WHAT LAWYERS CAN LEARN ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND

PROFESSIONALISM FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN

CLE Credit: 1.0 ethics Wednesday, June 17, 2015

2:25 p.m. - 3:25 p.m. Thoroughbred 1-3

Lexington Convention Center Lexington, Kentucky

A NOTE CONCERNING THE PROGRAM MATERIALS

The materials included in this Kentucky Bar Association Continuing Legal Education handbook are intended to provide current and accurate information about the subject matter covered. No representation or warranty is made concerning the application of the legal or other principles discussed by the instructors to any specific fact situation, nor is any prediction made concerning how any particular judge or jury will interpret or apply such principles. The proper interpretation or application of the principles discussed is a matter for the considered judgment of the individual legal practitioner. The faculty and staff of this Kentucky Bar Association CLE program disclaim liability therefore. Attorneys using these materials, or information otherwise conveyed during the program, in dealing with a specific legal matter have a duty to research original and current sources of authority.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS The Presenter .................................................................................................................. i What Lawyers Can Learn from Lincoln about Professionalism and Communication .............................................................................. 1 Notes for a Lecture on Law ............................................................................................. 7 The Ultimate Role Model – What Lawyers Can Learn from Lincoln ................................. 9 What Abraham Lincoln Can Teach Us .......................................................................... 15 Lessons for Leaders from Lincoln .................................................................................. 17

THE PRESENTER

Talmage Boston Winstead PC

500 Winstead Building 2728 North Harwood Street

Dallas, Texas 75201 (214) 745-5462

tboston@winstead.com TALMAGE BOSTON has been a member of Winstead's litigation practice since 1997. His practice involves all aspects of dispute resolution in commercial transactions. With more than thirty-four years of business litigation experience in Dallas, Mr. Boston has tried jury cases and argued appeals all over Texas in both state and federal courts. He is board certified in both Civil Trial Law and Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Boston served as the 2003-2004 Chairman of the Litigation Section for the State Bar of Texas and as the 2004-2005 Chairman of the Council of Chairs for the State Bar. For his leadership activities, he received a State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation Award every year from 2005-2011. In June 2011, he completed his three-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas. He is also a past Chairperson of the Business Litigation Section of the Dallas Bar Association. Since joining Winstead, Mr. Boston has been one of the most sought-after seminar speakers at State Bar and Dallas Bar Association litigation seminars, speaking on the following topics: summary judgment practice, "Dos and Don'ts in the Courtroom," arbitration, and a wide variety of litigation ethics topics. He has also been a featured speaker at the ABA Annual Meeting 2012-2014, and at the State Bar Conventions of Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Kentucky. Mr. Boston’s latest book, Raising the Bar: The Crucial Role of the Lawyer in Society (Texas Bar Books 2012), was published in February 2012.

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WHAT LAWYERS CAN LEARN FROM LINCOLN ABOUT PROFESSIONALISM AND COMMUNICATION

Talmage Boston I. SPECIFICS ON LINCOLN THE LAWYER- A SUMMARY

A. What Made Abraham Lincoln Want to Become a Lawyer?

And in particular, since the "real lawyers" of his era were trial lawyers, what made him want to become a trial lawyer?

1. The drama and competition of litigation – Abraham Lincoln knew

the drama of trials from a young age. In his twenty-five-year career as a trial lawyer, he and his partners took 1,000 cases to verdict. That's an average of more than three jury trials a month.

2. The law allowed him to maximize his strengths - reading, writing,

speaking, and problem solving - people enjoy doing what they have to do and are good at. He was a man consumed with language and empowered by the force of integrity.

3. The law offered him the prospect of providing economic security -

though he had no desire to chase ambulances. Lincoln’s financial background prior to entering the law:

a. A man born in serious poverty. b. A man who nearly went broke running a store. c. A man who detested farming and manual labor.

4. The law opened the door to politics, where his real ambition lay,

as in those days most politicians started out as lawyers because nothing could train someone for a career in politics like a career in law.

a. The capacity to construct a tight legal argument prepared

him for constructing a tight political argument. b. The capacity to draw up a tight brief prepared him for

drawing up a tight statute. c. The capacity to articulate a constitutional basis for his legal

positions prepared him for having a constitutional basis for his political decisions.

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d. The capacity to fully investigate and research his legal cases prepared him for making sure he had the facts on his side in his political campaign.

e. The capacity to ask questions as a skilled litigator served

him well in politics. f. The capacity to utilize perfect timing in seizing initiatives in

law prepared him for doing the same in political office.

B. What Kind of Trial Lawyer Was Abraham Lincoln?

1. One with a bent towards resolution - he favored settlements over trials.

2. Nevertheless, he recognized that some disputes had to be "tried

by war." And when in battle, there can be no timidity.

3. He was versatile – handled all kinds of cases – trials and appeals.

4. He was gritty; not flashy.

a. Handled 5,000 cases over twenty-five years; "The way to succeed? Work, work, work is the main thing."

b. Took on clients who weren't saints; c. Advertised; d. Had to beat on clients to get paid; e. Rode the circuit; f. Was abrupt and frank in conversations (some might call it

laconic or terse); g. Acknowledged and could deal with the law's drudgery; h. Was a full-time lawyer; with no entrepreneurial bent.

5. He was good enough to generate repeat business from corporate

clients. 6. He was honest - didn't play fast and loose with facts; and didn't

misstate opponents' arguments. He had zero tolerance for anything deceptive.

7. He had the common touch with juries - "shoot down low, and the

common people will understand you."

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8. He saw his job as being the "grease" which could reduce friction - i.e., it is grease that allows the movement of a machine without malfunction.

II. LINCOLN'S ADVICE TO YOUNG LAWYERS

A. Diligence: Leave Nothing for Tomorrow Which Can Be Done Today

Never let your correspondence fall behind. Whatever piece of business you have in hand, before stopping, do all the labor pertaining to it which can be done.

B. Extemporaneous Speaking Should Be Practiced and Cultivated

It is the lawyer's avenue to the public. But don't become so enamored of speech-making that you claim an exemption from the drudgery of the law.

C. Discourage Litigation

Persuade neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out that the nominal winner is often a loser - in fees, expenses, and waste of time. By being a peacemaker, the lawyer becomes a better man. There will still be business enough.

D. Never Stir up Litigation

Don't create lawsuits where they don't currently exist.

E. The Matter of Fees

An exorbitant fee should never be claimed, and don't take your whole fee in advance, nor any more than a small retainer; because if you do, you will lack interest in the case, and therefore will lack skill and diligence in performance.

F. Resolve to Be Honest at All Events

III. ABE'S WALK MATCHING HIS TALK

A. Diligence

1. Worked long hours; 2. Rode the Illinois circuit to stay busy; 3. Took work as it came in the door, even if it meant being on both

sides of an issue;

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4. Knew all authorities that impacted his case; and 5. Prepared to the fullest, particularly when time permitted.

B. Extemporaneous Speaking Cultivation

1. Began practicing as a child; 2. Politics and public lecturing honed his skills; and 3. Never became enamored of his own voice.

C. Discourage Litigation

1. When facts or law aren't on your side - settle quickly! 2. Filed no lawsuits unless he believed facts and law were on his

side; and 3. Believed in and encouraged workouts and payouts in debtor-

creditor cases.

D. Never Stir Up Litigation

1. No generating lawsuits on your own; and 2. Okay to market yourself, but don't create lawsuits.

E. The Matter of Fees

1. Don't gouge or overcharge; 2. Structure the fee to stay motivated and incentivized; and 3. When client defaults, perfectly fine for a lawyer to sue to collect

his fees.

F. Be Honest

1. That means intellectually honest in presenting your case; 2. Be forthright in all dealings - do and say nothing that's misleading

or deceptive - your reputation is EVERYTHING; and 3. Be fair, high-toned, and honorable.

IV. LINCOLN THE COMMUNICATOR- A SUMMARY

A. He Had an Acute Sense of Audience, Which Allowed Him to Empathize with Them, Touch Their Hearts, and Change Their Minds

1. Had down-home, common folk touch with juries;

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2. Cooper Union: evidentiary argument, a brief so airtight it would convince an intellectually-demanding audience;

3. Emancipation Proclamation - a purely legal document that could

withstand Supreme Court challenge; 4. Major speeches - full blown elegance with poetic language.

B. Made No Misrepresentations or Overstatements - Sincere Intellectual Honesty

Accurately stated opponents' arguments (in court and in Lincoln-

Douglas Debates.)

C. Used Wit, but with Calculated Restraint D. Clarity Was King - Marked by Tight Sentences that Flowed from a

Thoroughly Prepared Mind

His words were like a perfectly focused camera image; like looking through 100 feet of clear water; marked by transparent honesty.

E. Always Concise; Never Verbose F. Used No Emotional Exhortation

Preferred straightforward reason and viselike logic to emotion; and preferred responding to reacting.

G. Communicated Only after Thorough Preparation (Avoided Spontaneity

Wherever Possible) –

First draft was written in solitude after exhaustive research; then heavy editing by Lincoln; then received input from others; then completed final draft.

H. No Personal Attacks and Was Always Empathetic of Others' Positions I. Kept the Main Point as the Main Point; No Detours or Distractions

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NOTES FOR A LECTURE ON LAW Abraham Lincoln

Reprinted with permission from Texas Bar Journal, February 2009. Abraham Lincoln prepared the following remarks presumably as part of a lecture to young lawyers just starting out in practice. The date of the draft is uncertain. Historians and archivists speculate it was composed during the 1850s. I am not an accomplished lawyer – I find quite as much material for a lecture, in those points wherein I have failed, as in those wherein I have been moderately successful– The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for to-morrow, which can be done to-day– Never let your correspondence fall behind– Whatever piece of business you have in hand, before stopping, do all the labor pertaining to it, which can then be done– When you bring a common-law suit, if you have the facts for doing so, write the declaration at once– If a law point be involved, examine the books, and note the authority you rely on, upon the declaration itself, where you are sure to find it when wanted– The same of defences and pleas– In business not likely to be litigated – ordinary collection cases, foreclosures, partitions, and the like, – make all examinations of titles and note them, and even draft orders and decrees in advance–This course has a tripple advantage; it avoids omissions and neglect, saves you labor, whenever done; performs the labor out of court when you have leisure, rather than in court, when you have not– Extemporaneous speaking should be practiced and cultivated– It is the lawyer's avenue to the public– However able and faithful he may be in other respects, people are slow to bring him business, if he can not make a speech– And yet there is not a more fatal error to young lawyers, than relying too much on speech-making– If any one, upon his rare powers of speaking, shall claim an exemption from the drudgery of the law, his case is a failure in advance Never encourage Discourage litigation– Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can– Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser, in fees, expenses, and waste of time– As a peace-maker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man– There will still be business enough– Never [stir?] stir up litigation– A worse man can scarcely be conceived of 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– The matter of fees is important far beyond the mere question of bread and butter involved– Properly attended to fuller justice is done to both lawyer and client– An exorbitant fee should never be claimed– As a general rule, never take your whole fee in advance, nor any more than a small retainer-- When fully paid before hand, you are more than a common mortal if you can feel the same interest in the case, as if something was still in prospect for you, as well as for your client– And when you lack Interest in the case, the job will very likely lack skill and diligence in the performance– Settle the amount of fee, and take a note in advance– Then you will feel that you are

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working for something, and you are sure to do your work faithfuly and well. Never sell a fee-note – at least, not before the consideration service is performed– It leads to negligence and dishonesty– negligence, by losing interest in the case, and dishonesty in refusing to refund, when you have allowed the consideration to fail– 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 young man, choosing the law for a calling, for a moment yield to this popular belief– Resolve to be honest at all events; and if, in your own judgment, you can not 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–

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THE ULTIMATE ROLE MODEL WHAT LAWYERS CAN LEARN FROM LINCOLN

Talmage Boston Reprinted with permission from Texas Bar Journal, February 2009.

On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born into poverty, the son of a mother who would die before he turned ten and an illiterate father from whom he would become estranged. Despite Lincoln's starting out life under such foreboding circumstances, his country, 200 years later, is celebrating the man historians generally recognize as the greatest president in U.S. history. The State Bar of Texas is joining in the Lincoln bicentennial festivities, preparing this special issue of the Texas Bar Journal; co-sponsoring a luncheon in Dallas on Lincoln's birthday featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson1; and lining up another Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, to speak at the State Bar Annual Meeting in Dallas on June 26. For non-"Lincolnphiles" who have a hard time remembering the basics of our 16th president's life, this essay provides an overview of the lawyer-turned-statesman and builds the case that Lincoln is the ultimate role model for our profession. From reading and synthesizing six acclaimed recent biographies of Lincoln,2 four essential characteristics stand out. 1. BRILLIANCE: Lincoln had astounding powers of concentration, comprehension, open-mindedness, discernment, and communication. As a boy, Lincoln read every book he could get his hands on. Although the quantity of books available to him in rural Kentucky and Indiana was limited, the quality was high – the King James Bible, Aesop's Fables, Shakespeare's plays, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Lincoln read these timeless masterpieces over and over, memorizing long passages that would form the foundation for his eloquence. Lincoln's desire to learn and master arcane material was not a boyhood phenomenon; it lasted throughout his life. Over the course of his adult years, he mastered topics ranging from law to Euclidean geometry to military strategy to foreign policy to the verses of leading poets.

1 The State Bar of Texas is sponsoring the Lincoln bicentennial luncheon with the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, the SMU Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, the Dallas Public Library, Winstead P.C., and PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2 1) Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief by James McPherson (Penguin Press 2008); 2) Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon & Schuster 2005); 3) Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan (HarperCollins 2008); 4) Lincoln's Virtues: An Ethical Biography by William Lee Miller (Knopf 2002); 5) President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman by William Lee Miller (Knopf 2008); and 6) Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness by Joshua Wolf Shenk (Houghton Mifflin 2005).

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Consistent with his lifelong obsession with reading, Lincoln, as a lawyer and politician, earned a reputation for thoroughly researching and considering all sides of an issue before forming a final opinion. Moreover, he developed that opinion only after extended time in solitude. He didn't delegate his critical thinking to advisers. Doris Kearns Goodwin quotes Lincoln's secretary, John Nicolay, on how the president would "resort to the process of cumulative thought, reducing complex ideas to paragraphs and sentences, and then days or weeks later would return to the same passage and polish it further to elaborate or to conclude his point or argument." This approach is best evidenced by the Gettysburg Address, which reflected Lincoln's "intense focus on his chosen theme for nearly a decade." Because of the deep thinking that went into reaching a conclusion, Lincoln held fast to his convictions. Biographer William Lee Miller relates an exchange between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who had described the president's position on slavery as "slow and vacillating":

I make no objection to slow, but vacillating is another matter. Mr. Douglass, that charge cannot be sustained. I think it cannot be shown that when I have once taken a position, I have ever retreated from it.

The political theorist Hans Morgenthau observed:

Lincoln's sheer brainpower must have exceeded that of all other presidents, Jefferson included. The manifestations are the more astounding, as Lincoln's mind was virtually untrained by his sporadic formal elementary schooling that amounted altogether to about one year. His extraordinary intelligence revealed itself in philosophic understanding of public issues, in a judicious concern with politically relevant detail, in a mastery of political manipulation, and in military judgment.

2. SELF-CONTROL: Lincoln maintained clean living habits and high integrity. Although most of his contemporaries used tobacco, imbibed alcohol, conversed with profanity, and gambled, Lincoln never engaged in such vices. According to biographer Fred Kaplan, Lincoln refused to take part in these activities because they reflected "those aspects of human nature that prevent the triumph of reason and moral vision." Lincoln also declined to participate in the most popular recreational activities of his era –hunting and fishing. Aside from time spent socializing with friends, Lincoln used his free time for one thing and one thing only: to read. According to Kaplan, "[L]earning gave Lincoln an intellectual high, to such an extent that he often read aloud, enunciating words in the theater of his own head." Lincoln maintained integrity throughout his lifetime, receiving his nickname, "Honest Abe," the old-fashioned way – he earned it. As a twenty-three-year-old in Indiana, Lincoln became the part-owner of a small-town country store that went out of business, leaving him with creditors and no apparent way to repay them. Over the next decade, as Lincoln pursued a new career as a lawyer, he scrimped and made personal sacrifices to ensure that he could repay his creditors 100 cents on the dollar, even though they had not pressed him to make them whole. As a lawyer and a politician, Lincoln's integrity continued to prevail. He insisted on presenting only intellectually honest arguments, knowing that shading the truth would prove counter-productive to establishing his position.

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3. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Lincoln had an aptitude for dealing with peers effectively. Lincoln's surge toward greatness was fueled, in part, by what modern psychologists call "emotional intelligence." Daniel Goleman defines the term as the capacity to maintain 1) self-awareness; 2) control of one's emotions and impulses amidst changing circumstances; 3) self-motivation; 4) empathy toward others' emotions; and 5) harmonious relationships, even when peers are in conflict. To maintain emotional intelligence on a daily basis requires bona fide self-control and tact. To maintain it while serving as commander-in-chief during a civil war, attending to an increasingly unstable wife, and grieving over the death of one's child required astounding self-awareness, emotional control, and the capacity to harmonize disparate factions. Lincoln's ability to remain steady while leading the country through turbulence is evidenced by the following: Regardless of blunders that set back the Union cause during the Civil War,

Lincoln did not engage in blaming, denigrating, or fault-finding. Occasionally, he would write letters venting his feelings about generals who had let him down, but he did not mail them.

At the outset of Lincoln's presidency, those with more education and political

experience would level insults at him, perceiving that someone so unsophisticated and inexperienced could not possibly be up to the job. Lincoln refused to take the bait and retaliate, or even hold a grudge, because "the issues we face are too vast for malicious dealings."

In the face of constant criticism and genuine fear of losing the American republic,

Lincoln remained stoic and did not panic. Aware of the power of words, the president insisted that his public and private messages were concise, dear, apt, logical, and carefully edited. Misunderstandings from ambiguous communications had to be avoided during such a critical time.

Despite holding the powerful office of president, Lincoln's ego remained in check.

Only lesser men acted arrogantly or self-righteously. 4. SENSE OF PURPOSE: Lincoln wanted to make a difference in the world. When the French writer Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in the early 1800s, he concluded that Americans had a heightened sense of ambition, "a longing to rise ... with a thirst for distinction." Lincoln, unlike his father, had no desire to work with his hands. Rather, he aspired to make a living and gain distinction by utilizing his mind. Kaplan frequently describes Lincoln as an autodidact, a person who is self-taught and self-educated. A clever lexicographer might place a photograph of Lincoln next to that word. It is difficult to imagine anyone teaching himself more than our 16th president did. Imagine learning the law with no instructor and to reach a level of proficiency to not only be admitted to the bar, but to try major lawsuits and argue appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Imagine mastering military history and battle tactics in a quiet room at the Library of Congress so that you remain several steps ahead of generals who

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graduated from West Point. Imagine having such command of the Bible and Shakespeare that you can quote the most appropriate passages at the most opportune times, in court or on the political stage. Abraham Lincoln pushed himself and rose to do all of these things, on his own, without mentoring from parents, teachers, colleagues, or superiors. Lincoln's self-education provided the foundation for his continual rise. Miller explains:

Lincoln developed rare powers of concentration and he would use them all his life. He developed a confidence that he could dig in books for what he wanted ... and that confidence in his powers of understanding what was written on the page seems to have encouraged a broader self-confidence, in his judgment and his critical powers – let us call it a moral self-confidence.

When Lincoln learned of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he was thunderstruck by its divisive, pro-slavery effect and refused to rest until he had done everything in his power to nullify it. Lincoln's debates with Stephen A. Douglas, in which Lincoln crusaded against the expansion of slavery, provided Lincoln with a national platform that helped him to emerge as the most persuasive and eloquent spokesperson on the era's most controversial issue. When Lincoln was elected president, Southern states started to secede from the Union. After the Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumter, Lincoln's highest purpose became to restore the United States to an indivisible nation, governed as a republic, by majority rule. Lincoln's resolve became such a personal crusade that if bringing about his desired, constitutionally mandated result required suspending the right to habeas corpus for a short time to prevent border state Maryland from having its infrastructure destroyed, then the president would do what it took, rationalizing the temporary infringement of constitutional rights: ''A part can't control the whole, to the destruction of the whole.... I will amputate a limb to save a life." As the war continued to rage, with no end in sight, Lincoln combined his two driving purposes – restoring the Union and ending slavery – by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863. The proclamation motivated and transformed the Union Army into a force fighting for liberation and facilitated the recruitment of African-American men into the Union Army. In his most recent book on Lincoln, Tried by War, McPherson addresses the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation on the country and its president:

The proclamation completed the transformation of Lincoln's policy and national strategy from a war for restoration of the old Union into a war to give the nation a new birth of freedom .... Upon executing the historic document, Lincoln told those in his inner circle, "I never in my life felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper. If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it."

Lincoln achieved the sense of purpose he had set for himself as a child and reiterated over the course of his life. McPherson then puts the significance of the incident into perspective:

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More than any other American, Lincoln's name has gone into history. He gave all Americans, indeed all people everywhere, reason to remember that he had lived.

CONCLUSION Doris Kearns Goodwin, in the final paragraph of her introduction to Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, provides an answer for why Lincoln should matter to us today:

After living with the subject of Abraham Lincoln for a decade, reading what he himself wrote and what hundreds of others have written about him, following the arc of his ambition, and assessing the inevitable mixture of human foibles and strengths that made up his temperament, after watching him deal with the terrible deprivations of his childhood, the deaths of his children, and the horror that engulfed the entire nation, I find that after nearly two centuries, the uniquely American story of Abraham Lincoln has unequalled power to captivate the imagination and to inspire emotion.

Happy 200th birthday, Abraham Lincoln! As lawyers, we are inspired by the brilliance, self-control, emotional intelligence, and sense of purpose you demonstrated throughout your life. You carried our nation through its most difficult challenge. We lift you up as the ultimate role model for our profession.

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WHAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN CAN TEACH US AS BICENTENNIAL OF LINCOLN'S BIRTH APPROACHES,

HISTORIAN REVEALS WHAT MADE LINCOLN A GREAT PRESIDENT Talmage Boston

Reprinted with permission from Dallas Business Journal, February 1, 2009. In this bicentennial year of Abraham Lincoln's birth, most Americans know that he grew up in a log cabin, had little formal education, was honest, trained himself to become a lawyer and lost many elections before becoming president. We know that he gave eloquent speeches, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, managed the Civil War to a successful conclusion for the Union and was assassinated shortly after the war ended. These are the bones of Lincoln's life. Those seeking to identify exactly what it was that led to this man's exalted status, so as to be able to plug in Lincoln's experience to today's challenges, naturally ask, "What exactly is the meat on these bones that made him the greatest president in American history?" Pulitzer Prize winning Civil War historian James McPherson addresses this question in his book, Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief (Penguin 2008), and on February 12 will come to Dallas and provide the answer in person for Lincoln's 200th birthday party luncheon to be held at the Crescent Court Hotel. McPherson's book identifies the following characteristics that allowed our 16th commander-in-chief to preserve the United States and eliminate slavery, presumably in hopes that the information will be useful to our newly inaugurated president and anyone else holding a leadership position: Do not delegate critical thinking and decision-making to subordinates, even if

they are specialists in a particular field. As president, Lincoln exhaustively schooled himself on military strategy so as to be in a position to direct the Union army, often in contravention of his underachieving West Point-educated military leaders. McPherson confirms the adage, "War is too important to be left to generals."

Never lose sight of the big picture. Upon taking office, Lincoln saw his ultimate

constitutional responsibility to be restoring the Union, doing what it took to bring back into the fold the southern states that had seceded, and making sure no additional states joined them. To keep the border states in tow, on occasion that required having insurrectionists arrested who were striving for the secession result, and then suspending their constitutionally guaranteed right to the writ of habeas corpus. "I will amputate a limb to save a life. ... A part can't control the whole to the destruction of the whole."

In addressing the enemy on disputed points, be nonnegotiable and willing to fight

for key principles. Certainly, the Civil War could have ended quicker if Lincoln had been willing to negotiate a peace that allowed the South to remain an independent nation. And after issuing the Emancipation Proclamation at the war's

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midpoint, he could have achieved a more expedited resolution if he had compromised on the issue of slavery. He told Congress in 1864, the Confederacy "can not voluntarily reaccept the Union; we can not voluntarily yield it. Between them and us the issue is distinct, simple and inflexible, and can only be tried by war and decided by victory." With that uncompromising approach, after winning the war, Lincoln achieved full restoration of the Union and the total elimination of slavery in the terms of the South's surrender.

Never lose sight of political realities. Though Lincoln was privately opposed to

the institution of slavery in the 1850s, had he campaigned as an abolitionist during his 1860 campaign, he would not have been elected president. And had he sought to eliminate it in the war's early years, the border states would have surely seceded and joined the Confederacy. He led the movement to end slavery only when he could present emancipation to his electorate as the best means for achieving a prompt and final means of winning the despised war because it gave his army a greater sense of purpose and allowed former slaves to join his troops at a time when mass reinforcements were needed.

Now, with these timeless meaty leadership lessons in the front of our brains, may we stop on February 12 and join McPherson for lunch (go to www.dfwworld.org for details) in honoring the man who, says McPherson, "more than any other American, gave all people everywhere, reason to remember that he lived." BOSTON is a director of the State Bar of Texas, the World Affairs Council of D/FW, and SMU's Maguire Center for Ethics; and a shareholder at Winstead PC.

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LESSONS FOR LEADERS FROM LINCOLN STEADFAST, WISE AND ELOQUENT, LINCOLN KNEW HOW TO CULTIVATE

RIVALS AND GAIN FROM DEFEAT Talmage Boston

Reprinted with permission from Dallas Business Journal, Feb 12, 2006 Great leaders come and go. Few endure untarnished under the microscope of the many biographies pouring out of publishers every decade, but Abe Lincoln (whose 197th birthday arrives Sunday) is one of those leaders. Doris Kearns Goodwin's new book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (Simon & Schuster 2005), provides further support for the historical consensus that our 16th president was America's greatest. During his forty-nine months in the White House, Lincoln had a son die from typhoid fever; stabilized an erratic wife; freed the slaves in the South with his Emancipation Proclamation; crafted the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address, the two most widely quoted speeches in American history; tamed the lions in his Cabinet, the Congress, and the Army; and masterminded victory in the Civil War. Team of Rivals identifies the seven principles behind Lincoln's success that could have come out of business leadership books authored by Tom Peters or Stephen Covey. Abraham Lincoln did what he did because he possessed the following talents: He mastered formal and metaphorical language. Despite limited education,

Lincoln home-schooled himself by reading and rereading the few books available to him on the frontier – the King James Bible, Shakespeare and Pilgrim's Progress – devouring each to the point of memorization. Having command of this great writing empowered him to wax eloquent with strong rhythmic language whenever speaking opportunities arose. His mastery of words, however, went beyond books. As a boy, he watched his illiterate father mesmerize neighbors around the fire telling stories, using humor and homespun metaphors that connected with country people. Young Abe would then retell the stories he'd heard the night before until satisfied they were as good as he could make them, and his skill as a funny and folksy raconteur enhanced his powers to persuade.

He had the self-confidence to consider conflicting ideas. Per the title, Goodwin's

focus is on how Lincoln chose his greatest rivals to serve in his Cabinet and then melded them into a powerful team. Recognizing their opinions differed from his, but also knowing his rivals were brilliant, the president wanted policies forged in the furnace of heated debate, testing his decisions well before they were implemented.

He used empathy as a double-barreled tool. Lincoln realized he could persuade

a man to accept his points only if he spoke to the man's heart. Once he located that button, the president not only could change the man's mind, but also forecast his next move. Thus, empathy became Abe's tool for both effective persuasion and strategizing.

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He gained from defeats. His abysmal track record in politics prior to the 1860 presidential election is well known. What was not well-known before Goodwin's book was how Lincoln broadened his constituency every time he ran for office because of his capacity to make friends with opponents and cultivate their supporters looking toward the next race.

He maintained steadfast purpose. Abraham Lincoln saw the big picture – the

Union must be preserved and slavery was inhumane. But he knew that to achieve his objectives for that big picture required time, compromise, and ever emerging tactics that kept forest and trees in perspective. His commitment to purpose never wavered, but actually became better synthesized over time through what his secretary John Nicolay described as "the process of cumulative thought," evidenced in the Gettysburg Address, the contents of which reflected Lincoln's "intense focus on his chosen theme for nearly a decade."

He had the patience to wait for perfect timing. Abe mastered the art of giving

adversaries enough rope to hang themselves, particularly with General McClellan and Treasury Secretary Chase, who both baited the President constantly and finally lost their positions without Lincoln's allowing clear insubordination to turn tempestuous. Goodwin also details instances where his vision maintained momentum because he refused to engage in premature struggles.

He had no use for antagonism. Lincoln never disparaged his opponents, never

sent angry letters and had amazing powers of forgiveness ("With malice toward none; with charity for all;..."), particularly toward the seceded states in the short time between the Civil War's end and his assassination.

Almost 100 years ago, Leo Tolstoy concluded that Lincoln's "supremacy expresses itself altogether in his moral power and the greatness of his character" – the kind of power and character that's relevant and instructive today in the pages of this magnificent new biography.

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