I never realized I had anything in common with Abraham Lincoln until I re-watched a movie about the president’s early life as a trial attorney. Yes, Honest Abe served as a lawyer who once worked for the railroads as well as those charged with criminal offenses.

Henry Fondaplayed a young Abe Lincoln in a classic movie on Turner Classic Movies in which the Springfield, Illinois,former rail-splitter pulled a stunt in a courtroom convince a jury that his client not guilty of murder. A young man for whom Lincoln represented pro bono was charged with killing a man at night in a wooded area.