The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-04-26
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
In THE UNITED STATES.

TN the year 1924 under the auspices ofthe Uniyer-
siy of Maryland | established IN the city OF Bal
timore Law School under the denomina alton Of The
Maryland Law Insiitute This establishment CONT
nued in successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing received students from eieren OF the States ana
from Two foreign countries. Owing TO the pressure
of extensive practice simultaneously with the du-
ties which the Institution involved resolved In the
year 1886 to abandon not lily the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession, but also the Law insi
ue and for health and ease, sought the more genial
climates Of Europe Finding al this time, my health
perfectly restored and with II abatement whatever
Of my zeal and devotion 10 that great science which,
in this country, of all others, needs TO be msfhodeaiy
and carefully studied-and seeking, narrower INDUS
rious and continued occupation essential u haPpi-
in land that knows iders reso ed 10 re-esta-
bIlsh the Law lnstiulion-and have selected Phtia'
deipha as he place of It's location In eoiag have
thought that no city In the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the PURPOSES OF The
Law Sutherland that In none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort
The frequent app ics,ions made TO mo from dis
lance the former occasion, In regard To the pare-
uars of my enterprise, induce TO anticipate similar
Inquiries now-and, To meet all such IN advance,
now address this Circular as all that | can offer 10
Ipianation and, probably as all that may be requi-
| site
The Institution, dedicated alone to law studies,
aud 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
Nth precedens Of practice IN every conceivable and
proved firm. Studen are admitted at any time
throughout The year--courses Of study, and the
qusite books are supplied, exactly TO meet the
wants and views Of the student, according he may
design 10 practice his profession, either in the country,
or in of the maritime cities. The laws Of every
State in the Union in some degree dwelt Upon
practice is constantly blended with theCry--but the
deep and radical OF parents well Of students
is carefully AVOIDED allude the too erroneous
lion that law students to be made mechanical
atisa,mere attorneys learning practice by rote and
jealous of book knowledge being too thto siicai
This mIschevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, aud Is gToss mistake, since
practising attorney was good and lasting one
who was not also 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 theoryt is an un natural
inrersion Of the established order of igno
rant and sloveny way of urging young men 10 at
| tempts far beyond the powers of the human II ind
for If The grounds and reasons of the science be
well known, the practice cannot be well known.
But the error, to which | 80 earnestly allude is
fou ded upoI another which is equally false and
row, vz-tha students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers office! On The cJnI. ~ as gen
era rule, II is he very last place in which he
does, or can learn the prac,iceand this be made
extremely manifest w hat is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single eIample-and er uno
disco onlnes. The Theory or law point says to the
student II lends Il has watch, and b sells it,
fuses return it, A may bring what is called an ac-
ton of Trover and Conversion. Now
binding, and conversion means Apr priaing IL to his
own use and here again, the student leans two
other theoref!eal law poinls-vz. that the find ng l.
now a ,ei bal fiction, not all material or To be
propsd-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
ndanl to his consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff, although should
be ever clearly proved that he in way used the
property for himself or Tor any purpose whatever but
10 withhold It from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learn, and a good
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
the plaintiff par COS, isis Of a thorough know ledge
of he forms prtctdens-and the defendant part
of the like knowledge to the formula of the pie a
rronders, &c. There are therefore books Of prece-
dent, these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known t. the iaw-pro
gressively from the importation of the rrii 10 the final
return upn the erecution. These Jorm,lia Of wrls
returns 10 -bail--lmpai laDces
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of juIies -trial-eI-
ceptions-yeIdict- dgment-eIecution-return of
eXecution-or, on The other hand new trid-or app
peal &c &c.-are all set forth in The lpreced MS so
that, he who knows mo,' of precedeHt, knows most
Of practice but STILL these presidents canno, them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question, then, resolves itself into thus
Cannot a law student be well grounded in all the
presidents ato sensu who never saw a pr actising
lawyers oficel And why not ? On the contrary,
cannot he learn far more OF practice by the iudl-
cous and careful study of all The formula which he
never does IN practising lawyers office than 10y
writing OF rather copying thoc simple and OCCASION
al declarations pleas &C. which The master Of office
assigns to the sudentl L. il not uniformly the case
that all really difficult and responsible business Of ths
is done by the master himself, without reach
ing the eye of the student-or, # IL does only
Chemically copy it Again: Who can distinguish b,
tween real suit in court and fictitious ~ which
1 al. ~
| another he declaration some other the pea, &c
unit, all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making a record of
the whole, and then comparing all with a certified
cord Fl ON court of justice IN like action All
this surely may be done Law Insiitution-and far
b ter-more quiet, and with more time than in busi-
ness offices where many precious hours often lost il
! useless messages-,ong waks-lianscr bing letters
copying mot d,rising) declarations pleas, replica
| tons &c SO generally the sole workmanship o. the
ma.t,r of the office and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this To my mind extreme
Iy plain and has long isfed me of ha popular and
| serious error which has placed young men IN Offices
where little either otheuTy or of is learnt This
surely Is not always the case-bu il is too often such
amany depending students have found and as others
/ have been compelled TO confess, that they never
learned much of theory OF of practice until at1er hey
came 10 tie bar but at which tine, II found very
up hil aud afduous work and sometimes not accom-
pi,shed even thu ugh whole life OF toll Doubtless
there macy noble exceptions TO he correctness Of
these remarks but sill, aver it a. fact, that my
er perience has never made me acquainted With any
young aicyer, who, IN candid conversation, was not
will NJ % confess that his legal education had been
very hal-haz,rd-snd hat Praeiiee, any really val
uabe and abtdiHg extent Is the last thing n student
can ever hope Tor practising lawyers flee.
After sn extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears IN all Of the courts, and devotion To- the nfe
rests ofiaio students, duung much Of that period may
not be too much say that practice never be us
ipht ofn this Insucn and that nothing bu, meohani
cal narrotune. Of legal education unworthy # an en-
hshtened lswyef could ever patronise the init
nation that such lpstt ution only adopted for
the incubation of the socs, and not Of the art of our