The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-12-30
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

| Umofe Law school, under The denotninA"o" " Wy
| Maryland Law Institute. This establishments oohF
uued In successful operation nearly eleven years has
ing received students from eleven OF The STATES, sno
| from two foreign countries Owing TO the piessus3
of extensive practice simultaneously WIN tne ou
ties which the Institution involved, resolved, IN tns
year 1886 abandon mol lly the practice Of my ever
and long cherished profession, but also The La" ins'
tuie; and for health and ease sought the more genial
climates OF Europe. Finding, al this time, my hrai'h
perfectly restored, and with no abatement whate'ef
Of my zeal and devotion that great Eeenee, which
in this country of all Others needs TO be nshoeaiy
and carefully studied-snd seeking, moreover INDUS
tous and continued occupation go essential 10 haPpr
IN land that knows oilers reso. ed 10 e-esa
blish the Law lnstuon-and have selected f'hia
deiphia Inc place of It's location. In 80 doing have
thought that city in the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposis OF the
Law Siuden--and that in can more worthy
| economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent app icatioDs made 10 me from dis
lance the former occasion, IN regard Ia the pare-
ulus Of my enterprise Induce me 10 anticipate similar
inquiries now--and, Ia meet all such In advance, ]
address this Circular, all that | can offer IN
exJlanalion and, probably as all that may be Iequf
site
The Institution, dedie aled alone to law studies,
and their cognaie and auxiliary TOPICS is spacious
and beautiful building, N. III South tith street,
suitable for the accommodation Of about sixty stu.
dents. The are all suitably fun shed supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
'cih preeedn Of practice IN every conceivable and APP
proved firm. Stud.n admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses Of study, and the re-
quise books supplied, exactly to ncel the
wants and views OF the student, according as he may
design TO practice his profession ethe IN the country,
in Of the maritime cities The laws of every
State IN the Union are in some degree dwelt upon
practice is constantly blended with MeGry--but the
deep and radical of parsnis well as Of students
Is carefully avoded-l aude to the tho erroneous no
ton thataw students are to be made mechanical
artisans attorneys learning practice by roe and
jealous OF book-knoutedge, ss being too heor eeai -
ms mischievons error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession and is gross mistake since
no practising attorney q, Of and lasting ne
who was not also deeply veIsed in the reasons and
theory of the law. | therefore cannot acauiesce in
and never will yield 10, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above heoTy-it is an unnatural
Inversion Of the established order Of naurea an lpno
rant and sioyenly way Of urging young men on 10 al
tempts far beyond the powers Of the human ind
FOR # he grounds and reasons of the science DC not
well known, the practice Cannot be well known
But the error, to which | 80 earnestly aliude, is
ou ded upoi another, which is equally false and mar
row, vz-that students learn the practice only in
practising taeyer's office On the conlr, nv, as gen
era rule, 1t IS The very last place in which he ever
does or can learn Inc pracliceand this be made
extremely manifest What is practice as distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single xample--and "a uno
disco omnes. The theory or law point says TO the
student, if A lends his watch, and sells it, OF re.
fuses 70 III, n may Dflng what called
ton Of Trover and Conversion. Now froper means
binding, and conversion means approprialing il to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law poin,s-vz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction, not all material or 10 be
proceed SECONDLY, that the conversion by the de-
iendan to his oicn consists in the mere WITHHOLD
ing the property from the plaintiff, although should
be ever so clearly proved that be in way useo the
property for himself OF for any purpose whatever but
TO withhold il from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learn, and good
deal more before the practice that practice
on the plaintiff par CON lists Of thorough knowledge
of he forms precfdens-and, the defendants part
ofihe like knowledge as TO the formula Of the pea-
reoinders &c. There are therefore books Of prece.
dents these books unfold every practical preceding
whatever, IN every action known to the iaw-pro
gressvey from the importation of the iur To the final
return upCn the erecta0n These tormui9 of wrts |
returns 10 wrlis-appeararc neutrality-suspicious. |
continuance '-impanneing of juries -lral-ex- |
ceptions-verdict-Judg ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of |
execuiion-or, on the other hand trial-lr ap- |
peal, SC, &c.-are all st, forth in the preced MS so
that, he who knows most Of precedeais knows most
of practice but still, these presidents cannot them
selves be understood without previous theoretical |
knowledge. The question: then resolves itself into this
Cannot law student be well GROUNDED in all the |
pecedens, lafo sensu, who never saw pr ac,isin
lawyers office And why not 2 On the contrary, /
cannot he learn far more OF practice by The JUDI |
cious and careful study of all The formula (which he
writing, rather copying, tho,e simple and occasion
al dec arat ons pleas &c, which the master # office
assigns to the STUDENT l. it not uniformly the C Sc
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort Is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing The eye Of the sudent-or, # it does only to me
chanicaliy copy Again Who can dist nguish be. |
tween real suit IN court, and fictitious one 10 which /
one student prepares the ~rt-another the return
another The declaraibn- some other the p ca &c |
until all the practical proceedings are zone through
And hat prevents these students making record q,
the whole, and then comparing all with c. rfed re-
cord fiom some court Of justce in like action An
this surely may be done Law nsiItutior-and far
tier-more quetll and with more time than in bus
offices here many precious hours often lost in
useless messaqes-,ong walk bng letters
copying Quot dertsing) d@lai ATOMS pleas replica.
uons, &c. so generally The sole workmanship o. the
mastr of The Office, and very seldom that OF III,
student confess that all this is TO my mind extreme
ly plain, and has ling isfed of he popular and
serious error which has placed young IN Offices |
where little either Theory ofprsctIce is learnt This
surely Is not always the case-but II is too often such
as,many depending students have found and as ohers
have been compelled TO confess, that they never |
learned much Of theory of practice until after heu
came 10 The bar but, at which tine It was found very
up hill aud srduous work, and sometimes not accom-
pshed even Though whole life N toll Doubtless
there many noble exceptions to he correctness of
these remarks bot still, | aver it as q fact that nv
experience has never made me acquainted With any
uo,,ng lnryer, who, IN candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-h0zard-apd that practice, any really val
liable and abiding extent, the last thing a student
can ever hope for IN practising lawyers flee
After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears IN all of the courts and devotion To the int
rests Of n,r Students during much OF that period il may
no, be much to soy that practice be lost
iph ofin this institution Ind that nothing but peeani-
cal narrorness Of legal education unworthy e, an en-
rhtened lawyer, could ever parohise even the inti-
nation that such Instr ution only adopted for
the ncuIcaton Of the science and not Of the a of our
profes sion-sn animation confined, doubtless to a
very few but hcb still, is fatal to the inie-
ress of law studel.ts. and captivating 10 nnin.