 | The University of Virginia record February, 1908 |  |
DEPARTMENT OF LAW.
Among the original schools contemplated in Mr. Jefferson's plan for the
organization of the University of Virginia was "Law: Municipal and
Foreign; Embracing the General Principles, Theory, and Practice of
Jurisprudence, together with the Theory and Principles of Constitutional
Government." Accordingly the School of Law was established in 1826,
and has been in continous operation since, even during the four years of
the civil war. The aim of the Department of Law has always been to maintain
a high standard as a requirement for graduation—the degree being
conferred only upon such students as are thorough masters of the prescribed
course of study. This policy has been rigorously enforced, and its
of the law school are accustomed to attain at the bar or in public life. The
course of instruction has been extended from time to time to conform to
changing conditions and to meet the increasing needs of the profession.
It is confidently believed that the enlarged course now offered will enable
those who complete it more surely to maintain that rank at the bar which
the University has always expected of her sons.
Formerly it was possible for the law student to begin and complete his
professional studies in the office of some friendly member of the bar—
Blackstone's Commentaries and the Code of his State forming the main
portion of his curriculum. Then the authorities were few, the leading
principles alone were settled, and their application was comparatively
simple. In more recent times, so widened is the scope of the law, so complex
its principles, so nice and yet so important its distinctions, so numerous
and conflicting the authorities, that it is scarcely practicable for even the
most diligent student to master the subject, in its multiform phases, without
the systematic instruction of skilled teachers. Furthermore, the increased
and increasing scope and rigor of the examinations for admission
to the bar in the several States call for a more extensive course of study
than was afforded in former days by the law school, and a wider and more
intimate knowledge of legal principles than can generally be acquired by
private study.
These considerations have led to a general conviction among the
leaders of professional thought throughout the country that no student
should essay the practice of the law who has not spent at least two years in
close and attentive study in a law school. Indeed, the decided tendency
is toward requiring even a longer period of study, as essential either to
graduation or to admission to the bar.
Required for Entrance upon the Work of the Department.—The
General Entrance Examination, or admission to the University by
certificate or diploma, as stated in a preceding portion of this catalogue,
pp. 70-85. For exemption from this rule in the case of Special
Students not candidates for the degree in Law, see p. 84. All candidates
for the degree must have attained the age of eighteen before
entering the Law School.
Course of Study.—The course is planned with a view to acquaint
the student familiarly and practically with the principles of his profession.
Care is taken to teach him to think for himself, and to rely
upon reason and principle, rather than upon memory; it being considered
better that the student follow principle to its legitimate conclusion,
though this be at variance with the decisions of the courts,
than that he should arrive at a faultless result by the exercise of
memory or by accident.
The instruction is as thorough as possible, and is given partly through
text-books and partly through lectures (on some subjects with the addition
daily quiz has long been a marked and, as experience has proved, a most
valuable feature of the system of instruction. As cross-examination exposes
error and develops truth, so the daily quiz enables the instructor to
discover and rectify misconceptions of legal principles on the part of the
student.
The course occupies two years, and it is not permissible to apply for
graduation in less time. Indeed, since future professional success depends
upon complete mastery of elementary principles, it is not advisable for the
student to devote less time to preparation for practice, even though he be
not a candidate for graduation. It is a maxim sanctioned by long and wide
experience that "he who is not a good lawyer when he comes to the bar, will
seldom be a good one afterwards." In order to acquire such thorough knowledge
of the elements of the law, thought as well as reading is requisite; and,
for the purpose of thought, there must be time to digest as well as industry
to acquire. One cannot gorge himself with legal principles and digest
them afterwards; the process of assimilation, if it is to proceed healthfully
and beneficially, must accompany the reception of knowledge.
Arrangement of Classes.—The course of instruction in the Department
of Law comprises twelve separate classes. Six of these
classes constitute the first year's studies, and six the studies of the
second year.
In the work of each year, there are nine lectures a week. The lectures
occupy an hour and a half each, so that each year's course demands thirteen
and a half hours of class-work each week, besides the work of the
Moot and Practice courts.
The following table exhibits an outline of the course:
1. The Law of Persons; Personal Property (including
Sales); Wills of Personalty, and Administration.2. The Law of Contracts.
3. The Law of Crimes and Criminal Procedure.
4. Mercantile Law: Negotiable Paper; Partnership; Insurance.
5. Torts, Bailments, and Carriers.
6. Theory of Government; Constitutional Law; International
Law.
[6] First Year
7. Equity Jurisprudence and Procedure; Bankruptcy.
8. Pleading and Practice in Civil Cases.
9. The Law of Real Property.
10. The Law of Corporations.
11. The Law of Evidence.
12. Conflict of Laws.
Second Year
| The University of Virginia record February, 1908 | |