The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-02-13
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

4 IN YIN Ell . i "a Eo
TN the year 1874 under the suspos. the Uniser-
i city of Maryland 1 established ia the city OF Bal
tia,oTe Law School, under the denomination OF The
| Maryland Law Institute This establishment CONT
nued IN successful operation nearly eleven years bas
ing receive students from escen OF the States and
from Two foreign countries. Owing to the pressure
OF an extensive practice simultaneously with the du-
| Ties which the Institution involved resolved, IN the
year 1886 10 abandon moi iy the practice OF my
and long cherished profession, but also the Law los
tuie and for health and ease, sought The more genial
climates OF Europe Finding at this Time, uy health
perfectly stored, and with abae whatever
of my zeal and devotion that great science, which
in this county of all others. needs to be msiodeiy
and carefully sluded-snd seeking morrow T indus
t-ous and continued occupan, essential to happ-
ness IN land that knows ides resol ed To Ie-eta-
blish the Law lnst,uiion-and have selected PhiIa
deitia as he place of lis location In dos have
thought that no city in the MON affords such various
and an pie Inducements for all the purpos, Of the
| Law Sutherland that in none can a more worthy
| economy be preserved and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent app icatons made TO me from a dis
lance on the former OCCASION in regard to the pa'tic
uiars of my enterprise induce 10 anticipate similar
| inquiries now-aDd, To meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular, AS all that can offer in
explanation, and, probably, all that may be requ-
| site.
The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies
and their coenae and auxiliary topics, is spacious
| and BEAUTIFUL building, n III South Fifth street
suitable Tor the accommodation OF about sixty stu
dents The rooms all suitably iurn she'd supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
w Peeedents o practice in every conceivable and APP
proved Grn. Studen admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the ie-
quisIie books are supplied, exactly to meet the
wants and views of the student according as he may
design practice his profession either in the country
or in some Of the maritime cities The laws of every
State IN the Union in some degree dwet upon
practice is constantly blended with Meory-but the
deep and radical error of parents well of students
Is carefully avoided ailudc to the too erroneous
ton that law students TO be made mere mechanical
artisunsmere attorneys learning practice by rote and
jealous OF book-knotctedge, being too theoretical
This mlschevous 'rror must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake since
no practising Attorney was ever god and lasting ne,
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 error Of putting
practice before and above theoryi is an unnatural
inrersion Of the established order Of naurean ipno-
rant and sloveny way of urging young men on TO at
Temps far beyond the powers of the human mind
for, # The grounds and Of the science be not
well known, the practice cannot be we'll known.
But the error, to which earnestly aude, is
fou ded uoa another, which is equally false and
row, What students learn the practice only in
practising laicyers efcei On the conr.ry as a gen.
era rule, Is he very last place in whith he ever
does, or can learn the pracIiceand this be made
extremely manifest hat is practice distinguish
ed from heo'yI lake single example-and
disce olnes. The theory a law point says to the
student if lends b bis watch and sells it, or re-
fuses 10 Itiurn II, A may bring what is called an ac-
ton Of Trover and Conversion. Now trorer means
hnding, and conversion Apr priaing it to his
own use; and here, again, the student learns two
other heorefteai law polnls-vz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction not at all material or TO be
prorsd-hnd secondly, that the conversion by the de-
irnaan to his o'on use consists IN the mere WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although it should
be ever so clearly proved that he IN no way used the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
to withhold It from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory NUT be learnt and good
deal more before the practice that practice
on the plaintiffs part conrisls Of thorough know ledge
OF or prectdenfs-and, the defendant part
OF the Ike knowledge 10 the formula Of the pleas
rejolnders &c. There are therefore books Of py,ee.
denis these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever IN every action known to the law-pro,
gressvely from The importation of the pri he final
return upon the ereouton. These formula of wrlts
returns 10 wris-appearar ces--ba-inpaIlances
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Of junes -lr,al-ex.
verdct- JUDD ment-eI, cution-r.turn of
execution-or on the other hand, new tral--or ap-
peal &C. &e.-are all set forth in the Ipreced MS so
that, he who knows most Of precede u.s. knows most
of practice but still, these precedens cannot the
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
knowledge. The question: then reso YES lse INTO this
Canno, law student be well grounded in all the
a ID al no
lawyers ufiice1 Aud why not On the contrary
cannot be learn far more OF practice 10y the iud-
cious and careful study Of all the formula which he
never docs in practising lawyer ofics) than by
writing, OF rather copying, tho,e simple and occasion
al decarst ons, pleas Sc which he master an Office
assigns 10 the sludent7 l. il not unifornly the SO
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
son Is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing The eye Of the student-or # il does only 10 me-
chsnosiy cory ~ Again Who can distinguish be.
al Anffl MT Il
one student prepares the mt another the return
another he declaraiion- some other the o ca &c
until all the practical proceedings are gone through
And hat prevents these students MAX ing record of
the whole and then comparing all with a c, fie, re-
cord fom some court Of justice in like action All
this surely may be done Law Insitution-and far
uef-more qulet and with more time than ia bus-
Offices, where many precious hours are often lost In
useless messsres-'ong walks-,ianscr bling l,tters-
copying (not derising) declarations pleas reulics.
tons SC 90 generally the sole work mansbin a. IN.
master Of the Office and 80 very - ldom that of In,
student confess that all this i 10 nv mind extreme
" plain, and has long isfcd me of he popular md
serious error which has placed young IN Offices
where little either oftheory practice is learnt This
surely - not always the case but il is too often such
asmany deponding students have found and as nihers
have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much Of theory Of practice until after then
came the bar bot at which tine it wa found very
uphill and stduous work, and sometimes not accom- |
pished through whole life Of toll Doubtless
there macy noble exc piIobs to he correctness of
these remarks bot still aver it "a fact that nv
experience has never made me acquainted Nth any |
young lacyer, who, IN candid Conversation was not
willing confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hszard-snd that practice, to any really val
liable and abiding extent, the last thing student
can ever hope Tor IN praefising lawyers ofiice
After extensive practice Of seven and twenty |
year,. IN all Of the courts and devotion TO theinf
Of lar stdeHis duung much Of that period NAV
be much to say thot practice ca never be lost
ght ofn this nslitut, nd that nothing but r,ebani-
cal narounes Of legal education, unworthy e an en-
ghtened lawyer, could ever parobse even the in,i-
nation, tina, such Institution only adopted for
the medication ofthe science and not Of the ant Of our