The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-05-13
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

oneJ In successful epera,ion nearly eleven wears hay
| ing received students from eiecea OF the States and
| from two fofeign countries. OWING 10 'ne pressure
of extensive practice, simultaneously WIN ine gu"
ties which the Institution involved resolved, IN Tue
year 1886, to abandon not y the pfAetee OF my ever
and long cherished profession, but also the La" ins-
tute and for health aud ease, sought tue more genis
climates of Europe. Finding, al this time, my health
perfectly restored and with II abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion that great science, which
in this county. of all Others needs to be msfodeaiy
and carefully siudied-and seeking, moreover, inuus
tfous and continued occupation, essential To happ-
ness in land that knows idiers reso ed TO ie-esia
bIsh the Law lnstiulion-and have selected Ihiia
delhia the place of It's location. In Dong have
thought that city In the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposts Of The
| Law SiudeDi--and that in none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
| comfort
| The frequent applications made 10 from dis
lance the former occasion in regard to the parfic
uis of my enterprise, induce TO anticipate similar
| ina ures now--aDd 10 meet all such in advance,
nov 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 cognale and auxiliary topics, spacious
and beautiful buldng, N. III South Fifth street,
suitable for the accommodation Of about sixty stu
| dents. The rooms all suitably furn she'd supplied
| with extensive law and miscellaneous library
Nth preeedents Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved firm. SiudeDs admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the
gusIte books supplied, exactly to heet the
wants and views of the student, according as he may
design To practice his profession, etber in 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 MeCry-but the
deep and radical error OF parents, well of students
Is carefully avoided aIlude the too erroneous
ton that law students to be made mere mechanical
artisdnmere attorneys learning practice by rote and
jealous of book knowledge, being too theo reeai -
This miscbevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is gross misiak since
no practising attorney was good and lasting one
| who was not also deeply veIsed in the and
theory OF the law | therefore cannot acquiesce in
and never will yield to- the vugar error Of putting
practice before and above theory- is an unnatural
Inversion Of the established order of nature-an gno
rant and slovcny way Of urging young at
temp,s far beyond the powers of the human mind
for, If he grounds and of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | earnestly allude is
ou ded upoo another, which is equally false and
row, viz--that students learn the practice only in
practising laloyer's office, On he cJnlrry, 5 gen
era rule, II Is he very last place in which he ever
does, or can learn the praclice-and Ibis be made
extremely manifest w hat is practice 5 dislng nirh-
Ell from theory? Take single exampIe-and er uno
disco onines The theory a law point says TO the
student, if lends Is his witch, and sells IT, or e.
fuses to return it, A may bring what is called
| ton of Trover and Conversion. Now froper means
finding, and conversion means apprpriaiiog to his
| own usr and here again, the student leans two
other theoretical law poInls-vz. that the find ng
now mere verbal fiction not al all material, 10 be
prorsd-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
fndant to his consists la the mere WITHHOLD
ing The properly from the plaintiff although II should
be ever clearly proved that he IN way USED the
property for himself OF 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
| d of a hDrouuU
of III, forms prectdns-and. the defendants part
of the like knowledge TO the formula of the pita-
rejondcrs, &c, There are therefore, books Of prece-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, IN every action known t. the iaw--pro
gressney from the importation of the wrtJ the final
return upon The ereciaion These Jormuia of wrrts
| returns 10 wris-appearaUc es--ba-mpa lances
Acknowledgment of jufies -lrial-,X-
ceplions-verdlct- judgment of
| eX,cuion-or, on the other hand new trdI--or APP
peal, &c &c-are all set forth IN The Ipreeed MS so
that, he vino knows most Of precede Is, knows most
of practice bat s,l, these precedents canno them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question, then, resolv inlo
| Cannot law student be well GROUNDED in all the
| pfeceJebts Laio sensu who never saw pr actsing
| lawyers ofiice} AID why not On the contrary,
| cannot he learn far more OF practice by the iud-
cious and careful study of all the formula hch he
never does in practising lawyers Office than by
wiling, rather copying ho,e simple aud OCCASION
al dec aratons, pleas &C. which he master If an office
|
thai all really difficult and responsible business of this
-or done by the master himself without reach
ing the eye OF the student-or # il does only 10 me
| chancay copy IT Again: Who can distinguish be
tween real suil ia court and fictitious one IN which
| one student prepares the eut-anothcr the return
| another he declnratiOn- some other the ca &c
| until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record of
the whole and then comparing all with rtfed re-
cord Fl ON some court of justice IN like action All
this surely may be done Law InsItutionand far
b ttef-more quletI -aDd with more time than in bus-
ness offices here many precious hours often lost il
useless messages-.ong walks--tianscr bling htters-
eopyng (not derising) declarations, pleas, replica
tons &c. SO generally the sole workmanship o the
master of he office and very seldom that Of the
student | confess that all this my mind extreme
ly plain and has long sa ished me OF he popular and
serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either Theory of ractcc is learnt This
surely i not always the case-bU II is too often such
asnany desyonding students have found and Others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much of theory Of practice until qier hey
came 10 tbs bar but, at which time, It found very
M. hill and atduous work and sometimes not accom-
! pshcd even through whole life Of toll Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions 10 The correctness of
these remarks but still il az a fact that m,
| erpercnce has never made acquainted With any
| ,o,ng laiouer who IN candid Conversation was not
wiling 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-heznrd-and thai practice to any really val
liable aud abiding extent, rs the last thing student
can ever nope loI w PnetSpB lawyer once.
After an extensive practice of seven and twenty
wears IN all of the courts, and devotion To the int
rests Of lar students, during much Of that period may
no, be too much say that practice be los,
iph ofn this Institution and that nothing but mechani
cal narro,cness Of legal education unworthy # en-
m btrned lawyer could patropise even the int.
nation that such lnsti utun only adopted for
the incubation fihe science and not Of the arr OF our
! mois-sion--an iutmation confined, doubtless to a
very few bu, which still, Is one so fatal to the ne
L. tai. q.
formed parents and guardians add 10 the arden,
student who liable to be too anxious To- practice