The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-06-19
A CIRCULAR 70 srUDeNre or Law
IN THE UNITED STATES.

|
| TN the year 1924 under the auspices ofthe uniyet-
sily OF Maryland established IN the cry OF pal
timore a Law School, under the denoninauo" Oh 'no
| MARYLAND Law Institute. This estap'shueht eV"''-
nued in successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing received students from eers'. oil the STATES anu
from Two foreign countries. Owing 10 tne P,essul'
OF an extensive practice, simultaneously WIN 'ne ~
ties which the Institution involved resolved, IN the
year 1886 to abandon lily the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession, but also the La" i"s'
tute and for health and ease, sought The more genai
climates of Europe. Finding, al this ume, NY heal'h
perfectly restored, and with II no abatement Whatever
of my zeal and devotion TO that great scienee which
in this country OF all Others needs 10 be mffodeay
and carefully Sunderland seeking, moreover, indus
tous and continued occupation 30 essential To hsPp
ness in land that Knows iders reso ed To e-esta-
| blish the Law Instuon--and have selected f'hiia'
deiphia he place of its location. In dong have
thought that city in the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposes OF inc
Law Sutherland that in none can more worthy
economy be preserved and yet with every requisite
| comfort.
| The frequent applications made 10 me from dis
lance, the former OCCASION IN regard to the pdrhe
uias of my enterprise induce me To anticipate similar
inquiries now-and, to meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, all that | offer IN
explanation, and, probably as all that may be requi-
| site.
and their cognate and auxiliary topics, spacious
and beautiful building, M. II South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation OF about sixty stu
dents. The all suitably furn she'd supplied
with extensive law and miscellaneous library
Nth precsdsnts Of practice every conceivable and APP
proved flrD. students admitted at any time
throughout the yeaT-courses OF study, and the re-
quisite books supplied, exactly 10 nect the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design practice his profession eher 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 blended with heory--but the
deep and radical error of parents well Of students
is carefully AVOIDED alude to the too
| lion that law students be made mere mechanical
arsdns-mere attorneys learning practice by roe, and
jealous of boOk-kno,oledge, being theoretical -
| This mschievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and pIofessloD and is gross mistake, since
no practising Attorney good and lasting one
who was not also deeply veIsed in the and
theory Of the law. therefore cannot acquiesce in,
and never will yield to, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above lheory-it is unnatural
Inversion of the established order of baure-an igno
| rant and sovenly way of urging young at
temps far beyond the powers of the human ind
for, If the grounds and of the science be
well known the practice cannot be well known.
| But the error, to which ! earnestly aIlude, is
founded upoa another, which is equally false and mar
row, viz.-that students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers QDiee' On the conifery as gen
eral rule, 1t Is The very last place in which he
does, can learn the pracce-and this be made
extremely manifest. What is practice distinguish
| cd from theory? Take a single exaIspe-and tI iuio
disco omnes. The theory a law point says to the
student, If A lends b bis watch aud b sells it,
fuses return it, may bring What is called
ton of Trover and Conversion. Now norr
finding, and conversion means approprating II 10 his
| own use and here, again, the student learns two
| other Theoretical law polnts-viz that the finding
now mere verbal fiction, not AT all material To be
proped-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
fendant to his consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff, although it should
be ever so clearly proved that he in no way used the
property for himself for any purpose whatever, but
to withhold II from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before tho practice comesand that practice
on the PLAINTIFF part Consists of thorough knowledge
of he forms precden.s-and, the defendants part
ofthe like knowledge as JssInu1 of the pleas
rejoinders &c. There are therefore books Of prece-
DEUS these books unfold every practical proceeding
| whatever, In every action known to the Iaw-pro.
excessively from the importation of the oT to the final
return upon the execution. These formula of writs
returns 10 writs-appeara es-bail-mparances
Acknowledgment of junes -trial-eX-
ceptions-verdict-J Observation-Disclosures Of
execu'ion-or, on the other hand, tral--or APP
peal &c, &care all set forth IN the 'preeed MS 80
| that, he who knows most of precedeHt, knows mos,
of practice but still, these precedens them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
knowledge The question, then resolves Itself into this
Cannot law student be well grounded in all the
pIecedents iaio SenSu, who never saw a Ut actsing
lawyers office 7 And why not On the contrary
cannot be 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 ho.e simple and occasion.
al declarations, pleas &C. which the II Office
assigns 10 the STUDENT f. II unilJruy the case
that all really difficult and responsible. business Of tins
sort is done by the himself without sNsr reach
ing the eye of the siudent--or Il u dos iv o. me
chanicaly copy 1t 2 Again: Who eau Distinguish be
tween real suit in court and fictitious oBe which
one student prepares the Wnt-another the return
, another he declaration some other the q ca Nc
Ii h. al .
And hat prevents these students making record OF
the whole and then comparing all with a certified re-
cord ON court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done Law Inslrtution-nnd ia
b. tcr-more quiet,-an with more time than In bus
ness offices where many precious hours often lost
useless me-~sges-ong walks-transcr. hing letters
copying mot depising) declarations, pleas replica
tons &c. generally the sole wor anship the
master Of he office and very seldom that Of the
student confess hat all this is tony mind extreme
ly plain and has long isied Of the popular and
serious error which has placed young Offices
where little either oftheory practice learnt This
surely is not always the case-but IL s too often such
anany de,pondng students have found and ss othcrs
have been compelled confess, that they never
learned much ofiheory ofWaclice until after hey
cam, 10 As bar but, which time Il az found very
no hill and arduous work and sometimes not accom-
pished even through whole life of toll Doubtless
there many noble exceptions to The correctness of
these remarks bot still aver 1t a. fact that nv
experience has never made acquainted with any
| young lncy,r, who in candid conversation was not
willing confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hszard-and that practice to any really val
liable and abiding extent, Is the last thing student
can ever hope for IN practising lawyers Office.
After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
years in all 81 the courts, and devotion to heinte-
rests Of lac students, during much of that period may
not be much TO say that practice be lost
light ofn this Institution and that nothing but eohani-
cal naTo,oneS Of legal education unworthy e an en-
hghtencd lawyer, could patronise the init
nation, that such an Institution only adopted for
the incubation Of the science and not Of the Of our
profession-an intimation confined, doubtless to a
vhtch sill il ope an fatal H.. -