The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-06-20
, CIRCULAR 20 sTuDEN4s on Law
IN THE UNITED STATES.

TN the year 1894 under the auspices of the uniser-
! L silly OF Maryland, established in the city OF B,l-
timore Law School, under the denomination oil the
Maryland Law institute TN" establishment conn
nued successful operation nearly eleven years ha'
ing receiy students from elsren OF the States, and
| from TWO foreign countries Owing TO Tue pressure
of e6sive practice, simultaneously whh he uu-
es which the Institution involved, resolved IA Tue
year 1886 abandon not liy the practte OF my ever
aud long he'd profession, but also the Law lDs-
tue and for health and ease sought The more genai
climates Vt Europe. Findog at this ume my healih
perfectly restursd, and vh no abatement whatever
of zeal and devotion 10 that great science whioh,
in this counfy of all Others needle TO be nieihodieay
and carefully studisd-apd seesiog, narrower INDUS
ous and continued oceuiau"n SO essential To hspp'-
Ia land that knows tdlers reso ell To ee-a-
| blIsh the Law lnstuon--snd have selected f'hiia'
dslphia he place of It's location. In 90 doing have
thoug ut that city in the MON 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, ia regard TO the pare-
ulars Of my enterprise Induce me 10 anticipate similar
inquiries now-and, 10 meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, as all that offer IN
explanation, and, probably as all that may be Tequ-
site.
| The institution dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognate and auxiliary topics, spacious
and beautiful building, N. 1T South Ffih street,
suitable for the accommodation OF about sixty stu
| dents The rooms all suitably furn shed, supplied
| with extensive law and miscellaneous library
w precedents Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved f)rD. Studen;a are admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the re-
qusite books supplied, exactly TO neet the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design TO practice his profession eIther in the country,
in of the maritime cities. The laws of every
| State in the Union are in some degree dweit upon
practice Is constantly blended with heory--but the
deep and radical OF parents, well Of students
is euy AVOIDED allude to the too erroneous
ton that law students be made mere mechanical
artisans attorneys learning practice by ro,e and
jealous OF book kaocfedge, being TOO theoretical
This mlschevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake since
no practising attorney was good and lasting one,
who not also deeply veIsed in the reasons and
theory of the law | therefore cannot acquiesce in,
and never will yield to- the vulgar error of putting
practice before and above theory-- is an unnatural
inrersi0n Of the established order of naturean gno-
rant and sloveny way of urging young men on TO at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for # The grounds and of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | earnestly aude is
fou rded upoh another, which is equally false and
row. vz-tbat students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office! On The conlr ~, as gen
era rule, II is The very last place in which he ever
does or can learn The pracllce-aDd this be made
| extremely manifest w hat is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single exanple-and u,o
d,sce oninsS. The theory a law point says To the
| student, if A lends b bis watch, and sells it,
fuses TO return II, A may bring what is called an ac
| ton of Trover and Conversion. Now froper cans
finding, and conversion appropriating to his
own use and here again, the student learns two
other theoretical law poinls-vz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction not at ell material, 10 be
proped-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
trndant to his consists IN the withhold
ing the properly from the plaintiff although il should
be ever 81 clearly proved that he in no 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 a good
deal more before the practice comes-and that practice
the plaintiffs parl ,coh-isls of a thorough know dye
of The tor~s or preetdens-and. the defendants part
of the hk. knowledge TO the toyriiii9 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 urif IL the fina
return upon the t~'eution. These Jormuie of wri,s
returns 10 pces-bai-impaI lances
acknowledgment of jdnes -Iral--eI-
ceptions-verdict- Observation-Disclosures of
executOn-0r, on The other hand new trial--or ap-
peal, &c, &c-arc all Sc, forth in The 'preced MS 80
that, he who knows nio,t Of preoede Is knows most
of practice but stl these preceJenis cannot them
selves be unde rstood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question, then, reso itse into the
| Cannot law student be well GROUNDED in ell The
IeCedcnts iGtO sensu who never saw a pr actising
| lawyers office a d why not 2 On the contrary,
cannot he learn far more OF practice by the JUDI
Cious and careful study of all III, formula which he
| never does In practising LAWYER ofc. than by
wiling, Rather copying iho-e simple aud OCCASION
al dec srstons, pleas &c which he # Office
sssgns 10 the STUDENT L. IL not UniforiLy the lse
that all really difficult and responsible Of this
ION IL done by himself without ever reach
ing the eye of the siudeDt-or, if does only to me
| chancay copy IL Again; Who can distin gush BE-.
tween real suit court and fictitious one In which
| one student prepares the eut-aDother the return
! another he declaration some other the % ca &c
III he caI -,
And hat prevents these students making record OF
the whole and then comparing all with a rtifed
cord g om so,oe coor of justice in like action All
TIN. surely may be done Law Insiitution-and far
b uet-mofe qulet and with more time tina 10 hu-i
offices here many precious hours often lost it,
| useless mcsssges-ong ~aik--iIaoscr bng letters
copying (nUt devtsing) declaIa atoms pleas replica.
tioas sc. generally the sole workmanship o. the
| master Of The office and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this To- my mind extreme
IN plain and has Long "a ished of IN" popular and
serious which has placed young men ia Offices
where little either oftheory prbciIce IL learnt This
surely - always the case bot il h too often such
ssnany depending students have found nd as othes
have been compelled 10 confess, that they never
learned much VI theory Of practice until qjier heu
came tbs bar bot at which tine, found very
no hill and ardoous work and sometimes not accom-
pshcd even thu ugh whole life Of toll. Doubtless
there macy noble Exceptions To The correctness of
these remarks but still, aver it fact, that nv
| experience has never made acquainted with any
| young lotryer who IN candid converation, was not
willing 20 confess that his legsl education had been
very hsp-hOzird-and that practice 10 any really val
liable and abdiEg extent the last thing student
can ever hope for m practising lawyers ufice.
| After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears IN all II the courts and devotion TO the int,
rest Of air students, duung much Of that period may
not be much to say that practice be lost
light ofn this institution nd that nothing but echani
cal Of legal education, unworthy e an en-
lghteDed lawyer, could ever patronise even the n,-
l. - l.
the incubation ofthc science and not Of the Of our
profe.sion-sn intimation confined, doubtless to a