The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-03-13
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF Law
In THE UNITED STATES.

N the year ie2l, under the auspices OF vi" onr"
atty OF MARYLAND established ~ the city OF Bal
timofe Law School under the denomination OF The
Maryland Law Institute. This establishment soh'r
nued la successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing received students from eisre oil Tue States anu
from two foreign countries. Owing 10 tue pressure
OF AN extensive practice simultaneously WIN the uu-
tes which the Institution involved, resolved ia Tue
year 1886 10 abandon not ly the praouee OF my ever
and long cherished profession, but also the Law ins'
tute and for health and ease sought inc more Rena'
climates OF Europe. Finding, al this tme, my hea'h
periecily restored and with II no abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion To that great science when
IN this county of all others, needs TO be fnehooy
and carefully sludied-and seeking moreover ihuus-
trous and continued occupation essential 10 hepp-
ness in land that knows dies rosol' ed to reesa-
blish the Law lnstluiioD-and have selected i'hiia
deiphia as The place of lis location In dong have
thought that city Ia the U mon Affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposes OF Tue
Law Sutherland that ia none eau more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with ose,y roqois''
comfort.
The frequent applications made To rue from dis
lance the former occasion, Ia regard 10 The P1iic-
ulars of my enterprise induce 90 anticipate similar
inquiries now-and Ia meet all such IN edyano. ]
now address this Circular all tina, can oder ~
EXPLANATION and probably, as all that may bo rcqu'
site.
The Institution, dedicated alone TO law studies,
and their nate and auxiliary TOPICS spacious
and beautiful building, N. III South Fiilh street,
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents. The rooms are all suitably urn shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
uiu precedn Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved form. Studens are admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses OF study, and the re-
quise books supplied, exactly 10 acct the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design 10 practice his profession, euhef IN the country,
in some OF the maritime cities. The laws OF every
State in the Union are in some degree dwet upon
practice is constantly blended with MeCry-but the
deep and radical OF parens well of students,
is carefully AVOIDED alludc To the to
ton that law students TO be made mechanical
atisanmere attorneys, leaning practice by rote, and
jealous of book knooiedge being too theoretical -
This miscbevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and is groes mistake, since
practising attorney was ever good and lasting me-
who not also deeply yersed 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 lheory-it is unnatural
inrersion Of the established oder of naurean igno
rant and slovenly way of urging young men on 10 at
tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
for # the grounds and of the science be not
| well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error to which | so earnestly allude, Is
fou ded upoh another, which is equally false and
row. vz.-that students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office On the cJnlTlry, gen
era rule, 1t is The very last place in which he
does, can learn the praclce-and this be made
extremely manifest. What is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take single exampe-and az ttno
dsce OnlflcS he Nt0ry or law point says To the
student, If "A lends b his watch and b sells it,
fuses return it, A may bring what is called
ton of Trover and Conversion Now rooer
hndIDg and CONVERSION means appropnatiog 1t TO his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law pons-viz that the find ng Is
verbal fiction, not at all material, 10 be
proredand secondly that the conversion by the de-
fendant 10 his oien use consists IN the mere withhold
ing the properly from the plaintiff, although it should
be clearly proved tina, 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 aud good
deal more before the practice comes-and that practice
the plaintiffs part lists of thorough know ledge
of he forms preetdenisand the defendant part
of the like knowledge to the formula of the pleas
rejonders &c. There are, therefore books Of preee
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
| whatever, in every action known 10 the law-pro
gressyey from the Importation of the icri TO the final
| return upon The ereeaion These formula of wrIts
| returns TO writs-appearances-ba il-mpaIance
-continuances-Impannell of juTes -Irlal-e1-
| ceptions--verdict- Observation-Disclosures of
execution-or on the other hand, trial--or APP
peal &c &c.-are all set forth in the fpreeed
that, he who knows most Of precedeAts, knows most
of practice but STILL these presidents cannot them
selves be undo rstood, without a previous theoretical
knowledge. The question: then resolves Itself into this
| Cannot law student be well grounded in all the
! precedents, iaio Sensu, who saw a pr aclsng
| lawyers Office Add why not On the contrary,
1
cious and careful study Of all the tormula (which be
never docs in practising lawyers oihce) than by
writing, rather copying, those simple and OCCASION
al declarations, pleas &c, which The master Of Office
assigns to the sludentl l. II uniformly the
thai ali really difficult and responsible business of this
sort is done by the master himself without reach
ing the eye Of the student-or, if II does only
chanlcaly copy III Again: Who distinguish be-
tween real suit in court, and fictitious one in which
! one student prepares the wrt-another the return
4 her The declaTaIDu- otl,r the Ar
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record Of
| the whole, and then comparing all with certified re-
cord Il ON court of justice In a like action All
this surely may be done a Law nstltution-and far
b tteT-more quetlS and with time than in bus-
ncss Offices where many precious hours often lost
useless messages-long salks-liansor,bing letters
coming mot deriang) declai atoms, pleas, replica
tons sc. 80 generally the sole workmanship OF the
master Of the Office, and very seldom that Of the
student | confess that all this Is to my mind extreme
ly plain aud has long "a shed of the popular and
serious error which has placed young men Offices
where little either oftheory or ofprsclice is learnt This
surely Is not always the casebut II 10 too often such
aImany depending students have found and o. others
have been compelled to confess, that they never
learned much Of theory Of practice until qfler usg
came 10 the bar but, at which tune II found very
no hill and arduous work, and sometimes not accom-
! tiished even through whole life of toll. Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions the correctness Of
| these remarks but still | aver It az a fact that my
| experience ha. never made acquainted with any
young la,syer who, in candid conversation, was not
willing 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-hazard-a that practice, any really val
liable and abiding extent, rs the last thing student
! can ever hope for IN practising lawyers Office
| Aher an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all Of The courts and devotion TO the int
rests ofiar students, duung much Of that period It may
not be too much to say that practice be lost
light ofin this institution and that nothing but peoLani-
cal nGToCness Of legal education unworthy e en-
lirhtened lawyer, could ever paronise the inti-
nation that such lnsti ution only adopted for
the incubation of the science and not of the ar Of our
l.. 4. tt,ttu I,ttlft