The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-05-16
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN TIKI UNITED STATES.

TN the year ia24 under the auspices ofths Uniye,'
| i atty OF Maryland, established IN the cay OF Bal
timofo Law School under The denomination of the
MARYLAND Law Institute. This establiwhinent cont
nued in successful operation nearly eleven years, bss
ing received students from eeuen OF the States ana
from, two foreign countries. Owing 20 the pressure
Of an extensive practice simultaneously WIN 'Ee uu-
ties which the Institution involved resolved IN Tue
year 1886 To abandon moi lily the practice oi my ever
and long cherished profession, but also the Law ins
tue and for health and ease, sought the more genial
climates oI Europe. Finding, at this uipr, my heah
perfectly restored and with abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion 10 that great science which
10 this country of all Others needs 10 be nehodcaify
and carefully studied--aDd seeking, more err indus
tyiou. and continued occupation, essential TO happ
in land that knows oilers resol we'd TO r~-ests
| blish tho Law lnsthution-and have selected ihsla
delphia Tho place OF its location. In doing have
thought that city 10 the Union affords such various
| and ample inducements for all the purposes OF the
Law Sutherland that in none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
| comfort.
| The frequent applications made TO me from dis
lance the former occasion, in regard to the patle
tars Of my enterprise induce me To anticipate similar
| inquiries now-and, TO meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, all that | offer in
explanation, and, probably as all that may be requ-
| site.
| The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
and their cognaie and auxiliary TOPICS a spacious
and beautiful building, NJ. III South Fifth street
| suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The all suitably furnished supplied
| with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
,oi pre- Sden Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved form. Students admitted at any time
throughout the ycar-v-couIses OF study, and the
quiste books supplied, exactly to meet the
wants and Of the student, according he may
design practice his profession either in the country,
or in some of the maritime cities. The laws of every
Slate in the Union in some degree dwelt upon
practice is constantly blended with heory--but the
deep and radical error OF pdren well of students
is carefully avoided alIude the too erroneous
ton that law students to be made mechanical
arsansmere attorneys, learning practice by rote and
jealous of bookkno,cedge, being too thsoretical
This mschirvoos error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession and is eross mistake, since
no practising attorney was good and lasting one
who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
theory of the law. therefore cannot scquiesce in,
and will yield to, the vulgar Of putting
practice before and above theoryit is unnatural
inrersion Of the established order of naturean gno.
rant and sovenIy way Of urging young at
tempts far beyond the powers Of the human ind
for if the grounds and of the science be not
| well known, the practice cannot be we'll known.
But the error, to which so earnestly aude is
fou ded upo another which is equally false and mar
row. vIz--that students learn the practice only in
practising lmoyers office On the contrary gen
eral rule, II is the very last place in which he
does, can learn the prac,ce-and this be made
extremely manifest. What is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take single exampIe-and
disco onanes. The theory, or law point says to the
student if A lends b his watch and h sells it,
fuses to return it, may bring what is called
ton of Trover and Conversion. Now roper
hndng, and conversion means apprcpriating ii to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other heorefical law poIns-vlz. that the find ng Is
now verbal fiction, not at all material TO be
prored-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
fendan TO his consists in the withhold
ing the properly from the plaintiff although it should
be ever clearly proved that he in no way used the
property for himself OF for any purpose whatever but
IN yaitI, l.I ,.l.i,,
Now all this theory must be learn, and good
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
on the plaintiff part cons lists of thorough knowledge
of he forms prectdents-and the defenda mt part
ofthe like knowledge to the formula of the pleas
rejonders, &c. There are, therefore books Of prec-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known to the iaw-pro.
gressivey from the importation of the rrt to the final
| return upon the execution These Jormui1 of wrts
returns TO Observation-Disclosures
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of juTies -tral-eI-
cepons-verdict-j udgment-eIecution-retur of
execuiion-or, on the other hand trial--or APP
peal &c, &c.-are all set forth in the rreeed, MS so
that he who knows most of precedeHts knows most
of practice but STILL these presidents cannot them
selves be understood, without a previous theoretical
know ledge. The question, then itse into his
Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
pTecedents, iao sensu, who never saw pr actsing
lawyers Office And why not On the contrary
cannot be learn far more of practice by the JUDI
cious and careful study Of all the formula hch he
never does in practising lawyers ofice) than by
writing, OF rather copying those simple and occasion
al declarations, pleas &C. which the ma ster Of n Office
assigns to the students IL uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing the eye of the siudent-or II il does only 10 me-
chanically copy it Again: w no can dist npuish be-
tween real suit in court and fictitious one in which
one student prepares the orit-another the return
another The declaralion- some other the pea &c
until all the Practical proceedings gone through
| And " hat these students king -<rorJ ~
the whole, and then comparing all with a certified re-
cord Il ON some court OF justice in a like action All
this surely may be done In Law nstItution-and far
,ter-more qulet ,-and with more time than in bus-
Offices where many precious hours are often lost m
useless messages-'ong ~aks-iiansorbing letters
copying mot deriang) dcclai atoms, pleas, replica
tons, &c. so generally the sole workmanship o. the
master of the Office, and so very seldom that Of the
student ] confess that all this is TO my mind extreme
ly plain and has long is6ed of The popular and
serious which has placed young IN offices
where little either otbeory or Of practice is learnt This
surely Is not always the casebu II Is too oflen such
asnany deYonding students have found and as Others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much of theory Of practice until afer they
eane 10 tbs bsr but at which time 1t found very
no hill and arduous work, and sometimes accom-
| pshed through whole life of toll Doubtless
there many noble exceptions to The correctness of
these remarks but still aver IT as fact that my
| experience has never made me acquainted with any
| Young la,pyer who in candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hszndand that practice, to any really val
liable and abiding extent Is the last thing student
can hope tor IN practising lawyers office.
After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty |
years in all of the courts, and devotion To the in-
rests Of ur students, during much of that period may
not bo too much say that practice never be lost
light ofin this Institution and that nothing but meehan-
cal nnToiones Of legal education, unworthy e en-
! luhtencd lawyer, could paronise even the init
nation, that such lnstil ution only adopted for
the incubation oftbe science and not the Of our