The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-03-26
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

IN THE UNITED STATES.
TN the year 1924 under the auspices OF the uniyeI-
sty of MARYLAND | established IN the city OF Bal
| timofe a Law School under the denomination OF the
Mafyland Law Institute. This establishment CONF
nued in successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing received students from eeren OF the otates ana
from Two foreign countries. Owing To the pressure
of an ex ensye practice simultaneously with the ia
ties which the Institution involved resolved IN Tue
year 1886 abandon not y the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law inst-
tute and for health and ease, sought the more genial
climates of Europe. Finding, at this time, my health
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 nHihodeay
and carefully sludied-and seeking, moreover, INDUS
tyious and continued upatioD essential 10 happ-
ness in land thai knows oilers reso cd 10 re-esla-
blsh the Law Insttution-and have selected Phiia'
deIphia tho place OF It's location In doag have
thought that city 10 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 applications made TO from dis
taDce the former OCCASION In regard TO the parfte-
uiars OF my enterprise induce me 10 anticipate similar
| inquiries now-and, To meet all such in advance
now address this Circular, all that | offer in
explanation, and, probably all that may be requi
| site.
| The institution dedicated alone to law studies
and their cogna,e and auxiliary TOPICS Is spacious
and beautiful building, N. lit South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents The rooms all suitably furn shed, supplied
with extensive law and miscellaneous library
tot precedents Of practice IN every conceivable and APP
| proved 6rm Studens admitted at any time
throughout The yeaT-courses OF study, and the re-
quisite books supplied, exactly to neet the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design to practice his profession cther in the country,
or in some of the maritime cities. The laws of every
State in the Union in some degree dwelt upon
practice is constantly blended with thecry-but the
deep and radical error OF parents well Of students
is carefully avoided allude to the too erroneous
tion that law students to be made mechanical
arti,ansmere attorneys learning practice by rote and
jealous of book-knoiotedge being too theoretical -
This mischievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and Is gross mistake since
no practising attorney good and lasting ne,
| who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
theory Of the law. therefore cannot acquiesce in,
and never will yield to- the vulgar Of putting
practice before and above theoryit is unnatural
Inversion of the established order of naiurean gno-
rant and slovenly way of urging young on 10 at
| tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for If The grounds and reasons of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be we'll known.
But the error to which | so earnestly alude, is
founded upoh another which equally false and
row, vzthat students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office On the conr.ry gen
eral rule, 1t is the very last place in which he
does can learn the pracIice-and this be made
| 70
| ed from theory? Take a single example-and er uno
disco omnes. The theory or law point says to the
student, If lends his watch, and b sells it,
fuses to return it, A may bring what is called an ac-
ton of Irover and Conversion. Now fr0per means
hnding and conversion means apprvpriating it to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law pons-vlz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction, not at all material TO be
propsd-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
fendant his consists the mere WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although should
be clearly proved that be in no way used the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
| to withhold 1t from the plaintiff.
| Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
on the plaintiff part consists Of thorough know ledge
of The forms or prectdents-and the defendants part
of the like knowledge TO the Jormtr 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 Iaw-pro.
gressvey from the importation of the crii to the final
| return upon The ereetaion These formula of wrs
returns 10 -bail-impaIlan ces
acknowledgement of luries -Irlal-eI-
ceptions-veIdict- Observation-Disclosures of
| execution-or, on the other hand, trial-or APP
peal, &C. &c.-are all set forth in the fpreced, MS so
that, he who knows mosi of preesdeHis, knows most
of practice but STILL these pTecedents cannot them
selves be understood, without previous heoretiedl
knowledge. The question: then resolves tsef into thus
| Cannot law student be well grounded in all the
precedents, lato Sensu, who never pr accusing
| lawyer once ana why not On the Contrary,
cannot he learn far more OF practice by the iudl-
cious and careful study Of all the formula which he
never does Ia practising lawyers oihce) than by
writing, OF rather copying, tho-e simple and occasion
al aratons pleas &c, which he Of AN Office
assigns TO the student Is II uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
sort is done by the master himself without reach
ing The eye Of the sluden-or Il does only 10 me
| chancaly copy IL Again Who can dlstng uish be-
tween real suit in court and fictitious one Ia which
one student urepares the Nnt-an,ther the
| another The declaration some other the % ca &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record of
the whole, and then comparing all with c, rtliied re-
cord ON court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done Law lnsntuton-and far
tter-more quiet land with ore time tina in bu.i
offices where many precious hours often lost 10
useless messages-ong walks-ifanscrbinp letters
copying (not dersing) declsI atoms pleas replica
tons sc. 50 generally the sole workmanship OF the
master Of the office, and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this is to my mind extreme
ly plain and has long isfed me Of the popular and
serious error which has placed young men 10 Offices
where little either theory or OF practice is learnt This
surely Is not always the casebut 1t is too often such
asmany depending students have found and as Others
have been compelled 10 confess, that they never
learned much Of theory or Of practice until aner he
cat 10 The bar but at which tune it wM found very
uphill and arduous work and sometimes not accom-
pshed even through whole life of toll Doubtless
there many noble exceptions to The correctness of
these remarks but still, aver 1t a fact that nv
experience has never made me acquainted With any
young ia,oyer who, in candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hazardand that practice to any really val
liable and abiding extent, the last thing :. udent
can ever hope for IN practising lawyers office.
After extensive practice Of seven and twenty
years In all Of the courts, and devotion To the int
rests of ldo students, dunng much of that period It NAV
not be much to say that practice never be lost
light ofin this nstitutltn and that nothing but meotan
cal narrornes Of legal education worthy e an en-
! lghtened lawyer, could ever patropise even the nt
nation, that such an Instr uton only adopted for
the ncucaton the science and Of the art of our