Lincoln took on many different cases before the Illinois Supreme Court, but argued only one before the U.S. Supreme Court. He had no legal education, and passed the bar exam by judge, not by writted examination. That's how he got a law license.
Abraham Lincoln enjoyed a successful legal career in Illinois spanning nearly 25 years. Like most lawyers of his time, he did not attend law school. It was customary to study under established lawyers, but he lived in a rural village and taught himself. In 1834 John T.
Lincoln's law practices handled more than 5,000 cases, both criminal and civil. He took on a wide range of cases, including property disputes, assault, and murder, and he frequently served as a railroad attorney.
1836Abraham Lincoln learned the law by borrowing books and training informally with practicing lawyers. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836 and practiced law there for 25 years.
Of the 46 US presidents, 27 worked as lawyers, including current president Joe Biden, but not all of them have actually earned law degrees.
How did Abraham Lincoln become a lawyer? Lincoln went to law school in Illinois to prepare for his debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln taught himself how to practice law to prepare for his debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln went to law school in the East while serving in the Illinois state legislature.
He earned a reputation for honesty while working the circuit as a lawyer. As Richard Carwardine writes in his Lincoln biography, “The nickname 'honest Abe' was not the fabrication of party publicists but a mark of the universal respect in which he was held as a lawyer of scrupulous honesty.
"If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get books, sit down anywhere, and go to reading for yourself. That will make a lawyer of you quicker than any other way." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P.