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MEDIA REVIEWS An Honest Calling: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln
Reviewed by James W. Paulsen There are at least three good reasons why readers of The Houston Lawyer should buy An Honest Calling: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: (1) it is an ideal choice for that blank space on the coffee table in the client waiting area, (2) it actually is worth reading, and (3) the author is one of our own. Taking the reasons in reverse order, An Honest Calling is a product of the Houston Bar, even if it is published by the Northern Illinois University Press. The author, Professor Mark E. Steiner, is a Houston native and University of Houston law graduate who teaches at the South Texas College of Law. (This reviewer also teaches at South Texas and is mentioned in the acknowledgments, which might lessen the credibility of the “buy it now” recommendation if the book were not winning so many awards. More on that in a moment.) An Honest Calling examines Lincoln’s quarter-century as a practicing attorney in Illinois. It is not the first (actually, not even the tenth) book on Lincoln as a lawyer. But it is the best. Writing about any lawyer is a tricky business that sometimes sparks academic cat fights. Professional historians deride shallow “law office” biographies, elegies on lawyers written by other lawyers. Practicing attorneys can spot elementary mistakes made by academic types who know a lot about the theory of “doing history,” but nothing about courtroom dynamics or law office economics. An Honest Calling bridges the academic divide. So does its author. Mark Steiner paid his dues in law practice before moving into teaching, and he earned a Ph.D in history from the University of Houston along the way. Steiner also took a year off teaching to work with the Lincoln Legal Papers project in Illinois, a mammoth effort to gather in one spot the scattered and mostly unread courthouse records on more than 5,600 cases in which Lincoln was involved. In retrospect, it would be a little surprising if Professor Steiner had not managed to write what the Journal of Illinois History says is the best book ever done on Lincoln’s legal career. Reviews to date are uniformly favorable. North & South calls the book “remarkable.” A professor at the University of Pittsburgh calls it as “a major step forward” in Lincoln research; another hails it as “insightful, convincingly argued, solidly researched.” The director of Civil War Studies at Gettysburg College says reading the book is “like turning on the lights in what had previously been a dim and unsorted storehouse.” An Honest Calling has been named to a “top 200” list of books on the Civil War. That may not sound like much until one considers how many thousand books have been written about the Civil War, and that Steiner’s book actually stops before the Civil War begins. The book also has received the Illinois State Historical Society’s award for superior achievement, and the American Library Association has named it to their “Best of the Best” short list for academic press publications. An Honest Calling is immensely readable, from tidbits like Lincoln’s habit of stowing correspondence in his stovepipe hat (and on at least one occasion mislaying that correspondence when buying a new hat), to more serious matters. In this reviewer’s second favorite chapter, Professor Steiner takes on a case that has bedeviled Lincoln biographers for years — In the Matter of Jane, A Woman of Color. At the risk of doing violence to Steiner’s closely reasoned analysis, he answers the conundrum of how a committed antislavery attorney like Abraham Lincoln could represent a slaveholder who was trying to re-enslave a servant who had traveled to the free soil of Illinois with two simple observations. First, Lincoln subscribed to a “Whiggish” view of legal ethics, that everyone — whether right or wrong on the merits — deserves a good attorney. Second, even Lincoln had bills to pay. He could not always pick his clients. This reviewer’s favorite chapter, one that overviews the sheer variety of cases that Lincoln handled at some point in his career, should give hope to every struggling young attorney waiting for that break into “big time” litigation. However, concern that this review might fall into the hands of small children counsels against saying more, especially anything about pages 87-91. People back then took the requirement that slander be pled with specificity very seriously. (How’s that for helping Professor Steiner sell a few books?) Finally, there’s the question why An Honest Calling should qualify as a waiting room fixture, as well as commanding a place on the thoughtful attorney’s bookshelf. Most Americans today hold lawyers in low esteem. Even many lawyers question their vocation. There is value to a tangible reminder that “Honest Abe” Lincoln, possibly the most beloved and respected figure in our nation’s history, was a lawyer for five times as long as he was President. The book’s title and dust jacket — which features a full length portrait of Lincoln dressed as for court, papers in hand — make that point forcefully. An Honest Calling also begins with a quotation from Abraham Lincoln. That advice from Lincoln to prospective lawyers, which evidently inspire the book’s title, is a fitting way to end this review: There is a vague popular belief that lawyers are necessarily dishonest. I say vague, because when we consider to what extent confidence, and honors are reposed in, and conferred upon lawyers by the people, it appears improbable that their impression of dishonesty, is very distinct and vivid. Yet the expression is common — almost universal. Let no man, choosing the law for a calling, for a moment yield to the popular belief. Resolve to be honest at all events and if, in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation rather than one in the choosing of which you do, in advance, consent to be a knave. Professor James W. Paulsen teaches at the South Texas College of Law. He is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.
Indefensible By David Feige Indefensible is David Feige’s account of a single day in his former life as a Bronx public defender. For seven years, Feige (now making frequent appearances on Court TV and various cable news channels) was the Trial Chief of the Bronx Defenders. To be quite frank, it took me a half-dozen false starts before I finally turned over my mental engine and engaged in the reading of David Feige’s rookie entry into the publishing world. My hesitancy was a result of not knowing if a 274-page account of a single day could retain my interest. After all, other than the popular TV series 24, how much detail can anyone stand of an account of a single day? But Feige intersperses his single-day account with various recollections from different periods in his career, such that the book ends up being more than just the account of the single day. The single day is merely the thread that ties together the various recollections. Some reading the book may believe that Feige is too honest about the criminal justice system in which he practices. Furthermore, while his account of the criminal justice system in the South Bronx may have some themes that are universal to the criminal justice system everywhere, including Houston, the story is decidedly New York through and through, and the book must be read in light of the environment in which it takes place. Whether it’s a tale of the projects, the subways, the different boroughs, or the New York City attitude, the fact that this true account takes place in New York City makes the book interesting, as much as the individual stories Feige’s fast-paced account and recollections form a well-written narrative. The “characters” are real and vividly described, along with the action. Feige is brutally honest about his clients, the prosecutors, judges, and court officers he interacted with on a daily basis. It seems that the criminal justice system keeps moving forward regardless of the costs. We end up empathizing with a myriad of criminals, not because they are innocent but rather because the overbearing criminal justice system brings more damage than what may be called for in any given case. The reader is mesmerized by the sheer weight of one man’s struggle against the system on behalf of his clients. Professors of criminal law throughout the United States have begun to make Indefensible required reading. Law students and readers alike must understand that Feige is a public defender, so it would be interesting to know what prosecutors have to say about the book. One anonymous law student had this to say on a blog: “My crim law class gave me no sense of the power differential between prosecutors and defenders that is a constant theme of Feige’s work. Things like ‘charging decisions,’ summonses, and the total chaos of overscheduled courtrooms just never got discussed. Yet another example of how law school doesn’t really prepare students to practice law.” See March 8, 2007 post at Concurring Opinions blog (www.concurringopinions.com). Benjamin K. Sanchez is a principal in The Sanchez Law Firm. He is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.
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