Lincoln and told him how an attorney had charged her
an exorbitant fee for collecting her pension. Such cases filled him with
righteous wrath. He cared nothing for "professional etiquette," if it
permitted the swindling of a poor woman. Going directly to the greedy
lawyer, he forced him to refund to the widow all that he had charged in
excess of a fair fee for his services, or he would start proceedings at
once to prevent the extortionate attorney from practicing law any longer
at the Springfield bar.

If a negro had been wronged in any way, Lawyer Lincoln was the only
attorney in Springfield who dared to appear in his behalf, for he always
did so at great risk to his political standing. Sometimes he appeared in
defense of fugitive slaves, or negroes who had been freed or had run
away from southern or "slave" States where slavery prevailed to gain
liberty in "free" States in which slavery was not allowed. Lawyer
Lincoln did all this at the risk of making himself very unpopular with
his fellow-attorneys and among the people at large, the greater part of
whom were then in favor of permitting those who wished to own, buy and
sell negroes as slaves.

Lincoln always sympathized with the poor and down-trodden. He could not
bear to charge what his fellow-lawyers considered a fair price for the
amount of work and time spent on a case. He often advised those who came
to him to settle their disputes without going to law. Once he told a man
he would charge him a large fee if he had to try the case, but if the
parties in the dispute settled their difficulty without going into court
he would furnish them all the legal advice they needed free of charge.
Here is some excellent counsel Lawyer Lincoln gave, in later life, in
an address to a class of young attorneys:

"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever
you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often the real
loser--in fees, expenses and waste of time. As a peacemaker a lawyer has
a superior opportunity of becoming a good man. There will always be
enough business. Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be
found than one who does this. Who can be more nearly a fiend than he who
habitually overhauls the register of deeds in search of defects in
titles whereon to stir up strife and put money in his pocket. A moral
tone ought to be infused into the profession which should drive such men
out of it."

YOUNG LAWYER LINCOLN OFFERS