The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-07-06
1 CIRCULAR no srUDENrs OF Law
in THE UNITED STATES.

IN THE UNITED stAAHS'
TN ,hs wear Isa4 under the suspcss efths UnysI-
siv Of MARYLAND established in tbs cay u - al
timors Law School, under the dcnomioAno" u s"'
MARYLAND Law Institute TIL. ssss blishusns CONT
pued in successful operation nearly steven years. az
ing received sudsnts from sscen OF the c'1ss, ~.
from Two foreign countries. Owing 70 me pressure
Of an extensive practice, simultaneously with the uu-
ties which the Institution involved issoiseJ ~ tns
year 1886 to sbsudon not ny the prsctcc 81 NY oc
and long cherished profession, but also tue la" is'
tuls and for he. lth AMI ease, sought ths more gsn'
climates of EuroI Fading, at this time my health
perfectly restored and with no abatement "nA.css'
Of my zeal aud devotion that great SCIENCE wnicn'
in this country, of all Others needs TO DC "sstSos'esy
and carefully studisd--and seeking, mofso,et' ,nou:
yious and continued occupation, 80 essential 10 hspp
ness in land that knows oilers resolved 10 tee.A
bsh the Law lnst.tution-snd have selected Fhss0-
dspia a. the place of its location. IN 20 so'ag have
thought that city 10 the Union Affords such various
and ampis Inducements for all the purposes u Tue
Law S,uLent--and that in none can more wonny
economy be- preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort. fJef
The frequent app icAlions made 10 me from = DIS
lance the former occasion, In regard to the pare
tla,y Of my enterprise induce me TO anticipate s'nat
inquiries posv--snd, u meet all such in advance,
nov address this CiyctLsr, all that can offer 10
explanation, and probably all that may bs requi
| site.
and their cognats and auxiliary topics, spacious
and beautiful building, NJ. III South F'fh street.
suitable for the accommodation Of about ssxty stu.
DENIS The rooms all suitably fugnshsd, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous lihxary--
M precsdsnis Of practice ia every conceivable and ap
proved firm. Siuden's are sdDitied at any time
throughout the year--courses oil study, ANIL the TO
qusile books supplied 10 ~ exactly to "ecs Inc
wants and Of the student according ~ ne may
design 10 practice his profession ethes IN the country
or ia some Of Tho maritime cities. The laws Of every
State in the Union in some degree dwet upUn--
practice is constantly blended with tAssvy-but the
deep and radical error Of pUeas ~ well a. OF Amde
carefully AVOIDED aiiude 10 the ito erroneous no
ton that law s,udenis 10 be made mere mechanical
srtisans-mcre aiose learning pracftee by roe, and
jealous Of okknosoiedgs being too theorsficai -
This mischievous error must inevitably degrade the
science and professioo, and ID eross mistake, since
no practising attorney good and lasting cne
who was not also deeply seTsed IN the reasons and
theory Of the law. | therefore cannot acquiescc in
and never will yield TO, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above theoryit Is an unnatural
;nrers;om Of the established order Of nauronn igno
rant and sIoveny way Of urging yuung men on 10 al
tempts far beyond the powers Of the human mind
for if The grounds and reasons Of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be we'll known.
| But the error, to which earnestly aIIude, is
fou nded upoa another which is equally false and
row, vz.-that students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office! On the contrary, gen
erai rule it is The very last place in which he ever
does can learn the practce-and this can be made
extremely MANIFEST w MAI IL UdCttcc as
| ed from theory? Take single exampe-and tr uno
disco The theory, or a law point says TO the
student, il A lends his watch, and sells it,
| fuses 10 return it, A may bring what is called
| ton Of Trover and Conversion. Now froper means
fnding and conversion approprating it to his
own use and here, again, the student learns two
other theoretical law pons-viz that the finding is
now mere verbal fiction, not at all material, TO be
prored-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
frndant TO his consists in the withhold
be ever clearly proved tina, he in way used the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
| TO Withhold II from the plaintiff.
| Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before practice comesand that practice
the plaintiffs part consists of thorough knowledge
of The forms prectdenisand the defendants 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 to the law-pro
gressvey from the importation Of the icrito the final
return upon the execution. These tormui0 of wrIts
returns 10 writs-appearapccs-baIl- iances
| Observation-Disclosures of jures -,rial-eI-
| ceptiops-veTdict- Observation-Disclosures of
execuion-or, on the other hand, trial--or APP
peal. Sc &r-are al! SET Firth in tho fp,sesd.~is, 90
that, be who knows most Of precedents, knows most
Of practice but still these precedents cannot them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question: then resolves tse this
Cannot law student be well grounded in all the
precedents, lato sens,t, who saw a pr actsng
| lawyers ofiicel And why not On the contrary .
cannot he learn far more of practice by the JUDI
cious and careful study Of all the formuia which he
never does in practising lawyers oiiice) than by
writing, rather copying, those simple and OCCASION
al declarations, pleas &c, which the Of office
assigns to the studentl Is uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort done by the himself without e, or reach
ing the eye Of the student-or " does only 10 me
| chanically copy in Again Who can distinguish be-
tween real suit in court and Tedious one 10 which
one student prepares the writanother the return
| another he declaration some other the p ca &c
until all the practical proceedings are gone through
And Nhat prevents these students making record Of
the whole and then comparing all with a certified re-
cord Fl om some court of justice in a like action All
this surely may be done Law Instution--and far
b uer-more quiet,-and with more time tina q in bus-
Offices, here many precious hours often lost ia
| useless messages-long wslks-,Ianscr binr letters
copying mot deriSng) decal atoms, pleas, replica
tons, &c generally the sole work manship o. the
master of the Office and very seldom that Of the
| student confess that all this is TO my mine extreme
ly plain, and has long is6ed of the popular and
serious which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either otheory or practice is learnt This
SURELY IL not always the case bot Is too often such
amany d<pondsng students have found and as others
have been compelled 10 confess, that they never
learned much Of theory Of practice until after they
came TO fAs bar but, at which time, found very
| up bill and arduous work and sometimes not accom-
plished even through whole life Of toll. Doubtless
there many noble exceptions TO the of
these remarks but still, aver 1t fact that my
experience has never made me acquainted with any
young iaryer, who in candid conversation was NOT
willing 20 confess thai his legal education had been
very hsphszMd-an that praotios 10 any really val
liable and abiding extent, Is the last thing a student
can ever hope Tor IN practising lawyers Office
After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty
years all IF the courts, and devotion to the int
rsss lar students, during much Of that period it NAV
be too much to say that practice be lost
light this sttoion and that nothing but reohani-
cal narcscnt Of legal education unworthy # an en-
lghtcned lawyer, could paironise the init
nation that such Inst, uton only adopted for
the incubation of the science and not of the a of our
profession--an ntimstlon confined, doubtless TO a
very few, but ch still IL fatal the int
rests Of law students, and so captivating TO unin-