The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-05-11
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

| in THE UNiIED . n ro
| TN the year 1924 under the auspices fthe Uniser
| i sily OF Maryland established IN the city OF Bal
timofe Law School, under the denomination oil me
| Maryland Law Institute This establishment conf
nued IN successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing recey. students from eieret OF the States ana
from two foreign countries. Dang TO the pressure
of extensive practice, simultaneously WIN tue ou-
ties which the Institution involved resolved IN tue
year 1886 to abandon not ly the practice oil my ever
and long cherished profession, hut also the Law lns-
tute and for health and ease sough, the more genial
climates VI Europe. Finding, al this time, my heaiih
| perfectly restored and with II no abatement Whatever
Of my zeal and devotion 10 that great science whloh
In this county OF all others, needs TO be pefodeafy
and carefully siudied-and seeking, moreover, indus
trous and continued occupation, so essential To hapP-
in land that knows oilers resol ed to re-esta-
| biish>the Law lDstiution-and have selected FhIa
deiphia he place OF lis location In 10 doag have
thought that city ia the Union affords such various
and ample inducements for all the PURPOSES OF the
Law Sutherland that in none can a more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort.
| The frequent app ications made TO me from dis
lance the former occasion, in regard To the partic
uins of my erpTse, induce To anticipate similar
| inqu Dow-and TO all such in advance,
| now address this Circular all that offer IN
EXPLANATION, and, probably, all that may be Tequ-
| site.
| The Institution dedicated alone to law studies
and their cogDale and auxiliary topics, spacious
and beautiful building, NJ. III South Fifth street
suit bic for the accommodation of about sixty stu
| dents The rooms are all suitably fuIn shed supplied
| with extensive law and miscellaneous library
tch precedeniS 0 practice IN every conceivable and
proved frn. Studen admitted at any time
throughout The year-courses OF study and the re-
quisite books supplied, exactly meet the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design ,opracce his profession, eithe in the country
in of the maritime cities The laws Of every
| State IN the Union in some degree dwelt upon
| practice is constantly blended with heCry--but the
deep and radical error OF parents, well of students
is carefully avolded-I alude to the too
ton that law students TO be made mechanical
artisan-mere attorneys learning practice by roe, and
jealous of book knoctedge, being too theoretical =
This misc hevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake since
no practising attorney good and lasting one
who was not also deeply sersed in the reasons and
theory Of the law. i therefore cannot acquiesce in
and never will yield to, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above theory-it is unnatural
Inversion Of the established order Of nalurean igno
| rant and sIoveny way of urging young at
| tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for The grounds and reasons Of the science be not
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
| But the error, which | SO earnestly allude, is
fou lded upoh another, which is equally false and mar
row, viz-tha students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office On he canIr.ry, gen
| era rule, 1t is he very last place in which he ever
does, or can learn the pracice-aDd this can be made
extremely manifest. w hat is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single exHmpe-and TT lino
disce oDines. The theory law point says to the
student if A lends bis watch and sells 1t, or re-
fuses 10 return IT, may bring what is called
ton of Trover and Conversion Now frorer means
binding, and conversion means pproprating it to his
| own use and here, again, the student leans two
other theoretical law poin,s-yiz that the finding is
now mere verbal fiction, not al all MATERIAL 10 be
propsd-and secondly, that the conversion by the de.
iendant 10 his consists the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff, althoug 1t should
be ever clearly proved that he in way the
property Tor himself OF tor any purpose whatever but
TO withhold It from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt aud good !
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
on the plaintiffs part consts of thorough know ledge
of the forms prectdentsand the defendants part
of the like knowledge to the formula 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 law-pro- |
gresiyely from The importation of the r,ii 10 he final
| return upon The erectton. These tornui9 of wris
| -Teturns TO wrlls-appearanc -bail-inparlance
contInuances-lmpannelling of junes -rial-eI- |
cspions-veIdIct-j judi ment-eI ecutlon-return of |
executon-or, on the other hand, trial-or APP |
peal SC, &c.-are all Sc. forth IN the ipreesd MS so
that, he who knows moat Of precedeots, knows most
of practice but STILL these precedenls cannot them
selves be undo rsoOd without a previous theoretical
know ledge The question: then reso Itself this
Cannot law student be well grounded in all the
precedents, iaio seisu, who never pr actsing
", |
cannot be learn far more of practice by the JUDI
cous and careful study of all the formula which be
never does in practising lawyers Office than by
whiting OF rather copying, tho'e simple and
al declarations pleas &c, which The of Office
assigns TO the sudent7 Il it uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
is done by The master himself without reach
ing the eye OF the sudent-or II II does only To
| cbanically copy II Again: Who distngu be !
tween real suit in court and fictitious one 10 which
one student prepares the wnt-another the return
another he declaration- some other the pea, &c
until all the practical proceedings are gone through
And hat prevents these students MAX ng record of
the whole, and then comparing all with a certified
cord Fl ON court Of justce IN like action All
this surely may be done 10 a Law InsIlution-and far
b, er-moro quet and with more time tina in busi.
offices, where many precious hours often lost ia
| useless messages-lonR walks-tianscrb bling letters
copying mot derising) declarations pleas replica.
tons sc. generally the sole workmanship o the
master Of the office, and very seidom that Of the
student | confess that all this j. my mind extreme
y plain and has long sfed me Of h popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either Theory practice is learnt This
surely - not always the case but IL is Of such
as'many depending students have found and as Others
have been compelled to confess, that they never
learned much of theory Of practice until after heu
cam, 10 u, bar but at which time 1t found very
10 hill and arduous work, and sometimes not accom-
! pilshed even through whole life of toll Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions TO The correctness Of
these remarks but still | aver az a fact that nv
| experience has never made me acquainted with any
Young aioyer, who, IN candid conversation was not
wiling 20 confess that his legal education had been
very haphszard-and hat practice, any really val
| liable and abiding extent, the last thing a student
can ever hope Tor IN practising lawyers office.
| After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears IN all Of the courts and devotion To the into
rests ofia,o students during much Of that period may
not be too much say that practice never be lost
ightofn this Institution and that nothing but meehai
cal nayro,oness Of legal education unworthy f an en-
ligh,ened lawyer could patrobse the init
nation that such lnstit utinp only adopted for
the ncucaton the science and Of the ar Of our