In 1857, Abraham Lincoln was the defense attorney for Melissa Goings, who was charged with the murder of her husband, Roswell Goings—a 77-year-old man with a reputation for heavy drinking and spousal abuse. The abuse led to a tragic ending when, according to Melissa, Roswell tried to strangle her and she defended herself by striking him with a piece of firewood. Roswell died of the resulting skull fracture four days later. On the first day of trial, Lincoln conferred with Melissa during a break, but when court resumed, Melissa was nowhere to be found—and was never seen again in Metamora. When asked if he knew anything about her absence, Lincoln allegedly quipped that “she wanted to know where she could get a good drink of water and I told her there was mighty good water in Tennessee!” Don’t miss this full-day seminar from 8:45 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6 that examines the Melissa Goings case in the very courthouse where Lincoln was present.

Join us online from noon until 1 p.m. on June 25 to learn about the risks and benefits of using PDF files.

PDFs have become the file format of choice when trading documents with other lawyers and clients. Many courts now require that all pleadings be filed as PDFs, and most governmental forms are available exclusively in PDF format.

Back by popular demand! Don’t miss the 7th Annual Minority Bar CLE Conference that offers you guidance and information in a number of practice areas. Enhance your knowledge on an array of key issues, including: diversity in the judiciary; thriving as a solo practitioner; advancement of minority female litigators; voting rights and recent legal developments; technology and the law; the challenges of protecting intellectual property in China; and immigration law hot topics.

Don’t miss this in-depth review of the basic technology tools that lawyers use every day! Join us June 20 in Chicago or via live webcast for this full-day seminar that addresses the technology tools that lawyers use on a daily basis, particularly the core Microsoft Office applications, PDF files, cloud applications, and the ethics of technology. Any attorney who uses Microsoft and PDF technology, has concerns about the using cloud-based applications, or needs information on legal technology ethics issues who attends this program will better understand: the essentials of Microsoft Word – from page numbering to metadata; the basics and benefits of document assembly software; uses, risks, and benefits of PDF files; what cloud technology means and how it works; how to get the most out of Microsoft Outlook to efficiently manage email; the intersection of ethics and technology, and how to best interpret the standard of “reasonability” under the Rules of Professional Conduct; and why PowerPoint and Excel may be two of the most useful Microsoft Office suite applications.