The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-04-22
. CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS or Law
IN THE UNITED STATES.

'| q
TN tho year 1874 under tho auspies. oiihs Uni.eI'
i sny Of Maryland | established in the CITY OF b.-
timote Law School under the denomination u The
MARYLAND Law institute This establishment con-
oued ia sssiul operation nearly eleven years nav
ing receissd students from eierea OF the States and
from foreign countries. Owing 70 'ne pressure
of extensive practice, simultaneously WIN 'no au-
ties which the institution involved, resolved, IN the
wear 1896 10 abandon not ally the practice oil nay ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law Inst
tute and for health and ease, sought the more GENIAL
climates of Europe Finding al this lime, my heah
peffectIy restored and with abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion that great ~cienee which
in this country of all others, needs to be msfodeaty
and carefully siuded-and seeking, narrower, indus
t-ious and continued occupation SO essential To haPP
ucs. in land that knows idrs rcsol ed TO Ie-esta-
bsh the Law institution and have selected Phila-
depha as he place of lis location In 30 song have
thought that no city ia the Union affords such various
and ample inducements for all the purposes OF the
Law Sutherland that in none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent app ics,ions made TO me from dis
lance the former occasion in regard TO the pare-
,lars Of my enterprise, induce 10 anticipate SIMILAR
ina uires now--aDd 10 meet all such in advance,
no W address this Circular all that offer in
eIplanaton and, probably, as all that may be Ieqa'
SITE
The institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cogna,e and auxiliary topics Is spacious
anu DtauluuI DuIung, ~ ~ Ooutu suSetj
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu.
dents. The rooms all suitably furn shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
NTH preetdens Of practice IN every conceivable and nP-
proved fprn. Studens are admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses of study, and the re-
qusite books supplied, exactly meet the
wants and views Of the student, according he may
design Ia practice his profession, either IN the country,
or in some Of the maritime cities. The laws Of every
State in the Union in some degree dwet upon
tiv ted fLsyV hut
deep md radical error OF parents well Of students,
carefully avoided allude TO the too
ton thatIaw students 10 be made mechanical
artisans attorneys, learning practice by ro,e and
jealous Of book kiocledge being too theoretical
This miscbevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake, since
practising attorney was good and lasting one,
who was not also deeply veIsed 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 lheoryit is unnatural
inrersion Of the established der of naurean igno
| rant and slovenly way of urging young at
| tempts far beyond the powers Of the human mind
for, If The grounds and reasons of the science be
| we'll known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, To which | earnestly allude, is
founded upoi another which is equally false and
row. vz-that students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers Office On he contrary as a gen
era rule, IT is The very last place in which he ever
does, can learn the pracliceand this be made
| extremely manifest w hat is practice Is distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single example-and ca uno
disco on,nss. The theory law point says to The
student, If lends b his watch, and b sells it,
fuses to return it, may bring what is called
| ton of Trover and Conversion. Now frorer
binding, and conversion means appropriating 1t 10 his
| own ussi and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law ponis-viz. that The find ng is
now mere verbal fiction, not al all material 10 be
prorsd-and secondly that the conversion by the DE-
ftndant TO his consists in The WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although should
be clearly proved that he in no way USED the
property for himself OF for any purpose whatever but
| TO withhold II 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 ,coa,ss of thorough know ledge
Of he forms rp,eefdenfs-and the defendants part
of the like knowledge to the formula Of the pleas
rejondcrs &c. There are, therefore books Of prees-
dents; these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, IN every action known 10 the law--pro
gressSey from the importation of the crt the final
| return upon The erecution These tosnauie of wrns
returns 10 neutrality-suspicious.
acknowledgements Of juries -IrIal-ex-
| ceptions-verdict- judgnent-eIt culion-return of
executon--or, on The other hand, new trial-or APP
peal, sc, &c.-are all set forth in the lprsoed MS so
that, be WHO knows most of prtceGeHts, knows mos,
of practice but STILL these pIecedenis canool then
selves be unde rstood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question: then reso tse IN this
Cannot law student be well GROUNDED in all the
pfecedents ldfo @nsi, who never saw pr actising
| lawyers ofiice1 Aud why not On the contrary,
cannot he learn far more OF practice by The jud-
cious and careful study of all the formula (wbicl he
never does ia practising lawyers office than 10y
Writing, OF rather copying, thoc SIMPLE and son-
al dccsutlons, pleas &c, which The ofan Office
assigns to the student l. ii unforuly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
sor done by the himself without ever reach
ing the eye OF the student-or If does only To me
| chancaly copy IL Again Who can distinguish be
tween real spiI in court and fictitious in which
one student prepares the writ-snother the return
| another The declaration some other the pea, &c
until all the practical proceedings are gone through
Aud hat prevents these students making record OF
The whole and then comparing all with certified re-
cord flom some court of justice in like action All
this surely nany be done IA Law Insiuton--and far
b ,,er-more quiet ,-and with time than in busi-
ness Offices where many precious hours are often lost ia
useless messager--ong aalks-,i anscr bling letters
coping mot derising) decai atoms pleas, replica
tons, &C. generally the sole workmanship o. the
master Of the Office end very seldom that Of the
STUDENT | confess that all this is my mind extreme
ly plaip and has long isfed of he popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either oitheory or practice is learnt This
surely 10 not always the case bot II is too often such
asnany d,yondng students have found and aG others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much Of theory Of practice until arer hep
cnns 10 tks bar but, at which time, u found very
10. hill and srduous work and sometimes not
pished even through a " hole life of toll Doubt,es.
there are many pobe ption, 10 he correctness of
these remarks but still aver u fact, that nv
experience has never made me acquainted with any
vo.ng la,pyer who IN candid conversation, was no,
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hsp-bazard-snd ths practice any really val
uuble and abiding extent. Is tue last thing student
can ever hope tor N practising lawyers Office.
| After IN extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears IN all Of the courts, and devotion to the ine-
rests ofia students, during much ofthat period may
not he much to say that practice be Lost
pht ofin this Institution and that nothing but eehan-
cal nnToores Of legal education unworthy f an en-
Bghtened lawyer, could ever pa,ronise even the init
| nation, that such an Institution only adopted for