Lincoln law practice video offers 4.0 PMCLE credits

The next presentation of the ISBA Law Ed seminar, “Lessons in Professional Responsibility Learned from the Illinois Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln,” is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 7, at the Illinois State University Alumni Center in Normal.

The Master Series video seminar also will be conducted from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Friday, June 5, at the Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale, and on Friday, June 26, during the ISBA Annual Meeting at the Abbey Resort in Lake Geneva Wisconsin.The productions, based on Lincoln’s practical advice about being an honorable and successful lawyer, are accredited for 4.0 hours of MCLE, including 4.0 hours of Professionalism MCLE.

Lincoln portrayer Joe Woodard performs in a script based on research by John Lupton, associate director of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project.

Topics include reverence for the law, conflicts of interest, solicitation, fees and retainer agreements, pro bono work, selling a law practice, and managing client concerns and expectations.

Also covered are the lawyer as an advocate, the lawyer as a peacemaker, and the lawyer’s duties to the court such as avoiding over-zealous advocacy and frivolous lawsuits.

Several ISBA officials and other members have roles in the video. The moderator for the May 7 program is Bloomington attorney Guy C. Fraker, a Lincoln scholar.