Lincoln was once associate counsel for a defendant in a murder case.
He listened to the testimony given by witness after witness against his
client, until his honest heart could stand it no longer; then, turning
to his associate, he said: “The man is guilty; you defend him--I can’t,”
and when his associate secured a verdict of acquittal, Lincoln refused
to share the fee to the extent of one cent.
Lincoln would never advise clients to enter into unwise or unjust
lawsuits, always preferring to refuse a retainer rather than be a party
to a case which did not commend itself to his sense of justice.