The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-01-13
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES,

1 oil Mafyiahds W INC eh1 VI pf'
timofe Law School, under the denomination OF the
Mayan Law Institute. This establishment oonli-
nued In successful operation nearly eleven years nav
ing receiy students from etsreH OF the States, and
from two foreign countries Owing to 'he pressure
OF extensive practice simultaneously with The du-
ties which the Institution involved resolved, IN tue
year 1886 To abandon lily the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law losii-
tuej aud, f,r health and sought the more genial
climates Of Europe. Finding, at this une my health
perfectly restored, and with II abatement whatever
Of my zeal and devotion TO that great science which,
in this country of all Others needs 10 be methodieay
and carefully sudied-and seeking, moreover indus
tous aud continued occupation, essential TO hapIa
in land tina, knows oilers reso ed to
bIish the Law lnsttuton-and have selected Phila-
deiPhia The place OF It's location. In doing have
thought that city IN the Union affords such various
and ample Inducements for all the purposes of the
Law Sutherland that in a worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
comfort.
The frequent applications made 10 me from a dis
lance, ON the former occasion, IN regard to the pare
ulas OF my enterprise induce 10 anticipate similar
! inquiries now--and, to meet all such in advance
now address this Circular all that | can offer in
explanation, and, probably all that may be tqui-
| site.
| The Institution dedicated alone TO law studies
and their cognae and auxiliary topics Is Il spacious
and beautiful building, NJ. III South Fifth street
suit able for the accommodation Of about sixty stu.
dents The rooms are all suitably ium shed supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
tch pecedenis o. practice IN every conceivable and APP
| proved f1rD. Studen are admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses Of study, and the re-
quisite books are supplied, exactly to neet the
wants and views of the student according as he NAV
design to practice his profession, either the country
or in some of the maritime cities The laws of every
State IN the Union in some degree NdweIt upon
| practice is constantly blended with tteoru-but the
deep and radical error OF parents, well as of students
carefully AVOIDED aiude to the too erroneous no
ton that law students to be made mere ,aecha,ica
ariisdns-mere attorneys learning practice by roe and
jealous of book knowledge, being too eor eiieai -
This mischevous error must inevitably degrade the
science ana profession, and Is gross mistake since
no practising attorney G, Cd and lasting one
who was not also deeply veIseI in the reasons and
theory of the law | therefore cannot acq uiesce in
and never will yield to, the vulgar error Of putting
practice before and above lheory-it is an unnatural
tnreson Of the established order of nature-an igno
rant and sloveny way of urging young men TO at
| tempts far beyond the powers of the human mind
Tor II The grounds and reasons Of the science be not
well known, the practice cannot be well known
But the error, 10 which so earnestly alIude, is
lou ded upo another, which is equally false and mar.
row. viz-that students learn the practice only in
practising lawyers Office On the cJniI. ~ as gen
efa rule, 1t Is me very last place in which he ever
does, can learn the pracce-and this can be made
extremely manifest. What practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take a single example-and "a ,eno
d'see onines The theory, or law point says TO the
III,
fuses to return it, may bring what called an ac-
ton of Trover and Conversion. Now f,oper means
hndlng, and CONVERSION means appropratiog it to his
own use and here, again. the student learns two
other theoretical law polns-viz that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction not all material or 10 be
propsd-and secondly that the conversion by the de-
tendan to his ocn use consists in the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although it should
be ever SO clearly proved hat he in way USED the
property for himself OF for any purpose whatever bu,
to withhold II from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and a good
deal more, before the practice comes-and that practice
on the plaintiff part CON lists of thorough know ledge
OF The forms or prectdents-and the defendants part
OF The like knowledge as to the formula of the pleas
reoinders &c There are, therefore books of prece-
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever, in every action known to the aw--pro,
gresslvey from the importation of the urii to he final
| return upon the execution These formula of wrs
returns TO wrhs-appearsnces-ba il-in paIlances
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of juries -Irial-ex.
cepiions-yerdct-ju dgment-eXe of |
execullon-or, on the other hand, tria-or ap-
peal, &c, &c.-ar all set forth in the fpreced MS so
thht he who knows most OF precedentS, knows most
of practice but STILL these precedenls cannot them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
knowledge. The question: then resolves itself into this
Cannot a law student be well GROUNDED in all The
pecedents, iao Sensu, who never saw a pr actisinp
lawyers office 7 And why not On the contrary
cannot be learn far more OF practice by the iud |
cious and careful study Of all the formula wbicb he
never does ~ practising lawyers ofiice) than by
writing, OF rather copying, those simple and occasion.
al declarht oDs, pleas &c which The master If office
assigns to the sludent1 Is it uniformly the use
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing the eye OF the sludent-or If II does only 10 me-
chanlcally copy II Again Who can dist npush be.
tween real suit in court and fictitious one In which
one student prepares The wnt-another the return
| another The declaralion- some other the ca &c |
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And What prevents these students making record Of
the whole, and then comparing all with c, rtiiaJ re-
cord fIom court of justice in a like action All
this surely may be done In Law InsIution-and far
uef-more quiet and with more time than in bust.
Offices where many precious hours are often ost it
useless message'-ong ealks-;ianscr bing l,tters-
copying mot depisng) declarations pleas replica
tons, &c. so generally the sole workmanship OF the
master Of The Office and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this is TO nv mind extreme
ly plain, and has long isicd of he popular and
serious error which has placed young uen Offices |
where little either oitheory or practice is learnt This
surely IS not always the case-bu il is too often such
asmany depondng students have found and as Others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never |
learned much OF theory Of practice until atier heu
came 10 The bar but, at which time II was found YER,
uphill aud arduous work and sometimes not accom-
pshed even Though whole life OF toll Doubtless |
there many noble exceptions TO The correctness Of
these remarks but still, aver 1t az fact that my
experience has never made me acquainted with any |
uoing ia,cper who IN candid conversation was MOI |
wiling 20 confess that his legal education had been
very hap-haz,rd-and that practice to any really val
liable and abiding extent ~ the last thing student
can hope Tor N practising lawyers office.
After ar extensive practice OF seven and twenty
years in all of the couis, and devotion the int
rests Of ido students, during much of that period may
not be much to say that practice be lost
ght on this institution and that nothing but meohani-
cal narotrness Of legal education unworthy an en-
lghtened lawyer could ever patroose even the init
nation that such Institution only adopted for
the incubation Of the science and not Of the art of our
profe, son-nn iutmaton confined doubtless 10 a
very few but which, still is fatal 10 the inte-
rests Of law students and captivating 10 unin.
formed parents and guardians, aud TO the ardent