The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-03-01
CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

TN the year 1921 under the auspices OF the uniseI-
siIy Of Maryland established IN The cry OF at
timon a Law School, under the denomination OF the
| Maryland Law Institute. This establishment conn
nued ia successful operation nearly eleven years, ha'.
ing recev, d students from eeren OF The States and
| from two foreign countries. Owing TO TIE pressure
of exieDsye practice, simultaneously wan the du-
ties which the Institution involved resolved IN the
wear 1886 To abandon not y the pfactee OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law ins,i
and Tor health and ease, sought the more geniai
climates Of Europe. Finding al this time, my health
perfectly restored and with II no abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion that great science which,
in this county, of all others needs 10 be ethodeaHy
aud carefully studiedaud seeking, moreover indus
t'ous and Continued occupation, SO essential to happ-
ness in land thai knows ides reso ed 10 e-esla-
blish the Law lnstluion--and have selected Phiia
deiphia he place of lis location. Ia doi.g have
thought that no city Ia the Unpn affords such various
and an pie Inducements for all the purp,s, OF the
Law SruJen-and that in 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 10 the pdrr-
uias of my enterprise induce me 10 anticipate similar
inquiries now-and, To meet all such in advance,
now address this Ctcui1, all that | can offer ia
EXPLANATION, and, probably all that may he rcqui-
site. ran
| The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognae and auxiliary topics, Is spacious
and beautiful bu ding n III South Fifth ttreet,
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The rooms are all suitably fun shed, supplied
with extensive law and miscellaneous Library
ic preoedenis Of practice every conceivable and APP
| proved firm. Stud, are admitted at any time
throughout The yeaG--couTses OF study, and the re-
quisile books are supplied, exactly to neet the
wants and of The student, according he may
design 10 practice his prof ssion ethei IN the country
or in some of The maritime cities. The laws Of every
State IN the Union in some degree dwet upon
practice is constantly be ided with HeCry-but the
deep and radical error of parents well of students
is carefully avoided i ailude the erroneous mo-
lion that law students are TO be made mechanical
o,fiso mere attorneys learning practice by role and
jealous of book knorisdye bcing too heo eiicai
This mlschievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake, since
no practising attorney was ever god and lasting ne,
who was not also deeply versed in the and
theory of the law. therefore cannot acq uesce in
and never will yield to- the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and ab1ve theoryit is unnatural
inrersion Of the established oder of naturean igno
| rant and slovenly way of urging yrung at
| tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for, If he grounds and reasons of the science be
| well known, the practice cannot be well known.
| But the error, to which | so earnestly alude is
fou ded upoI another which is equally false and mar
row. vz.-that students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office! On The cJnr. rv rs gen
Grad rule, 1t Is he very last place IN whth he
Goes or can learn tie prac,ice-and his be made
extremely manifest W hat is practice Is distinguish
ed from heay2 Take single example-and II uno
disce onines. The theory or law point says to the
student if A lends bis watch and b sells it, or re.
fuse. TO return it, A may bring What is called
ton Of Trover and Conversion. Now troper means
bndng, and conversion means apr priatiug II To his
own use; and here, again, the student learns two
other heoretieai law ponls-yiz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction, not at oil materii 10 be
prorsd-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
iendant to his own use consists IN the mere WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff, although should
be ever clearly proved lhat he in way used the
property for himself for any purpose whatever, but
to Withhold II from the ldintih.
Now all this theory must be learnt aud good
deal more before he practice comes-and that practice
on the planh parl,c Isis Of thorough know ledge
Of he forms pectdenS-and the defendant part
of the like knowledge TO the forBle of the plea,
rjonders, &c. There are therefore books Of preoe-
denis these books unfold every practical prucsednU
whatever, IN every action known t. the iaw--pro
gressyey from the importation Of the iorit to the final
return up the ereoution These formula Of wrIts
returns 10 wrns-appearar ces-hsil-impailance
ntnuances-impannelling of jnries -lrial-,1.
! cep'ions-verdict- Judgnent-erscuuon-retu Of
| execuon--er, on the other hand new trial-ar ap-
peal, &c, &c-ore all st forth IN The 'preced MS so
that, he who knows mosi of preoede Is knows most
Of practice but sl these pIecedents canuot them.
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question, then, resolves sefinto
| Cannot law student be well GROUNDED in all the
pIecedents iato Se'su, who never saw pr act sing
! lawyers office AID why no; On the contrary
cannot he learn far more OF practice by he JUDI
Cious and careful study of all the formula which be
never docs in practising lawyers Office than 10y
writing, Father copying thoo simple and occ sson.
al dec arst ons pleas &c which he master fan Office
assigns 70 the STUDENT ls IL uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business OF ths
or done by the master himself without ovtr reach
ing the eye Of the sludent-or " It does only To- me
! chancaly copy 1t Asbin: Who dlst ngush be
tween real suit in court and fictitious in VIII ch
one student prepares the wnt-another the return
] ~. .I..I. Al.
until al the practical proceedings are gone though
And hat prevents these students making a record Of
The whole and then comparing all with a c, rtlfcd re-
cord f ION some court OF justice IN like action All
this surely NAV be done n Law lnsntutiou-and far
b ue-more qulet and with more time thar in busi.
ness offices here many precious hours are often lost H.
| useless mcssages-'onE walks-,anscr hing letters
eopving (uot dsrising) declarations pleas, replica
! tons &c 30 generally the sole workmanship the
master of the office and so very seldom that of the
student confess hat all this is to my mind extreme
ly plain and has ng sa isfcd me of The popular and
serious error which has placed young IA offices
where little either oftheoy practice learnt This
surely Is not always the case bot 1t rs too often such
amany desponding students have found and az others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much of theory Of practice until aaer heu
came 10 the bar bot, al which tue, 1t es found very
up.hill and atduous work. and sometimes not accom-
/ piished even thu ugh whole life OF toll Doubtless
there arc many noble exceptions TO The correctness OF
these remarks but still aver II "a a fact that nv
experience has never made me acquainted With any
young incyer who ia candid eonscrsaiion, was not.
willing 20 confess tbat his legal education had been
very hap-hszud-and that practice any really val
liable and abiding extent Is the last thing student
can ever hope Tor IN practising lawyers flee.
Ahcr an excessive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all of the courts, and devotion TO the in-
rests ofiac students during much Of that period it may
no, be too much say that practice can never be Lost
rht ofn this lnstituii and that nothing but meoLau
| sgfIr 4
ii thtened lawyer, could pslronise even the init
nation that such an lnst uton only adopted for
IN nculcati ofihe senes and not Of the at Of our
profe, sion--an irtmatIon confined, doubtless, to a