Title: lincoln the lawyer
Product review: Like everything else concerning Lincoln's life, his law practice has acquired the patina of legend over the years. Mr. Spiegel's book does an excellent job of dispelling myths and presenting Lincoln as a well respected attorney with a thriving practice. The strongest part of the book are the introductory materials and the first two chapters. Lincoln is shown to be willing to argue any side of a case based on his clients' needs. In a case where two men had a monetary dispute Lincoln was hired by one man for the trial and by the other man during the appeal. Reamrks about the difficulty assessing an attorney's effectiveness based on the won-loss record are well considered.However, later chapters seem somewhat unfocused. The author adds interesting tidbits unrelated to the topic and outside the time of Lincoln's practice. I had hoped that a ten year research project would focus more extensively on his actual practice. Still, this is a good reference for scholars and Lincoln "buffs."
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