a trial lawyer.
>
>Yes, he was.  But as we see in this case, a corporate defender, not a
>"class action" king.
>
>http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ihy980236.html
>
>In the case above, Lincoln was, pursuant to the conservative/GOP
>ideal, a "good guy" trial lawyer, because he defeated the "bad guy"
>plaintiff attorney and client who filed suit.  Note that the article
>even goes to suggest that some felt the accident was done on purpose
>in an attempt to abuse the court system and defeat the railroad.  We
>see generally conservative critics of trial law and proponents of
>tort reform usually use cases such as these as example of why tort
>reform is needed.  Lincoln would be, in this case, their hero.
>
>  - Deborah
>