fees

Lincoln was an attorney, as everyone knows, and a fine one, as most do.  He was also a great man.  So to read his legal correspondence is really a delight.  He is so clear about where is own interests lie, and about what interests him, as a legal thinker, even as he keeps his clients' interests primary.  One lesson: it is false and foolish to act as if you are not interested in good fees and interesting cases.  It is better to frankly admit where your interests (financial and intellectual) lie, then go on to conduct business fairly, having equipped others to verify that you have done so. 

There are many advantages to this practice: First, modesty: a lawyer is a professional, but also in the business of getting business from businessmen, who will appreciate your not pretending to be above the fray.  Second, reputation: if you help people see where your interests lie, then you go on to act justly and evenly, regardless ofe your interests, they will find it easier to see your integrity, and esteem you for it.  Third, evident strength: stating your own interests plainly is the better part of standing up for yourself, and a lawyer who stands up for his own interests is the better choice to stand for the interests of his clients, too.  Last, opportunity: it will sometimes cost others nothing to advance your interests, even when you didn't know they could: if they are well-disposed, they will advance you in ways that you, not knowing all the circumstances, could not have arranged for yourself.