ends up doing this a couple of more times for others
who need the same service.
while serving as president, our greatest president,
during our nation’s most difficult crisis.
Next, he runs into some legal trouble. Two brothers
living in Kentucky on the other side of the river operate a ferryboat—they are licensed to take people
across the Ohio River, from Kentucky to Ohio and
back. These brothers take out a warrant, believing
this young man is violating a Kentucky statute that
requires ferryboat operators to be licensed.
As members of the Atlanta Bar Association, we know
that it provides, in all sorts of ways, meaningful opportunities for attorneys to grow and learn. Plenty
of us have had formative experiences through the
Atlanta Bar that have shaped us and helped direct our
careers. Often, if not always, those experiences start
with an invitation for a colleague.
So there is a lawsuit. The lawsuit is The Commonwealth
of Kentucky v. Abraham Lincoln.
So why not think of how WE, THE MEMBERS might
reach out to other attorneys and show them what the
Bar can do?
A judge—a justice of the peace back then—hears the
case. The Kentucky statute prohibits boat operators
from carrying persons across the river without a license. The penalty for violating this statute is a fine,
and if you are unable to pay, then prison.
Reading the statute closely, the judge rules that the
defendant has not violated the law because he is not
carrying passengers across the river, but instead only
out to the middle. This was Abraham Lincoln’s first
ever exposure to the law – a dispute, a good judge, careful examination of the law. Not guilty, as it turned out.
It is reasonable to conclude that this experience influenced Lincoln’s career choice. Whether it actually
did, we can never really know. But we do know for
certain that Abraham Lincoln spent 25 years practicing law as a trial attorney. During these years, he was
developing the skills he would constantly call upon
The Bar’s new 2 FOR 2 program is designed to encourage participation and membership growth. How so?
By asking all of us to invite another attorney to any
Atlanta Bar event – and then to do this again during the
year with either the same person or another attorney.
Two invitations during the course of the year. That is
2 FOR 2. Will you do it? I hope so, and the Bar hopes
so. Look for details this fall—including information
about prizes—at atlantabar.org.
And if you have ideas about how to promote 2 FOR
2, please let me hear from you! The more input, the
better. Have a great summer and see you this fall.
James D. Blitch IV
President, Atlanta Bar Association
CLICK TO SEE complete
program description
& how to enter
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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