The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-06-22
, CIRCULAR 90 STUDENTS OF Law
in THE UNITED STATES,

TN the year 1894, under the auspices ofihe Uniset-
i sny Of Maryland established IN the city OF hai-
| tmore a Law School under the denomination OF the
| Maryland Law Institute THIS establishment CONF
nued in successful operation nearly ee.an years nav
ing received students from eituen OF The STATES ana
from TWO foreign countries. Owing 10 the pressure
OF an extensive practice simultaneously with the du-
ties which the Institution involved, resolved IN the
year 1886 abandon not lily the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession but also the Law i"s'
tute and for health and ease sought the more genia
climates Of Europe. Finding at this time, my health
| perfectly restored and with IT abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion to that great science which
in this country, of all others, needs to be modseahy
and carefully studied-aDd seeking, moreover INDUS
trious and continued occupation, essential 10 hepP-
in land that knows iders resolve TO fe-esta-
blsh the Law lnstltulion-and have selected Phtta
diphia the place OF lis location In doag have
thought that 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
lance the former OCCASION in regard to the pGtie
iilars of my enterprise, induce TO anticipate similar
| inquiries now--and to meet all such in advance,
| now address this Circular all that can offer IN
explanation and, probably, as all that may be requ
| site.
The Institution dedicated alone to law studies
and their cognate and auxiliary topics, is spacious
and beautiful building, N. III South Fifth street
dents. The are all suitably furn shed supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous library
loh precedenfs Of practice IN every conceivable and APP
proved brn. Studtns admitted at any time
throughout the year-courses of study, and the re-
quslte books supplied, exactly to neet the
wants and views of the student, according he may
design 10 practice his profession, either IN the country
IN some OF the maritime cities The laws Of every
State IN the Union in some degree dwelt upon
practice is constantly blended with HeGry--but the
deep and radical error OF parents, well of students
is carefully AVOIDED aiudc to the too
ton thatl law students TO he made mechanical
a'tisans-mere attorneys learning practice by rote, and
jealous OF bookhnooleoge, being too theor eicai -
This mlschevous error must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, aud is gross mistake, since
no practising attorney good and lasting one
who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
| theory of the law. | therefore cannot acquiesce in
and never will yield TO, the vulgar Of putting
practice before and above theory-ii is unnatural
inrerSion Of the established order Of naturean igno
rant and sloveny way of urging young men on TO at
| tempis far beyond the powers of the human ind
for If he grounds and of the science be
| well known, the practice cannot be well known.
| But the error, to which | SO earnestly allude, is
fou 'ded upo. another, which is equally false and
row, vz.-that students learn the practice only in
practising iaoyer's Office! On the contrary, as gen
era rule, 1t is The very last place in which he
does, or can learn the praclice-and this be made
extremely manifest w hat is practice 5 distinguish
| ed from theory? Take a single exanple-and tr tulo
"
student, if A lends B his watch, and sells it,
fuses TO return it, may bring what is called an ac-
| ton of Trover and Conversion, Now frorer means
hndlng and conversion means appropriatng to his
own use and here again, the student learns two
other theoretical law poinIs-vz. that the finding Is
now verbal fiction not at all material, or To be
proped-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
iendant to his olcn use consists IN the mere Withhold
ing the properly from the plaintiff although 1t should
be clearly proved that he in way used the
property for himself for any purpose whatever, but
TO withhold It from the plaintiff.
Now all this theory must be learnt and good
deal more before the practice comes-and that practice
the plaintiffs part con, lists of thorough knowledge
of he forms precedenfs-and the defenda n part
ofthe like knowledge to the formula of the pleas,
rejoinders &c There are, therefore books Of preee
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
whatever in every action known to the iaw-pro
excessively from the importation of the writ to the final
| return upon the erectaion These formula of wrts
| returns 10 -bail-impaIlances
| -conunuances-impannell of Jufies -irial-ex,
cruiions--veralct- judgment-ex, cution-Isturn oil
eXecuuon-or, on d. -.i.v, nand, new tria-or APP
peal &c, &c.-aro all set forth In the lprecedents so
that he who knows most of pretedeats, knows most
of practice but stIl these pTecedents cannot them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge. The question: then resolves tsef into tins
| Cannot a law student be well grounded in all The
| pecedens, iao senSu, who saw a pr actisinp
lawyers office And why not On the contrary,
cannot he learn far more OF practice by the JUDI
cious and careful study of all the formula (Which he
! never does in practising lawyers Office than by
writing, or rather copying, those simple and OCCASION
al declarations, pleas &c, which the ofan office
assigns 10 the student Is II not uniformly the
that all really difficult and responsible business of this
sort is done by the master himself without reach
ing the eye Of the sludent-or # it does only
chemically copy III Again Who can distinguish be-
tween real suit in court and fictitious one IN VIII ch
one student prepares the writ-snOther the return
another he declarston- some other the pea &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
And hat prevents these students making record of
the whole, and then comparing all with a certified
cord ON of justice in a like action All
this surely may be done in Law Insuton-and far
uef-more quietly and with more time than in busi
ness offices where many precious hours often lost ia
useless messages-long walks-tianscr hing letters
eopving mot deuiSing) declai atoms pleas replica.
tons &c. generally the sole workmanship o the
master of the Office and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this Is my mind extreme
ly plain and has long sfed me of the popular and
serious which has placed young IN Offices
where little either oitheory or OF practice is learnt This
surely Is not always the case-but too often such
asimany d,spondng students have found and others
have been compelled to confess, that they never
learned much Of theory of practice until after they
came 10 tbs bar but, at which time, it found very
up- hill and arduous work, and sometimes not accom-
pilshed even through whole life of toll. Doubtless
there many noble exceptions to the Of
these remarks but STILL ] aver it a fact that my
experience has never made me acquainted with any
yoting aioyer, who, IN candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess tnat MS legal education had been
very haphaZsrd-and that practice any really val
liable and abiding extent, Is the last thing student
can ever hope for IN practising lawyers ofice.
After ar extensive practice Of seven and twenty
wears in all Of the courts and devotion 10 the int
rests Of lac students dunng much Of that period it may
not be too much say that practice be lost
light ofn this Institution and that nothing but meohani-
cal naro,ones Of legal education unworthy e an en-
hphtened lawyer, could ever palronse the init
nation that such lnstii ution only adopted for
-. alI 4 a.
profession-an intimaton confined, doubtless, to
very few hut which, still, is fatal to the inte