The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-04-23
. CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

/ In IEE UNI ELI - ~ I-Os
|
TN the year 1924 under the auspices ftho Uniyer
| i sily Of Maryland / established IN the cry OF BAL
tmore Law School under the denomination oil INC
Maryland Law Institute. This essabiishmsh' CONT
nued In successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing received students from sisuea OF the States, and
| from Two foreign countries Owing 10 Tue pressure
of an extensive practice, simultaneously WIN 'ne ou
ties which the Institution involved, resolved III Tue
year 1886 TO abandon ally the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law lnst-
tuto and, for health and ease sought the more GENIAL
| climates VI Europe. Finding, al this time, my health
perfectly restored, and with IT no abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion that great science, which
in this country of all Others needs TO be nshodiea
and carefully Sunderland seeking, moreover indus
trous and continued occupation essential to happl-
in land that knows dier resoI we'd TO reesa-
bIsh the Law lnstuion-and have selected PhiIa-
deiphia The place OF ts location. In DOING have
thought that city in the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposes OF the
Law Sutherland that in none 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 regard to the parftc
,lars of my enterprise induce to anticipate similar
| inquiries now--and, To meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, all that offer in
explanation, and, probably all that may be requi
| site.
The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies
and their cognae and auxiliary topics, Is a spacious
and beautiful building NJ. III South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation OF about sixty stu
dents The are all suitably fun she'd supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
u precedents Of practice in every conceivable and APP
| proved fJrm. Students are admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the re-
quisite books are supplied exactly to neet the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design TO practice his profession either in the country
or in some of the maritime cities. The laws of every
State in the Union are in some degree dwet upon
in n.I.I a.
deep and radical parents well of students
carefully AVOIDED allude to the too
ton that law students TO be made mechanical
arstsans-mere attorneys, learning practice by roe, and
jealous of book knopledge being too theoretical -
This mischevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake, since
no practising attorney was good and lasting one,
who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
| theory Of the law. therefore cannot acquesce in,
and will yield to- the vulgar error of putting
practice before and above theory-it is unnatural
Inversion Of the established order of nalurean igno
rant and slovenly way of urging young TO at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for if the grounds and Of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | earnestly allude, is
founded upon another which is equally false and
row, vz-tha students learn the practice only in
practising ia,cyer's office! On the contrary as a gen
era rule, 1t Is lhe very last place in which he
does learn the prac,ice-and this can be made
extremely manifest What is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take single example-and ca uno
d'ce omnes. The theory or a law point says to the
student if A lends his watch, and sells it, or re-
fuses TO return it, A may bring what is called
ton Of Trover and Conversion. Now roper means
finding, and conversion appropriating it his
| own use; and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law Polnis-vz. that the finding is
now mere verbal fiction, not all material or to be
rropsd-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
PENDANT to his consists in the withhold
ing the property from the plaintiff although should
be ever SO clearly proved that he in way the
property for himself or for any purpose whatever but
to withhold II from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal before the practice that practice
on the plaintiff part consists Of thorough know ledge
of The forms precedens--and the defendants art
ofthe like knowledge to the formula of the pleas,
reoinders, &c. There are therefore, books of preee-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known to the iaw--pro.
gressisely from the importation of the ct to the final
| return upon the execution. These tormuG of wrils
returns to wri,s-appeara Observation-Disclosures
-coDilnpances-impanneng of juries -lrsl-ex-
ceptions--verdict-J Observation-Disclosures of
execution-oI, on the other hand, trial--or APP
peal &c, &C. all set forth in the ipreced,n so
that, he who knows most OF prectdeats, knows most
of practice but still, these presidents cannot them
selves be understood without previous theoretical
knowe ledge. The question: then resolves tse into this
Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
presidents, iato sensu, who never saw a pr actsing
W
cannot he learn far more of practice by the JUDI
cious and careful study of all the formula (Which he
never does in practising lawyers Office than by
writing, OF rather copying, those simple and OCCASION
al declarations, pleas &c, which the Of office
assigns to the sludentl Is it 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 student-or If it does, only
chancaly copy i'll Again; Who distinguish be-
tweena real suit in court and fictitious one in which
one student prepares the urt-another the Ieturn-
another he declaration some other the pea &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
nd hat prevents these students ing a record Of
the whole and then comparing all with certified re-
cord ON court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done In Law Insuton-and far
b. tter-more quie S--aDd with time than in busi.
offices, where many precious hours often lost 10
useless messages--long walks-tIanscr letters
copying mo, derising) declarations pleas, replica
tons &c. generally the sole workmanship OF the
master of the Office and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this is my mind ertreme-
ly plain and has long ished me of The popular and
serious which has placed young in Offices
where little either theory Of practice is learnt This
surely Is not always the case but is too often such
asmany deyondins students have found and Others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never |
lea armed much OF theory Of practice until after thew
came the ksr but, at which time, it found very
up- hill and arduous work. and sometimes accom-
piished even through whole life of toll. Doubtless
there ara many noble exceptions to the correctness of
these remarks but still, aver 1t az fact that my
experience has made me acquainted with any |
young ia,cycr, who in candid conversation was not
wiling 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 seven and twenty
years all Of the courts, and devotion to the int
rests Of students, dunng much of that period may
not be too much say that practice be lost
light ofn this Institution and that nothing bu, echai-
FI,rroI ,a,,
ghtened lawyer could patronise even the init
nation that such an Institution only adopted for
the incubation Of the science and not Of the ART of our
professon-an intmston confined doubtless to a