The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-04-18
4 CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF LAW
IN THE UNITED STATES.

TN the year 1894 under the auspices OF the oniset-
i siiy OF Maryland established IN the city OF Bal
tmors Law School, under The denomination OF inc
| Maryland Law Institute This establishment CONT
nued la successful operation nearly eleven years ha'
ing receive students from siepen oi The STATES anu
from two iorsign countries. Owing 10 'no pressure
OF an extensive practice, simultaneously w'th ue uu-
ties which the Institution involved resolved IN the
year 1886 TO sbaodon not y the practice OF my ever
and long cherished profession, but also the Law i"ss-
and for health and ease, sought the more ge"ia
climates of Europe. Finding al this time, my h"aiih
perfectly restored and with It no abatement whatever
of my zeal and devotion that great ,eience, which
in this county. OF all Others needs To he mshodicaiy
aud carefully siudied-and seeking moreover INDUS
tous and continued occu aiiD, essential 10 hbppi-
in land that knows ides resol' ed To zee sta
| blish the Law lnstiution-and have selected Phtld
dephia he place of lis Location In so eosg have
thought that no city IN the Union affords such various
| and ample inducements for all the PURPOSES OF the
| Law Siuden-and that in none can more worthy
economy be preserved, and yet with every requisite
| comfort.
The frequent app icalions made TO me from dis
lance, the former OCCASION in regard To the part'e-
ulUs of my enterprise, Induce me TO anticipate similar
| inquiries now-and, 10 meet all such in advance,
now address this Circular as all that | can offer in
explanation, and, probably, as all that may be requ-
site.
The Institution dedicated alone TO law studies
and their cognaie and auxiliary topics, Is spacious
and beautiful building, N. III South Fifth street
suitable for the accommodation of about sixty stu
dents The rooms all suitably fun shed, supplied
with an extensive law and miscellaneous Library
nth prseedenis Of practice in every conceivable and APP
proved brn Studns are admitted at any time
| throughout The year-courses OF study and the re-
quisilc books are supplied, so exactly TO neet the
wants and views of The student, according he may
design TO practice his profession, either in the country
or in some OF the maritime cities The laws Of every
| State In the Union in some degree dwelt upon
practice is constantly b!ended with the0ry-but the
deep and radical OF parents, well of students
| II iiitIe tkot,
lion that law students to be made mechanical
arfisansmere attorneys learning practice by roe, and
jealous of book-knociedge, being too theoretical -
This n.lschevous ,rror must inevitably degrade the
science and profession, and Is gross mistake, since
no practising attorney good and lasting ne
who was not also deeply versed in the reasons and
theory of the law. | therefore cannot scquiesce in,
and never will yield to, the vulgar If putting
practice before and above theory-il is unnatural
Inversion of the established order of nalureon igno
rant and sloveny way of urging young TO at
| tempts far beyond the powers OF the human II ind
for # The grounds and reasons Of the science be not
well known, the practice cannot be we'll known.
| But the error, to which | 50 earnestly allude, Is
ou .ded upod another, which is equally false and
row, viz.-that students learn the practice only in
practising taicyer's office, On he conlr.ry, gen
era rule, II Is he very last place in which he
does, can learn the pracilce-and this be made
| extremely manifest w hat is practice distinguish
ed from theory? Take single eXampe-and er uno
di'ce on'nes. The theory law point says to the
student, If A lends b his watch, and sells it, or
fuses TO return it, A may bring what is called an &C
ton of Troyer and Con version. Now frorer mea ns
indiDg and conversion appropriating 10 his
| own use and here again, the student learns two
other theoretical law poin,s-viz. that the find ng is
now mere verbal fiction not at all material, 10 be
prorsd-and secondly, that the conversion by the de-
iendant to his o,cn consists IN the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although 1t should
be ever clearly proved tina, he in way the
property for himself for any purpose whatever but
| TO withhold Il from the plaintiff
Now all this theory must be learnt and a good
deal more before the practice comesand that practice
on the plaintiff part consists of thorough knowledge
of the forms preetdents-anJ, the defendants part
ofhe like knowledge the Jornuia of the plea,
rejonders, &c. There are therefore, books Of preee-
dtnts these books unfold every practical preceding
whatever, in every action known to the ls~-pro
gressiycly from tho importation of the prii ii the hna
return upon The sree,aion These formula Of wrils
returns 10 writs-appears -hail--mpai ances
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of juies -ria-cr-
cepiions-verdict- dgment-eI cupon-return of
eAecuon-or, on the other hand, new trial--or APP
peal &c, &c-are all set forth IN The 'preeed MS so
that, BE- who knows most of preoede is, knows most
of practice but stli these presidents cannot them
selves be understood, without previous theoretical
know ledge The question then tsef into ths
Cannot law student be well grounded ia all the
| precedents, LGto ai,u, who a pr sctIsng
lawyers office Add why not On the contrary, I
cannot be learn far OF practice by The JUDI
cilus and careful study of all The formula which he
| never does IN practising lawyer oihc-l than by
whiting OF rather copying, lho,e simple and OCCASION
al dec aratons pleas, &c, which The Of office
assigns to the student lie IL unforhly the ase
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
lori is done by the master himself without reach
ing the eye OF the sudent-or, # II does only To me
cbanically copy 1t Agsni Who can dist NJ ush he.
tween real su in court and fictitious one IN VIII oh
one student prepares the wnt-another the return
| another the declaration some other the pea, &c
until all the practical proceedings gone through
AID hat prevents these students making record of
the whole, and then comparing all with rtlfeJ
cord court of justice in a like action All
| this surely may be done Law lnstuton--snd far
uef-more quetl land with more time than in bu.i-
ness Offices where many precious hours often lost H.
useless messages-long saiks--snscr bing letters
copying mot derising) declarations pleas, replica
| tons &c. 80 generally the sole workmanship o the
master of he office, and very seldom that Of the
student confess that all this l. to my mind extreme
y plain, and has long sa s6ed me of h. popular and
serious error which has placed young IA Offices
where little either theory oprscce is learnt This
surely - not always the casebut II too often such
asmany d,yonding students have found and as others
have been compelled TO confess, that they never |
learned much Of theory Of practice until after heu
came TO the bar but at which time found very
no hall and arduous work, and sometimes not accom-
piished even thio ugh whole life of toll Doubtless
there are many noble exceptions to The correctness Of
these remarks but still aver il az fact that my
experience has never made me acquainted With any
yo,ing lnruer who, IN candid conversation was not
willing 20 confess that hs legal education had been
very hap-hazard-and hat proeiet any really val
| liable and abiding extent, ~ the last thing student
can hope Tor m practising lawyers ofice.
| After an extensive practice Of seven and twenty |
years IN all of the courts and devotion TO the int
rest lac students dunng much Of that period may
not be too much to say that practice be lost
pht ofn this Institute, and that nothing but mechani-
cal nuTo,cne Of legal education, unworthy f an en-
hahtencd lawyer, could patrobise even the init |
nation that such Inst ution only adopted for
the incubation ofhe science and no, of the art Of our