The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-01-27
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF Law
IN THE UNITED STATES.

TN the year 1924 under the auspices OF the unv1i-
sity Of Maryland established IN the city OF Bal
timofc Law School, under the denomination Oh INC
Maryland Law Institute. This estabshmen' eon'-
nued ia successful operation nearly eleven Years nav
ing recey. students from esrea OF the States, and
from Two foreign countries. Owing 10 the pressure
Of an eX iensye practice simultaneously with the du-
ties which the Institution involved resolved IN inc
year 1886 abandon ally the practice oil my ever
and long cherished profession, but also me La" i"A-
lute and for health and ease, sought the more GENIAL
climates ui Europe. Finding, at tbs Time, my heA'th
perfectly restored and with II abatement whatever
Of my zeal and devotion 10 that grsa. se'ence which,
in this county, of all Others needle 10 be "sefhodHa"y
and carefully siudiedand seeking, moreover, indus'
t-ious and continued occupation, essential to hsPPi
in land that knows oilers Teso, ed TO e-es,a-
bsh the Law lnsttuiion--and have selected i'hiia'
dphia The place OF its location In SO dong nave
thought that no city the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposes of Tue
Law Sutherland that in none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent applications made to from dis
lance the former OCCASION in regard to the parc-
uis of my enterprise, iaduce me to anticipate similar
inquiries now-and, to meet all such IN advance, ]
now address this Circular, all that can offer IN
plapaton, and, probably as all that may be Tequi
site.
The Institution dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognate and uxiliary TOPICS spacious
and beautiful building, NJ. 1T South Fifth street,
sultlbr IoT tue Accommodation OF huout SUI
| dents The rooms are all suitably furn shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
s precedents Of practice IN every conceivable and APP
proved fJrn Studenls are admitted at any time
throughout the ycar-courscs OF study, and the re-
qusile books supplied, exactly TO neet the
wants and views of The student according he may
design TO practice his profession either in the country
in some Of the maritime cities. The laws Of every
State IN the Union are in some degree dwet Upon
practice is constantly blended with theosy--but the
,iteaI
is carefully avoided aliude the too erroneous no
lion that law students 10 be made mere mechanical
arfisansmere attorneys learning practice by rote and
jealous of book ko,cledge, being too theoretical
This mlschievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake since
practising attorney ever a good and Iastirg one
who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
theory Of the law. therefore cannot acquesce in,
and never will yield TO, the vulgar Of putting
practice before and above theoryit is an unnatural
inrerson Of the established o. der of nsturesn igno-
rant and sIovenly way of urging young men on TO at
| tempts far beyond the powers Of the human mind
for If The grounds and of the science be not
| well known, the practice cannot be we'll known.
| But the error to which | 50 earnestly allude, is
ounded npol another which is equally false and mar.
row, vz.-hat students learn the practice only in
practising iaryers office On the Contrary as gen
erai rule 1t is the very last place which he ever
does or can learn the prac,ce-and this be made
extremely manifest. What is practice as distinguish
\
disco omnes The theory law pon, says To the
student, if lends his watch and sells it, or re-
fuses TO return it, A may bring wha, is called AN ac-
| ton Of Irover and Conversion. Now irorer means
bndlng and conversion means appropriatiug it to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
| other theoretical law pons--viz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction, not at all material to be
prorsd-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
fendant to his consists in The withhold
ing the properly from the plaintiff although it should
| he 5 clearly proved that he no WAY m
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 plaintiffs part lists Of thorough knowledge
OF the fHnS or prectdens-and the defendants part
ofthe like knowledge to the formula, of the pleas
reJolnders &c There are, therefore books Of preee-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known to the law-pro
gressvey from the importation of the crif to the final
return upon the ereeuiion These formula of wri,s
returns 10 writs-appearar c,s-bail-imparance
ntinuances-lmpdnneiling of juIies -rla-ex-
eptioDs-verdict-j udgmenl-execution- return of
executlon-or on The other hand, trial--or ap-
peal, &c &c.-are all set forth in The Ipyeeed MS so
that, he who knows most of precedeats, knows most
of practice but STILL these presidents cannot them
selves be understood, without a previous theoretical
knowledge. The question: then resolves Itself into this
Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
precedenis, ido sensu, who never saw a pr actsnp
! lawyers Office And why mol 2 On the contrary
cannot he 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, rather copying rho,e simple and occasion.
al decisut ons pleas &c, which The Of an Office
assigns to the sludent1 L. IL not unfDrmly the c9se
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing the eye Of the sudent-or, # does only To me-
chanicslly copy Again Who can disi nguish be-
tween real su, in court and fictitious one In which
one student prepares the uut-anUther the return
! another The declnraJn- some other The D 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, riied re-
cord fiom SOME court of justice in a like action All
this surely may be done Law lnsitution-and far
b. tter-more quiet and with more time tina in bus
ness offices where many precious hours often Lost i
useless messagef-'ong walks-iianscr bing letters
copying (not depising) declsI atoms pleas replica
tons, SC. 30 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 sfed me Of the popuIar and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either of theory ofpractice is learnt This
surely - not always the case-but II IN too often such
as,many desponding students have found and as others
have been compelled to confess, that they never
learned much oftheory Of practice until after Meu
came 10 the bu but, at which time it wm found very
no hill and arduous work, and sometimes Tot accom-
pished even through whole life of toll Doubtless
there many noble exception, TO The correctness of
thrse rematks- bot sul aver IT asa fact, that my
,rperience has never made acquainted With any
vo,ing lovver who, in candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hszsrd-and that practice, to any really val
uable and abiding extent, the last thing a student
can ever hope Tor N practising lawyers Office
After m extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears IN all Of the courts and devotion To the inie-
rests oIlnc students during much Of that period il may
not be much to say that practice he os,
light ofn this institution and that nothing but eohani-
cal narrornes If legal education, unworthy an en-
lightened lawyer could ever paronise the init
nation that such Institution only adopted for
the incubation ofthc science and not of the of our
| nrnfe. sinn-an intlmnliOn confined. dnnhilcra 10 a