The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-06-26
a c,Rc,uAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
in THE UNITED STATES.

| in UNI Ell ~ -
TN the wear is24 under the auspices of the UnseI-
sily of Maryland | established IN the cry oi pa'-
| timore Law School under The denomination oil 'ne
Maryland Law Institute. Ihis es'aol'shlien' en-.
ed i'm successful operation nearly eleven years pa'
inc receive students from elerea OF the States anu
fron two foreign countries. Owing TO Tue PtesSure
OF an extensive practice simultaneously WIN 'ue ~
ties which the Institution involved, iesoNeui III .o
wear 1896 10 abandon Iy the practice oil my ever
and long cherished profession, but also the Law ins
suie and for health and ease sought tue more se"a'
climates OF Europe. Finding, at tins ume NY heai'n
perfectly restored, and with II no abatement Whatever
of INV zeal md devotion that great science winch,
in his country OF all Others needs to be nehodseaHy
aud carefully studed-and seeking, moreover, nous
ious and continued occupation SO essential 10 naPp
nsss in land that knows tdies reso. cd TO e-esa-
bIlsh the Law Instilulion-and have selected fhia-
deiphia The place Of It's location. In 90 dong nave
thought that city in the Union affords such various
| and ample inducements for all the purposes OF Tue
Law Sutherland that in can a more worthy
economy be- preserved, and yet with every requisite
| comfort. :.
| The frequent applications made TO me from dis
lance the former OCCASION in regard to the parfsc-
uia,s Of my enterprise induce me to anticipate similar
inquiries now--aDd, To meet all such IN advance,
now address this Circular, all that can offer IN
explanation, and probably, as all tina. may be requi-
site.
! The institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognaie and auxiliary topics, rs spacious
| anu Dtaulltui DuUuinp, ~ ~ oou'" p.h ''~''j
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stus
dents. The rooms are all suitably fu shed, supplied
with extensive law and miscellaneous library
o precdets Of practice in every conceivable and APP
! proved form. students admitted at any Time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the re-
quisite books supplied so as exactly TO neet The
wants and views Of The student, according he may
design practice his profession enher IN the country
in some of the maritime cities. The laws Of every
State ia the Union in some degree dwet upon
practice is constantly blended with Meory--but the
deep and radical of paren well Of students
is care fully AVOIDED aIIude to the too
ton that law students to be made mere mechanical
d,tisans-mere attorneys leaTniDg practice by rote, and
jealous of book knowledge, being theoretical
This mischievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake, since
practising attorney was good and lasting one
who not also deeply vcrsed in the reasons and
Meory of the law. therefore cannot acquesce in,
and never will yield TO, the vulgar error of putting
practice before and above theory-it is unnatural
Inversion of the established order of naure-an igno
rant and slovenly way of urging young men 10 at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for if The grounds and reasons of the science be not
| well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | earnestly alludc, lis
ounded upoh another which is equally false and mar
row, vz.-that students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office On the contrary as gen
eral rule, it is The very last place in which he
does or can learn the pracIice-and this be made
extremely manifest What is practice as distinguish
ed from theory? Take single example-and er
| disco onnes The theory or law point says TO the
student, if lends his watch and B sells it, or re-
4 fuses TO return it, A may bring what is called
| ton of Trover and Conversion. Now troper
hnding and conversion means approprating II to his
own use and here, AGAIN, the student learns two
other theoretical law pons--viz that the finding Is
now verbal fiction, not al all material or to be
prored-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
PENDANT TO his consists in the withhold
ing the property from the plaintiff, although it should
1 h., ~
property for himself OF for any purpose whatever bu,
| to withhold 1t from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before the practice comes-and that practice
on the plaintiffs part Consists of thorough knowledge
ofthe forms precedens-and the defendants part,
of the like knowledge TO the formula of the pleas,
rejonders &C. There are, therefore, books Of prece-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known to the law--pro.
gressvey from the importation of the orit To he final
return upon the erectiion These formula of writs
returns to writs-appearapc neutrality-suspicious.
| -continuances-impannel of luries -rial-ex-
oeptions--verdct- Observation-Disclosures of
execulion-or, on the other hand, new trial-or app
peal SC, &c.are all set forth in the ipreced so
that, he who knows moA of precsdeHts, knows most
of practice but stll these precedents cannot them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
knowledge. The question: then reso v;s se INTO tn
| Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
pIecedents, iaio sensu, who never saw a pr actsing
| lawyers office Aud why not On the contrary
cannot he learn far more OF practice by the JUDI
cious and careful study of all the formule (Which he
never does 10 practising lawyers office than by
writing, rather copying, those simple and OCCASION
al declarations pleas SC, which the of office
assigns TO the sudentl l. IL uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
sort is done by the master himself without reach
ing the eye of the sudent-or # il does only to me-
chanically copy i'll Again: Who can distinguish be-
tween real suit in court, and fictitious one in which
one student prepares the wnt-apother the return
another he declaration- some other the pea, &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record of
the whole then comparing all with certified re-
cord ON court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done in Law InslIlution-and far
b, ter-more quetly -and with more time than in bus
ness Offices many precious hours are often lost ia
useless mcssages-'ong walks-iTanscri bng letters
copying mot derising) declarations, pleas replica
tons, &c. so generally the sole workmanship ,, the
master of the office, and very seldom that of the
student confess that all this is to my mind extreme
ly plain and has long shed of the popular and
serious which has placed young men Offices,
where little either oftheory ofproctce is learnt This
surely l. not always the casebut il is too often such
asmany desponding students have found and others
have been compelled to confess, that they never
learned much of theory or practice until after they
came 10 hs tr but at which time, it found very
o-hili and arduous work, and sometimes not accom-
plished even through whole life of toll Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions to The correctness OF
these remarks but still aver il a fact, that my
experience has made me acquainted with any
young iu,cyer, who, 10 candid conversation, not
willing to confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hazard-and that practice, to any really val
liable and abiding extent IS the last thing a student
can ever hope for IN practising lawyers office.
After an extensive practice of and twenty
wears IN all Of the courts, and devotion to the int
rests Of lao students, during much OF that period may
not much to say that practice be lost
light ofn this Institution and that nothing but mechani
cal nnrooness Of legal education, unworthy e an en-
lghtened lawyer, could ever patrouise the init
nation, that such Inst uon only adopted for
the medication ofthe science and not Of the our
profession-an intination confined, doubtless to
very few but which still is so fatal TO the inte-