The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-04-13
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

| In lHE UNlIED - n Ed.
-
TN TIE year 1874 under the auspices of the Uniser-
i siiy Of Maryland | established ia the city OF Bal
tiInore Law School, under the denomnat'o" Of The
Maryland Law Institute This establishment con'i-
nued In successful operation nearly eleven years, hav
ing received students from elsvea Of the States, and
! from two foreign countries, Owing 10 the pressure
of an extensive practice, simultaneously WIN tne du-
ties which the Institution Involved resolved IN Inc
year 1886 abandon not Iy the practice OF my ever
aud long cherished profession, but also the Law lnst-
tule and for health and ease soogh, the more genial
climates OF Europe. Finding at this ume, my health
perfectly restored and with II abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion that great science, which
in this county, of all others, needle to be methodleaHy
and carefully siudied-and seeking, moreover indus
uous and continued occupation, 80 essential 10 hsPP-
ness ia land that knows oilers resol, ID 10 Ie-esla-
blsh the Law lnstilulion-and have selected Phila
dlphia he place of its location In soag have
thought that city IN the Union affords such various
and ample inducements for all the purposes Of the
Law Sutherland that in can more worthy
economy be preserved, and ye, with every requisite
| comfort.
| The frequent applications made TO me from dis
lance the former occason in regard to the partie
uias Of my enterprise, induce 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 cognate and auxiliary topics, Is spacious
|
suitable for the accommodation Of about sixty stu
DENTS The rooms all suitably furn shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
scAh precedents Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved form. students admitted any time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the
quisite books are supplied, exactly sneet the
wants and views of The student, according he may
design to practice his profession, either in the country
or IN some of the maritime cities The laws Of every
State in the Union are some degree dwelt upon
| IL ed vii the, h m
deep and radical error of parents, well Of students
is carefully avOlded-I allude the too erroneous
ton that law students to be made mechanical
arftsan-mere attorneys learning practice by roe, and
jealous of book k''ociedge, being theoretical -
This miscbevous error inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross mistake since
no practising attorney was good and lasting me-
who was not al $50 deeply versed in the and
| theory OF the law. | 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 naiurean igno
| rant and sloveny way of urging young at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
fOY If The grounds and of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | earnestly allude is
fou ded upoh another, which is equally false and mar
row. viz-ihat students car learn the practice only in
practising la,cyers office! On he conir ry as gen
era rule, it is Inc very last place in which he ever
does, or can learn the pracice-and this be made
extremely manifest. Wha, is practice as distinguish
ed from heo,y9 Take a single exnmpe-and tr uno
disco The theory or a law point says to the
STUDENT if A lends his watch and sells it, G.
fuses to return it, may bring what is called an
ton Of Trover and Conversion. Now froper means
bndng, and conversion means appr"prating 1t to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other heorettcat law points-vlZ that the find ng is
efba fiction not at all material or TO be
prousd-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
frndant TO his consists la the withhold
ing the property from the plaintiff, although it should
be ever clearly proved that he in way the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
| to Withhold il from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and good |
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
on the plaintiffs Tar CON lists Of thorough knowledge
of he forms preetdens-and the defendan part
fthe like knowledge TO the Jormtag of the pleas
reJonders, &c There are, therefore, books prece-
deris these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known to the law-pro. |
gressiveIy from the importation of the orit the final
return upon the erectton. These Jormuie Of wrls |
returns 10 -bail--impaIlance |
contnuances-impannelling of junes -iral-e1-
ceptions-verdct-Ju dg ment-eI, cution-return of
executio n--or, on the other hand, tria-or APP
peal sc, &c.-are all set forth in the fpreced MS SO
that, he who knows mo.t Of preeedeatS, knows most
of practice but still, these precedents them
selves be understood withou, previous theoretical
know ledge The question: then, resolves Itself
Cannot law student be well grounded in all the |
precedents, iaio sen'u, who never practising
| lawyers office Add why not On the contrary /
cannot he learn far more OF practice by the JUDI |
cious and careful study Of all the formula (which he
never does In practising lawyers oilice) than by |
Writing rather copying, tho-e simple and occasion
al dec aratons pleas, &c, which he Office
assigns to the sudentl l. IL not uniformly the ca Sc
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort done by the master himself without ever reach
ing the eye Of the sudent-or f II does only 10 me-
| chanicslly copy II Again; Who distinguish be.
tween real suit IN court, and fictitious one VIII oh
one student prepares the ~rt-snother the return
another The declara,ion- some other the pea, &c
until all the practical proceedings are gone through
And wbal prevents these students making record of
the whole, and then comparing all with 9, rtifed re-
cord from court OF justice in like action All
this surely may be done IA Law Insluuton-and far
,ler-more quietly with time than in buzz.
ness Offices where many precious hours are often lost in
useless message-'ong ~alks--fanscr bling letters
copying mot derising) declai atoms pleas replica
! tons sc so generally the sole workmanship o the
master Of The Office, and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this is TO my mind extreme
Iy plain and has long sGed me of tho popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either oftheory of practice learnt This
surely Is always the csse-b It is too offer such
asmany s1Yonding students have found and as others
have been compelled 10 confess, that they never
learned much Of theory Of practice until after they
tams 10 hs bu but at which tine II found very
uphill and arduous work and sometimes not accom-
piished even through whole life Of toll Doubtless.
there are many noble exceptions TO he correctness of
these remarks but still aver II a fact that my
experience has never made me acquainted With any
young lo,cyer, who, IN candid Conversation was not
wiling 20 confess that bis legal education had BEEN
very baphazard-and hat practice, 10 any really val
liable and abiding extent Is the last thing 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 in-
rests o(iao students, dunng much Of that period may
not be much to say that practice be lost
,Q ht ofp this institution and that nothing but m,ehan
cal narro,snoss Of legal education unworthy e an en-
lightened lawyer could ever palronsc even the init |
nation that such an Institution only adoped for