The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-02-08
4 CIRCULAR 10 STUDENTS OF LAW
LIN THE UNITED STATES.

II .
TN the year 1924 under the auspices oft Un,so!-
i siiy Of Maryland, established IN tne cry OF Ds'
tnioIo a Law School, under The denominauo" OF inc
MARYLAND Law Institute. This establishment eop'i-
nued ia successful operation nearly eleven yeAfs nav
ing receiv students from efeuea o TIE Sa'es' ana
from Two foreign countries. Owing 10 'ne pressure
of an iensive practice, simultaneously ~"n Nne uu-
ties which the Institution involved, ie.o'se1, IN 'he
year 1886 abaodon mol .ly the practice oi my ever
and long cherished profession but also Inc la" ins'
lulei aud Ea health md ease, sought the more genial
climates Of Europe F,DJiag, at this time, my hsah
perfectly restored and with u no abatement "hs,e'er
of my zeal and devotion To that gtsai .cienee wh.h
in this county of all others, needs 10 DC HihodeaAy
and carefully sluded-and seeking. moreover, indus
trious aud continued occupatp, 30 essential To hapI
oess ia land that knows ters resol' ed 10 ie-esia
bsh the Law lDst,uiion-and have selected i'hlla'
dephia az he place of It's location In dong have
thought that city in the Union affords such various
and an pie inducements Tor 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 ications made 10 me from dis
lance the former occasion, IN regard 10 the psre-
uiars of my enterprise induce to anticipate similar
ina uries Dow--and, To MEET all such in advance,
now address this Circular, all that | can offer in
explanaton and, probably as all that may be requi-
site.
The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
aud their cognae and auxiliary topics, spacious
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The rooms all suitably urn shed, supplied
| with extensive law and miscellaneous library
ic pecedents Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved fIrn. students admitted any time
throughout The year--courses OF study, and the Ic-
quisite books are supped exactly 10 meet the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design To practice his profession elher in the country,
or IN some OF the maritime cities. The laws of every
State IN the Union arc In some degree dwet upun--
practice is constantly blended with fheory-but the
deep and radical of parents well of students
is carefully avoided alludc TO the too erroneous
ton that law students 10 be made mechanical
drtSansmere attorneys learning pracce by rote and
jealous of book. knopledge, as being too theoretical
This mlscbicvous trror must inevitably degrade the
science and profession aud is eros mistake, since
practising attorney oil and lasting one
who was not also deeply yersed in the reasons and
theory of the law. therefore cannot acquesce In,
and never will yield to, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above hcory-it is unnatural
inrersion Of the established order OF naurean igno-
rant and slovenly way OF urging young men on 10 at
| temIis far beyond the powers of the human mind
Tor il he grounds and reasons of the science be not
| well known, the practice cannot be we'll known.
| But the error, to which 30 earnestly allude, is
iou ded upo' another, which is equally false and
row, vz.bat students learn the practice only in
practising lacysrs office, On the contrary gen
eraI rule ii is The very last place in Which he ever
does, can learn the praciice-and this be made
extremely manifest hat rs practice distinguish
Ell from meofy! axe Single example anu tI unO
disco The theory a law point says 10 the
student, if A lends b his watch and h sells IT,
fuses to return it, A may bring what called
ton of Trover aud Conversion. Nov irorer means
finding, and conversion means approprating II To his
| own use; and here, ugaIn, the student leans two
other theoretical law poinls--viz that the finding is
now verbal fiction, not at all MATERIAL to be
prorsd-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
PENDANT to bis consists ia the mere WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff, although it should
he cip rlv yell hat he in Say The
property for himself for any purpose whatever, but
10 withhold It from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt aud good
deal more before the practice comesand that Practice
the plaintiff COM Isis OF thorough knowledge
OF HE forms ctdes--and on The defendants part
ofthe like knowledge to the Jorrnuie of the pleas
reoinders &c. There are, therefore books Of prece-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
| whatever, in every action known to the iaw-pro
gressely from the importation of the Urif h he final
| ret urn upon The execution. These formula of wrils
| returns 10 neutrality-suspicious.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of juies -lria-ex-
| ceptons-veTdIct- Observation-Disclosures of
execution-or, on the other hand, new trial-or APP
peal &c &c.-are all set forth in the fpreeed MS SO
that he who knows n,ost of precedeHts, knows
of practice but still, these precedens cannot them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
knowledge. The question then reso itself into III
Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
preecdents, lato sensu, who never pr actsing
lawyers Office Aud Why not On the contrary
cannot he 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 rather copying ho.e simple and OCCASION
al dec arat ons pleas &C. which the If office
assigns to the STUDENT Is it not uniformy the cgse
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
done by the master himself without ever reach
ing the eye Of the sludent-or, # it does only
cbanically copy II Again; Who dit guish be.
tween real suit in court and fictitious one in which
one student prepares the wrIt-another the return
another The decaratiJn- some other the - ca &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through :
And hat prevents these students mak ing record of
the whole, and then comparing all with certified
cord ON court Of justce in like action All
this surely may be done IN Law Insutution-and IA
b tter-more quietly-snd with more time than IN busi-
nefs Offices where many precious hours often los, ia
useless messages-'ong waks-'ianscr bing letters
copying (no, drising) declarations, pleas replica
tons SC SO generally the sole okminship the
master of the office and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this to my mind extreme
Nv plain and has long sa isied of he popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices,
where little either oftheory ofprsctce is learnt. This
surely {. not always the case bot IL is too often such
asmony responding students have found md as Others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much oftheory or ofpraclice until after they
came 10 the bar bot, at which time, found very
10. hill and arduous work. and sometimes accom-
pI,shed even thu ugh whole life of toll Doubtless
there arc many noble exceptions to he correctness of
these remarks but still aver II fact, that my
experience has never made me acquainted with any
po,,nr iaryer, who 10 candid conversation, not
wiling 20 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 tor IN practising lawyers Office.
After a. extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all Of the courts, and devotion to the int
rests of lac students, during much of that period may
not be too much to say that practice be lost
ight ofu this Insito,cn and that nothing but nteha
cal narro,ones Of legal education, unworthy e
hgh,ened lawyer, could ever patrooisc the nt-
! nation that such an Institution only adopted for
the inc ucaOn of The science and not of the our
| ,,of.. sion-an iutmation confined. doubtess 10