The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-06-13
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

TN the year 1924, under the auspices ofthe Uossi-
/ sity OF MARYLAND / established in the city Of Bal
tInore a Law School, under the denomination OF the
| Maryland Law Institute. This establishment eoh'l-
nued Ia successful operation nearly eleven ysas' nav
ng receive students from eleven OF the States ano
| from Two foreign countries Owing TO the pressure
OF extensive practice simultaneously WIN lhe du-
es which the Institution involved, resolved IN the
year 1886 TO abandon not lily the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law ins-
tule; and for health and ease sought the genial
climates vi Europe. Finding, al this Tune, my heaiIh
perfectly restored, and with II no abatement whatever
Of my zeal and devotion TO that great science, winch,
in this county of all Others needs to be raehod'ealy
and carefully siudied-aDd seeking, moreover INDUS
tous and continued occupation essential to happ-
in land that knows dlers foso cd TO te-esta-
blish the Law lnsthuon-and have selected ihiia'
deiphia he place of It's location. In so doing have
thought that city 10 the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposes OF the
| Law Sunderland that in can more worthy
economy be preserved and yet with every requisite
| comfort.
The irequem app icaiions made 10 me from DIS
lance, the former OCCASION ia regard to the P'e-
ulas of enterprise induce To anticipate similar
| ina uiries now-and, 10 meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, all that offer in
explanation, and, probably as all that may be requi
site.
The Institution, dedicated alone TO law studies,
and their cogDae and auxiliary topics, Is spacious
and beautiful building NJ. III South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation OF about sixty stu
dents The all suitably urn shed, supplied
| with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
io pseednts Of practice every conceivable and APP
| proved form. students are admitted at any tine
throughout The year-courses or study, and the re-
quisite books supplied, exactly To Heet the
wants and of the student, according he may
design practice his profession eher IN the country,
in some of the maritime cities. The laws of every
| State in the Union In some degree dwet upon
| practice is constantly blended with HeCry-but the
and nf Of
is aIefuy AVOIDED ailude the too erroneous
ton that law students to be made mechanical
atisansmere attorneys learning practice by role and
jealous of book-knouledge being too theoretical -
This mlschievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake, since
practising attorney a good and lasting one,
who was not also deeply versed In the reasons md
theory of the law. | therefore cannot acquesce in,
and never will yield TO- the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above theoryil is unnatural
inrerSion Of the established der of naiurean igno
rant and sloven'y way of urging young men on 10 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 | so earnest alude is
fou ded upoh another which is equally false and
row. What students learn the practice only in
| practising laoye''s office! On the CONTRARY as gen
era rule, 1t is he very last place whlh he ever
does, or can learn the praciiceaod this be made
extremely manifest W hat is practice as distinguish
ed from theory? Take single example-and ia uno
disco oninss The theory or law point says 10 the
student If lends b his watch, and B sells It,
inses 10 return IT, A may bring what is called
| ton of Trover and Conversion. Now rorer
hndng, and conversion means appropriating it to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law ponls-viz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction, not at all material, to be
prored-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
irndant TO his consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff, although should
be ever clearly proved that he in 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 a good
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
the plaintiffs part consists of thorough knowledge
of he forms preetdens-aBd, the defendant part
of The like knowledge to the formula of The pleas
rejonders, &c. There are therefore, books Of prece
denis these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known TO the law--pro
gressiyey from the importation of the iot to the final
return upon The ereciaion. These formula of
returns 10 wrts-appearan neutrality-suspicious.
-contnuances-mpdnnell of jufles -lrial-eI
| ceptions-rerdict- dgmeut-eHeculion-reuru of
execuon-oT, on the other hand new tridl--or APP
peal &c, &c.-are all set forth in the ipreced,nis so
that he who knows nio.t of preeedeRfs knows most
of practice but stll, these precedents cannot them
selves be undo stood, without previous theoretical
knowledge The question, then resolves ltse nto thus
Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
piecedents idio sensu, who never saw pr actising
lawyers office And why not On the contrary,
cannot be learn far more OF practice by the JUDI
cous 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 he master of an Office
assigns 10 the sudent1 l. il not uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing The eye Of the sludent-or, # II does only
chanicaliy copy II Again: Who distinguish be.
tween real suit in court and fictitious one IA which
one student prepares the vrit-another the return
| another he declaration some other the p ca, &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And ehat prevents these students making record Of
the whole and then comparing all with a certified
cord Fl ON court of justice u like action All
this surely may be done a Law lnstuution-and far
b tcr-mote quietl, and with more time than IN busi
ness Offices where many precious hours often lost IL
useless messages-iong wdks-iianscrbnc letters
coping mot devising) declaIa tons pleas replica.
! tons SC generally the sole workmanship %, the
master of the office, and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this 10 my mind extreme
ly plain and has long ished me Of he popular and
! serious error which has placed young IN Offices
where little either OF theory or OF practice learnt TINS
surely l. not always the case but II is too often
asmany dsponding students have found and others
! have been compelled 10 confess, that they never
learned much of theory or Of practice until after thou
came 10 tbs sar bot OF which time, II found very
uphill and aTduous work and sometimes moi accom-
pilshed ugh whole life Of toll Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions 10 The correctness Of
these remarks but still, aver il a fact that m,
experience has never made me acquainted with any
young lrcyer, who 10 candid Conversation, was not
wiling 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hazardand that practice to any really val
liable and abiding extent, Is the last thing student
can ever hope tor IN practising lawyers offce.
| After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all -fthe courts, and dc, oiion TO the int
rest Of Gc students, durng much Of that period may
not bc 100 much to say that practice be list
ghi onn this IBstito and that nothing but meoLaai-
cal narrornea Of legal education, unworthy e an en-
Ii. htened lawyer could ever palTonisc the init
nation that such Inst utDn only adopted for
the incubation ofthe science and not Of the ari of our
/ ptofe- siob--an iGtimaton confined, doubtless TO a
/ hut ,htc sfH al IA. ,rto