The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-05-21
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
In THE UNITED STATES.

| IN THE UNITED STATES.
TN the year 1924 under the auspices of the Unver-
i silly of Msryland established In the city OF Bal
| tmore Law School under the denomin ALTON Of the
| Maryland Law Institute. This establishment CONT
nued Ia successful operation nearly eleven years has-
ing received students from eleven OF The States and
| from two foreign countries. Owing TO the pressure
Of extensive practice simultaneously with the du
ties 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 lns-
tute and for health and ease sought the more genial
climates of Europe. Finding, at this time, my health
perfectly restored and with II abatement whatever
OF my zeal and devotion TO that great science which,
IN this country Of all Others needs to be methodeaiy
and carefully sudied-and seeking, moreover, indus
trous and continued occupation essential To hspp-
ness In land that knows iders reso cd to Ie-eta
blish the Law instiuton-and have selected Phila-
deiphia The place Of It's location. In dosg have
thought that city ia the Union affords such various
and ample inducements for all the purposss OF the
| Law Siudent-and that ia none can a worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
| comfort.
| The frequent applications made to from dis
lance, on the former OCCASION regard TO the parttc
uiars of my enterprise induce anticipate similar
inquiries now--and, To meet all such in advance
now address this Circular, all that | can offer
explanation, and, probably all that may be reqa-
| site.
| The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognae and auxiliary topics, Is a spacious
| and beautiful building, NJ, III South Fifth street,
| suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The rooms all suitably furn she'd supplied
| with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
with pvecederts Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved form. Studen admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses of study, and the Ie-
qu'sIte books are supplied, exactly to neet the
wants and views Of the student, according he may
design TO practice his profession either 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 Lheory-but the
deep and radical error of parens well Of students
is carefully avoided allude the too erroneous no
lion that law students to be made mere mechanical
arfisansmere attorneys learning practice by rote and
jealous of book-kno,cledge being fheo retcai =
This mlschievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake since
no practising attorney was ever good and lasting one
who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
theory Of the law. therefore cannot scquiesce in
and never will yield to, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above theory-- is an un natural
nrerson of the established order Of nalure--an igno
rant and slovenly way Of urging young 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 well known.
| But the error to which | 50 earnestly allude is
founded upoh another which is equally false and mar
row, vz-that students can learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office On The Contrary, gen
eral rule it's The very last place in which he ever
does or can learn the praclice-and this can be made
extremely manifest w hat is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single example-and er uno
disco onnes. The theory, a law point says TO the
student, If A lends b his watch, and sells it,
| fuses TO return it, A may bring what is called
| ton of Trover and Conversion. Now frorer Ms
finding, and conversion appropriatDg to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other heoreficai law polnis-vz. that the find is
now mere verbal fiction not at all material or to be
propedand secondly that the conversion by the de-
fendant TO his otcn consists in the WITHHOLD
| ing the property from the plaintiff although il should
be ever SO clearly proved that he in way the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
| TO withhold II from the plaintiff
Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more, before the practice and that practice
on the plaintiff part consi lists of thorough knowledge
OF ihe forms prectden,-and, the defendant part
of the like knowledge to the fornlg of the pic as
rejolndcrs, DC. There are therefore, books of prece
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, IN every action known to the law-pro.
gressvey, from the importation Of the pr to the final
return upon the execution. These tormul9 of wrils
returns 10 wrhs-appearan ces-bai-impaI lances
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of juries -lrial-eI-
cepuons-verdict-J Observation-Disclosures of
execution-or, on the other hand new traI-or an
peal, &C. &c.-are all set forth in The fpreced MS SO
that, he who knows mo,t of precedents, knows most
of practice but stl these precedens canpo, them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge. The question, then reso into thus
Cannot law student be well grounded in all the
precedents, lafo sersti who never saw a pr actsng
| lawyers ofiicel And why not On the contrary
cannot he learn far more Of practice by the JUDI
eious and careful study of all the formula hich he
never does IN practising lawyers office than by
Writing, OF Rather copying ho,e simple and OCCASION
al declarations, pleas &C. hch he master Of office
assigns To the STUDENT IL 1t uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort Is done by the master himself without reach
ing the Of the siudent-or, " IL does only 10 me
chancay copy ii Again: Who can dist NJ uish be
tween real suit in court and fictitious one in which
| one student prepares the ~nt-another The return
another he declaration- some other the pea, &c.
until all the procioai proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record OF
the whole and then comparing all with a ca rtfied re-
cord Il ON court of justice in a like action All
this surely may be done IN Law Inslitution-and far
tte-more quietly and with more time than in busi
offices where many precious hours often lost il
useless messages-long walks-tIanscr bing letters
copying mo, devising) decls atoms pleas replica.
tons SC generally the sole WORK manship 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 of The popular nd
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices,
where little either oftheory practice is learnt This
surely, not always the casebutit is too often such
asimany dspoding students have found and as others
| have been compelled TO confess that they never
learned much ofthcory practice until after hey
came 10 tbs bar bot at which time II found very
no hill and arduous work, and sometimes accom-
pi,shed even through whole life Of toll. Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions to he correctness of
these remarks but still | aver il fact that nv
experience has never made me acquainted with any
young latrper, who, in candid conversation was no,
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very haphazard-and that practice to any really val
liable and abiding extent, Is the last thing student
can ever hope for practising lawyers office.
| After In extensive practice Of seven and twenty
years in all of the courts and devotion the ini-
rests ofirp students, during much Of that period may
not be too much say that practice never be lost
light on this institution and that nothing but meohan,-
cal narroioness Of legal education unworthy # an en-
lightened lawyer, could ever paronise the init
nation that such lnstil utiun was only adopted for
the ncncation OF the seenet and not OF the nr Of our