The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-04-19
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF Law
IN THE UNITED STATES.

Iu IN IIE UNI Ell IA ED.
TN the wear 1924 under tho auspices the UDlser-
siy Of Maryland, established In the city OF BAL
timore Law School, under the dsnominstio" Of 'he
Mayi land Law institute. THIS establishment conf
nued Ia successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing receive students from eleven oil the States, ana
fsom Two foreign countries. Owing 10 the pressure
OF an extensive practice simultaneously WIN tne ou
ties which the Institution involved resolved In tns
year 1886 TO abandon lily the practice oil my ever
and long cherished profession but also the La" ios.
tute and for health and ease, sought the more genia
climates of Europe. Finding, al this tune, my heahh
perfectly restored, and with II no abatement whatever
Of my zeal and devotion TO that great science, which
IN this country of all Others needs TO be mefhodeaHy
and carefully studied-and seeking, moreover, indus
t'ious and continued occupation, SO essential 10 hap
in land that knows iders resol ed 10 re-esto-
bl,sh the Law instuion--snd have selected I'hi!a
dsipia as he place of ts location In sorg have
thought that city Ia the Union affords such various
and mple inducements for all tho purposes OF the
| Law Sutherland that Ia a worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
| comfort,
The irequen, applications made from dis
lance, ON the former OCCASION in regard to the partle
ulais of my enterprise induce 10 anticipate similar
inquiries now---and, meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, as all that can offer in
explanation, aud, probably as all that may be requ-
| site.
Tho Institution, dedicated alone to law studies
and their eognae and auxiliary topics, IL spacious
suitable for tho accommodation of about sixty stu.
dents. The rooms all suitably furn shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
r proeedents Of practice IN every conceivable and
proved brn. Stud,ns are admitted at any time
throughout, the yoar--courses OF study aud the re-
quisitc books are supplied, exactly to neet the
wants and views Of the student, according he may
design Ia practice his profession ethe IN the country
or IN SOME of the maritime cities The laws of every
State in the Union in degree dwelt upon
practice Is constantly blended with Meory--but the
deep and radical error OF parents, well of students
is carefully AVOIDED ailude to the to erroneous
ton that law students to be made mechanical
artisans attorneys learning practice by roe and
jealous OF book knopitdge, being too heor eiieai -
This mischievous rror must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and Is gross mistake, since
no practising attorney ever good and lasting one
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 error Il putting
practice before and above theoryit is unnatural
inrersi0n Of the established order Of naur.-an igno-
rant and sioveny way OF urging young at
| tempts far beyond the powers of the human ind
for, # he grounds and Of the science be not
| well known, the practice eInnot be well known.
But the error, to which | earnestly allude is
founded upon another, which is equally false and mar
row. vz-tha students learn the practice only in
practising lacyers Office On The cun,r. ~ as gen
era rule, 1t Is he very last place which he ever
does, can learn the pracce-and this ca be mad
extremely manifest. What practice as distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single xample-and er ,.no |
disco onines. The theory law point says to the |
student if A lends his watch and sells it, or re.
fuses to return 1t, may bring what is called nc
ton of Irover and Conversion. Now iroper means |
finding, and conversion means appropriati0g il to his
own use and here, again. the student learns two
other theoretical law poins-viz. that the find ng j. !
now mere verbal fiction, not al all material to be
propsd-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
ftndan to his oon use consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although ii should
be ever so clearly proved that he in no way useu the
property for himself, OF for any purpose whatever, bot
TO withhold Il from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and a good !
deal more, before the practice comes-and that Practice
on The plaintiff Iar con isis of thorough know ledge
OF he forms or prectdens-hnd the defendants part
OF the like knowledge as TO the formula Of the pleas
reJo'nders &c There are, therefore, books Of prece
denis these books unfold practical proceeding
| whatever, in every action known to the iau-pro |
gressively from the importation of the ,cr To the final
return uptn the erecution These formula of wrirs
returns TO ccs-bai-impaIlances
-conunuances-impaDDe lling of lures -Irial--ex-
ceptions-veIdct- judg Observation-Disclosures of
eNecution-or on the other hand new trial-or ap-
peal &c, &c-ore all set forth Ia The Ipreced MS so
that, he who knows moAt of precedeHis, knows most
Of practice but st these precedents cannot them
selves be unde rstoOd, without a PREVIOUS tb,or,icol
knowe ledge. The question, then, resolves into this
Cahnot a law student be- well grounded in all the
ptecedents, iato @nsn who never saw pr actsng
lawyers office ! And why not On the CONTRARY |
cannot BIO learn tar more OF practice by the iud,-
cious and careful study Of all the formula (which he
never does Ia practising lawyers ofiice) than by
writing, OF rather copying those SIMPLE and OCCASION
al dec ACTIONS, pleas &c which the of Office
assigns to the student Il IL moi uniformly tb. case
that all really difficult and responsible business OF this
is done by the master himself without ever reach.
ing The eye OF the siudent-or, # IT does only to
cbanicay copy II 7 Again: Who can dist nguish be. |
tween real suit in court and fictitious one in which
one student prepares the ~ut-bDother the return
another The deolarallon- some other the pea, &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students mak ing a record Of
the whole then comparing all with c, rtified re-
cord ION some court of justice in like action All
this surely may be done Law Northumberland far
ttermore quiet and with time tia n ia busi-
offices where many preclOushours often lost ia
useless messages-!ong ~alks-lianscrbinr lrtters-
COPING mot derising) decla atoms, pleas replica
tons &c 80 generally the sole workmanship oi the
master Of the Office, and very seldom that Of the
student. confess that all this Is 20 my mind extreme
ly plain and has long s6ed me Of the popular and
serious which has placed young men IN Offices,
where little either oftbcory opaclce is learnt This
surely IS not always the case-but is too often such
asimany depending students have found and as others
have been compelled 10 confess, that they never
learned much Of theory Of practice until after eu
came 10 N. bar but hich time II was found very
up- hill and arduous work and sometimes accom-
piished even through whole life of toll Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions 10 the correctness of
these remarks but STILL aver II az fact that nv
experience has never made me acquainted with any
Young ia,ryer, who in candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess tha, his legal education had been
very hap-hazard-and that practice TO any really val
liable and abiding extent, Is the last thing student
can ever hope Tor N practising lawyers ufice.
After AZ extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all Of the courts and a devotion 10 the infe
rests Of Ldr sudsni during much Of that period II may
not be too much say that proetce never he lost
pht ofn this Instuticn and that hing but rnechan
cal narroteness Of legal education unworthy e an en-
liphtencd lawyer could ever latronise the int.
nation that such Institution only adopted for
the incubation Of he science and not Of the of our
-. L