Legal Education

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

education for er; and education the practice of the law. It takes on two first method is by chief forms: education in the office of an ill continued; the established practitioner; and education g to prevail, and in a law school. The first method is by far the older, and is still continued; the tree; and is subsecond is rapidly coming to prevail, and es of disorderli is greatly superior. The first is largely in content, and the method of the apprentice; and is sub- The second rep ject to the disadvantages of disorderli onditions, ways, ness in form, narrowness in content, and the first and superficiality in result. The second repeducational conditions, ways, be said: the to the second rough the law earlier method little need be said: the means, and results. Of the first and present article is devoted to the second est Americaz method, -legal education through the law in the little school. Connecticut, In point of time the earliest American Ite founder law school was established in the little historic town of Litchfield, Connecticut, in the historic year of 1784. Its founder thirty-five was the able lawyer and outstanding jurist of his time, Tapping Reeve. It maintained a high record for thirty-five ded Western Jaiversi ar the S ed schools. The Report sioner of and twen the of th ar con -half the women, n s for 1917 is the of stu the law is who enter study of it as a science, do so in order to They learn law in ord years, and educated about thirty men use it as an art. the right to order to practice it. But or Comhtto each year. The second school was established in in its practice it, the individual State its own terrior Com- 1817, at Harvard University; and with a university monwealth controls within the different integral association obtaintory. The standards which exercise of this ch the different represents the method generally school a part of a States set up for the the "posxercise of this ing in making a law more famright manifest a variety from " to the university foundation. The founded sessing of a good moral character prolonged examharacter to the ous of the schools, subsequently , 1843, that of the passing of a hard and the law itself. changed examare that of Yale in in 1852, and ination in the science of commonly, and the law itself. University of Pennsylvania , three schools of the Such an examination is charge commonly, and in or about 1859, the Columbia to a certain degree always in the Court or the Bar in the charge University of Michigan, of Northwestern Uniof either the Supreme bort or the Bar University, and of as the Union Association of the State. versity (originally founded or about Of the great names in the history of century the history of Law School of Chicago), and, in Western Reserve the law schools in the last half- Longet half-century 1892, the schools of of Chithe name of Christopher Columbus . Called from Columbus Long- University and of the University the State Unidell is the most illustrious the Harvard Law Called from cago. From year to year schools. There the New York bar to -in Hervard Law versities have established of the School in 1870 by President Eliot great executive are now registered in the Reports of Educathe early years of his what has cat executive United States Commissioner twenty-four career-Longdell inaugurated the case system of ated what has hundred and since become known as . The case case system of tion one schools, with an annual attendance of are based teaching and of learning law of the law law. The case 22,880 students. These figures report of the dy of the law system represents the study , as reported in on statistics given in the of Educafrom cases, or decisions courts. It is as reported in United States Commissioner in the latest the official records of the general courts. It is tion, issued 1917. Figures conditions reaches general the inductive system. It reaches instances report, 1918, affected by war , half the previous instances or principles from specific method was or were a little over oneschools in the facts. The previous rather princihod was rather year. One hundred law attendance of deductive, beginning with general laborageneral princi- United States reported an ples. It might also be called the . It has obtained wide curled the labora- 10,998 men and 820 women, making a students for 1917-1918. tory method certain ined wide currency. It has been subjected to elements of cted to carrtain total of 11,818 Admission to the schools represents a . In a few at Glements of changes; but the essential maintained both at wide variety of standards of a the system are still . lained both at schools evidence of the possession chief condi- Harvard and other leading schools schools. good moral character is the graduation As has been said, legal education preprofession. The education pretion. In the better schools required. In pares for a practical sought to The from a good high school is consequent genschools have neither made nor philosophiht to a few schools and as a either two make, as a rule, jurists. The have made only hierally regarded as the best , , years of study in a cal aspects of the science the only or three, or four are requisite a slight appeal to students. Perhaps philosophical rethe college of liberal learning, tendency is nearer approach to the the contefor admission. The present . lationship lies in the courses on States-courses contoward an increase in the requirements stitution of the United es-courses The course of study in the schools, usuincludes such which the best schools give. Research place in the Research ally covering three years, subjects as occupies a very insignificant teachers do ant place in the fundamental and primary , property legal curriculum; but many opportunity for the my teacherd do contracts, criminal law, torts , insurance, pubrecognize that the law is commandtunity for the agency, equity, evidence, damages, law of perphilosophic study of the is commandlic utilities, trusts, constitutional law ing or even obligatory. sons, conflict of laws, , bankruptcy, At the present time the public influence the memublic Influence corporations, partnerships, , adminisof the study of the law and of is of peculiar inid of the mem quasi-contracts, jurisprudence of the common law, bers of the profession judgments lawof peculiar intrative law, history ethics. In terest. In the political . They udements law patent law, and professional the special yers as a class are conservative persons and of ervative. They certain schools, as Harvard, of the indirecognize the rights of historic persons and o laws or procedure in several considered property, inherited from a long reasoning a long histori vidual commonwealths is . the course of tradition. By comparative which both ve reasonin The variety of subjects of in numies which bot they also recognize the duties . In study increases, as laws increase more compersons and property represent a stress and ber, and as society becomes time, therefore, of social speech al stress an storm, of radicalism in thought, upon as hought, spee plex. The profession of the law is a practical upon the and act, they can be relied relied upon profession. Those who enter stabilizing forces which will help to hold hold together the constituent elements of the the Rom community of the state. In his great eat me work, "Democracy in America," De Tocqueville De 2,00 pointed out the fact that the legal the divi profession was a counterpoise to the to rene radicalism of democracy. In con- Con two serving such results the American system f legal education, therefore, occupies the highest place. Legal education, as conducted in the the law school, represents one of the most ost important ant contributions made by America to modern civilization. Such a recogog nition is commonly accredited to it it throughout the English-speaking world. id. of