2009 will mark the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, regarded by many as our nations' greatest and most eloquent president.  Lincoln, who devoted much of his adult life to the practice of law, was the quintessential American lawyer-president.  His background in the law informed both his actions and his oratory.

In his Gettysburg Address of 1863, Lincoln articulated his vision of American constitutional union, to be forged in the crucible of a "great civil war" and tested by the shared anguish of national sacrifice.  For Lincoln, this vision begins--fourscore and seven years before--with the Declaration of Independence.  The Declaration marks the origins of "a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

For Law Day 2009, all Americans are encouraged to commemorate Lincoln by exploring this rich and resonant theme - A Legacy of Liberty.

To learn more, visit www.lawday.com.

Source: American Bar Association (ABA) Division of Public Education