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Mannerisms of a Lawyer
Jeremy Reppy "Resolve to be honest at all events," Lincoln urged potential attorneys, "and if in your judgment you can't be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer." Lincoln believed honesty to be a virtue, one that he tried to practice both as a lawyer and as president. His great personality, common sense, and his way with people also helped to make him successful. He developed these as a lawyer. It is these qualities that made him the person everyone remembers and the president people loved. As a lawyer Lincoln learned to narrow a case down to one statement that summed it up for the jury or to take humor, reason, and emotion and turn it into a speech that everyone could understand. These skills he gained through years of practice. Through three partnerships, his work in the Eighth Judicial Circuit, and his trial work he learned when to speak and when not to, when to use reason and when to use emotion and probably most important of all, how to deal with people. His understanding of people is best seen in his jury work. He understood the need to present his arguments so that the common man could understand them. He used his skills as an orator to speak to the jury in an eloquent, masterful way, but in a way that was easy to understand. He did not dwell on technicalities and willingly yielded on technical questions. He trusted his simplicity and his skill with reason and emotion to help win the case. One man's appraisal of him was that, "He was a quick and accurate reader of character and understood the jury, witnesses, parties and judges, and how best to address, convince and influence them." Although he was a good jury lawyer, he fell prey to superstitious biases. He liked using fat men as jurors because he believed them to be naturally jolly and easily swayed. He thought people with high foreheads had
already made up their mind, and blond, blue-eyed males were inherently nervous and apt to side with the prosecution in a murder case. Lincoln became good at examining witnesses because he spent much of his time in court doing just that. He did not bother with lots of details, but got to the points that would help him. He became good at quick analysis and on-the-spot thinking because the nature of much of his trial work permitted little time for preparation. When he did have time to prepare beforehand, he did a good job. He learned the importance of good preparation from working with Stephen T. Logan, his second law partner. In 1853, on a land-title matter he carefully got in touch with the witness, telling him what documents to bring and where to find them. His interrogations and pleadings were kept simple and short. He underlined the key words to help guide the vocal inflection. Lincoln thought with his ear and often read aloud. He said he could, "catch the idea by two senses, for when I read aloud I hear what is read and I see it; and hence two senses get it and I remember it better." Not all of his behaviors were beneficial, though. He and his third partner, Willian Herndon, were sloppy in their office management. They stuck things in bundles and piles—and even in Lincoln's stovepipe hat—and frequently lost things. They would take things home and forget them, and visitors often found them searching in vain for misplaced documents or letters. Lincoln kept a special bundle tied with string on his desk with a note that said: "When you can't find it anywhere else look into this." This system got him into trouble. On June 13, 1854, he wrote one client, "It pains me that I have to say that I forgot to attend to your business when I was in Clinton, in court in May last—your best way would be to address me a letter at Clinton, about the time I go there to court in the fall (October 16 I think) and then it will be fresh, and I will not forget or neglect it." Many of his skills were carried over to his presidency. It was his work as a jury lawyer that gave him the understanding of people that was so crucial for the president of a country torn by civil war. This understanding allowed him to bring hope to a people who had lost it. This can be seen in his speeches, especially the Gettysburg Address. This speech shows his great skills at speechmaking, his ability to be clear and concise, and how he could express something in such a way that all could understand. He still underlined the key words in speeches and used direct, concise questions to gain information. His legal career taught him to make up his mind quickly on a number of things and be informed about these things within the time available. When he got to the legal problems of secession and emancipation, his law career was the best experience he could have had for dealing with them. In conclusion, Lincoln's success and effectiveness as a lawyer can be seen in his abilities. The skills and behaviors he developed as a lawyer made him a successful lawyer and later a successful president. These skills, especially his understanding of people, allowed him to get the nation through the Civil War. Without these skills Lincoln probably would not have been as effective as president. —[From John P. Frank, Lincoln as a Lawyer; Oscar and Lilian Handlin, Abraham Lincoln and the Union; Stephen B. Oates, Abraham Lincoln; Stephen B. Oates, With Malice Toward None; Benjamin P. Thomas, Abraham Lincoln.]
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