University of Virginia Library

DEPARTMENT OF LAW.

                 

EDWIN ANDERSON ALDERMAN, D. C. L., LL. D.,	President.
WILLIAM MINOR LILE, LL. D.,	Dean.
CHARLES ALFRED GRAVES, M. A., LL. D.,	Professor of Law
WILLIAM MINOR LILE, LL. D.,	Professor of Law
RALEIGH COLSTON MINOR, M. A., LL. B.,	Professor of Law.
ARMISTEAD MASON DOBIE, M. A., LL. B.,	Adjunct Professor of Law.
———	Professor of Law.
CASSIUS MONCURE CHICHESTER, B. A., LL. B.,	Instructor in Law.
WILLIAM BROCKENBROUGH LAMB, M. A., LL. B.,	Instructor in Law.

[Inquiries with reference to Entrance Requirements should be addressed
to the Dean of the University.

For information as to lodgings, board, expenses, etc., and for catalogues,
and other printed literature, address the Registrar.

For other information address the Dean of the Law School.]

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 continuous operation since, even during the four years of
the civil war.

From its inception until 1894, the course comprised the work of a
single year. Beginning with the session of 1894-95, a two years' course
was inaugurated, which has continued up to the present time. As indicated
below, commencing with the session of 1909-10, the course will be
extended to three years.

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 wisdom
has been vindicated by the high position to which the graduates
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. 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.

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 three years
in close and attentive study in a law school.

Three Year Course.—In view of the foregoing considerations,
instead of the two years' course heretofore offered, a more extended
course of three years will be inaugurated, after the session of 1908-1909.
An outline of the new course appears below.

Suggestions as to Preliminary Education.—Students, and their parents
or guardians, are warned that the Law is peculiarly an intellectual
profession, and demands for its successful prosecution, whether at the
Law School or in the broader fields of professional life, a well-trained

mind. If it be true that untrained intellects, in rare instances, under
diligent and persistent effort, develop after entrance upon practice, such
exceptional cases but serve to illustrate the rule, that out of a given number
of young men entering upon the study of the Law, those with sound
preliminary training will have incomparably the advantage, while those
without it will be seriously handicapped, and are likely never to rise above
mediocrity in their profession.

The experience of the Law Faculty—nay, of all law teachers—is,
that the standing and progress of law students are, in large measure,
in the ratio of their academic preparation. Young gentlemen are therefore
advised not to begin their legal studies until they have completed
an academic course approximating that ordinarily required for the degree
of Bachelor of Arts. So high a standard, however, is not exacted
as a condition of entrance into the Law School. These conditions are
shown in the following section, and its references.

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.
69-82. For exemption from this rule in the case of Special Students not
candidates for the degree, see the section following. Candidates for the
degree must have attained the age of eighteen before entering the Law
School.

Special Students.—Applicants for registration who are twenty
years old, and desire to enter for the pursuit of special elective courses,
must present adequate proofs of good character and of the needful maturity
and training. Such applicants may then be registered as Special Students,
and will be admitted without formal examination to the privileges
of the Law School, but not as candidates for the degree.

With the admonition that over-zealousness, whereby an ambitious
student is beguiled into the assumption of more work than he can thoroughly
master in a given time, leads to cramming and inaccuracy, and
often to complete failure, the special student is free to select his own
work.

Admission to Advanced Standing.-No credit is given for attendance
at another law school, nor for time spent in private reading. The candidate
for graduation must spend all three years in residence.

Late Entrance.—Registration commences Thursday, September
16, and the work of the Law School begins promptly the Monday following.
Students are advised that late entrance is a serious hindrance
to progress. The student who enters late must begin his work at the
point to which the work has advanced at the time of his entrance; and
credit for three years' attendance cannot be given unless the student's

actual residence averages at least thirty weeks per session. No registration
in absentia is permissible.

As regards conditions of admission in case of late entrance, reference
is made to the Regulations concerning Registration, as stated ante
p. 87.

Expenses.—A detailed estimate of the necessary expenses of a
student in the Department of Law will be found in an earlier part of this
catalogue, under the general head of "Expenses." The University fee
applicable to all law students, (including those from Virginia) is $40;
and the tuition fee is $100 for the regular work of each session. For
Special Students who desire to take selected courses, the tuition fee is
estimated according to the proportion which the work chosen bears to
the whole.

Plan of Instruction.—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 lectures, and partly through the study of cases. While
convinced of the value of the combined text-book and lecture system,
which has prevailed for more than half a century in the Law School,
and from which, in the inauguration of the more extended course, it is
not meant in any wise to depart, the Law Faculty have long appreciated
the value which the study of cases possesses, in illustrating the practical
application of legal principles, and in forcing the student to extract for
himself the doctrine which the cases establish. The enlargement of the
course gives opportunity for more emphasis upon this form of instruction,
and the case-book will, therefore, be used more extensively than hereto-fore—not
as supplanting, but as supplementing, the text-book and lecture.

The 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.

REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.

The degree of Bachelor of Laws (LL. B.) is conferred upon such
students as have attained the age of twenty-one years; have satisfied the

entrance requirements; have attended three full sessions of the Law
School; and have successfully passed the required examinations, with
satisfactory performance of the work of the Moot and Practice Courts,
and of the assigned work.

More specifically, the candidate for graduation must have completed
all of the obligatory courses (see Outline of Courses, below), the credit
value of which is six hundred (600) units, and elective courses of at
least the credit value of two hundred and fifty (250) units—or a total
of eight hundred and fifty (850) units.

Candidates for the degree, who in any session have less than one full
year's course to complete, may be required to take such additional work,
and to stand such additional examinations as shall be prescribed.

OUTLINE OF COURSES.

The entire course of three years embraces 1000 lecture periods (or
units) of one and a half hours each, and to each subject satisfactorily
completed is attached a credit value of one unit for each lecture period
comprised therein. Of the total units, 600 are classed as obligatory and
the remaining 400 as elective. Graduation requires the completion of all the
obligatory courses (credit value 600), plus elective courses having a credit
value of at least 250 units—or a minimum required total of 850 units.

This contemplates an average of nine lecture periods (or 13½ hours)
per week during the first and second years, and eight periods (or 12 hours),
the third year. The credit value of course number 4 (see table below) is
16 units.

Each session is divided into three terms,—Sept 15 to Dec. 23—Jan. 3
to March 21—and March 22 to June 6.

Written examinations are held during the final week of each term,
on the subjects completed during the term.

The following tabular outline indicates the scope of the courses offered.

TABULAR OUTLINE OF COURSES.

[Asterisks indicate electives—for explanation see p. 181.]

                                                                                                                         

First Year. First Term.	Course number		Periods per week	Total periods
1	Study of Cases—Legal Bibliography—Briefmaking	2	18
2	Agency (begun)	2	8
3	Contracts	4	52
4*	Public Speaking (begun)	2	26
5	Criminal Law	2	26
Second Term.
6	Torts	4	40
2a	Agency (completed)	2	20
7*	Master and Servant	2	14
4a*	Public Speaking (completed)	2	6
8	Sales	2	20
Third Term.
9	Negotiable Paper	2	20
10*	International Law	2	20
11*	Carriers and Bailments	3	30
12*	Interest and Usury	3	10
13	Domestic Relations	3	20
Second Year.
First Term.
14	Equity Jurisprudence	4	36
15	Equity Procedure	4	16
16	Constitutional Law	3	39
17	Partnership	1	13
18	Common Law Pleading	2	26
21	Federal Procedure (begun)	1	10
Second Term.
19	Private Corporations	3	30
20	Real Property—including Wills and Mortgages (begun)	3	30
21a	Federal Procedure (completed)	2	20
22*	Insurance	2	20
Third Term.
23	Public Corporations	2	20
24*	Virginia Pleading and Practice (including Extraordinary Remedies)	4	40
20a	Real Property (completed)	4	40
26*	Code Pleading	2	20
27*	Parliamentary Law	1	10
28*	Bankruptcy	2	12
Third Year.
First Term.
29*	Making and Interpretation of Statutes	2	14
30*	Constitution and Code of Virginia	3	15
31*	Criminal Procedure	3	24
32*	Taxation and Tax Titles	3	19
33*	Roman Law	3	20
34	Titles and Conveyancing	2	16
35*	Mining and Irrigation	2	10
Second Term.
36*	Judicial Sales	1	10
37	Evidence (begun)	2	20
38	Conflict of Laws and Jurisdictions	3	30
39	Probate and Administration	2	20
40*	Damages	2	10
41*	Admiralty	2	10
Third Term.
42*	Practice of Law and Preparation of Cases	2	10
43*	Receiverships	2	10
37a	Evidence (completed)	2	20
44*	Public Officers	1	10
45*	Suretyship and Guaranty	2	13
46	Legal Ethics	2	7

TABLE OF COURSES

                                                                               

FIRST YEAR				SECOND YEAR				THIRD YEAR
First Term—September 15 to December 23—14 Weeks.[1]
	Prof. Lile	Periods Per Week	Total Periods		Prof. Lile	Periods Per Week	Total Periods		Prof. —	Periods Per Week	Total Periods
1.	Study of Cases	2	18	14.	Equity Jurisprudence	4	36	[2] 28.	Bankruptcy	2	12
	Legal Bibliography			15.	Equity Procedure	4	16	[3] 29.	Making and Interpretation of Statutes	2	14
	Brief Making				Prof. Minor
2.	Agency	2	8	16.	Constitutional Law	3	39		Prof. Minor
	Prof. Graves				Prof. —			[4] 30.	Constitution and Code of Virginia	3	15
3.	Contracts	4	52	17.	Partnership	1	13	[5] 31.	Criminal Procedure	3	24
	Prof. Paul				Prof. Graves				Prof. Dobie
[6] 4.	Public Speaking	2	26	18.	Common Law Pleading	2	26	[7] 32.	Taxation and Tax Titles	3	19
	Prof. Dobie				Prof. Dobie			[8] 33.	Roman Law	3	20
5.	Criminal Law	2	26	21.	Federal Procedure (begun)	1	10		Prof. —
								34.	Titles and Conveyancing	2	16
								[9] 35.	Mining and Irrigation	2	10
Second Term—January 3 to March 21—11 Weeks.[10]
	Prof. Lile				Prof. Lile				Prof. Lile
2a.	Agency (completed)	2	20	19.	Private Corporations	3	30	[11] 36.	Judicial Sales	1	10
	Prof. Graves				Prof. Minor				Prof. Graves
6.	Torts	4	40	20.	Real Property (including Wills and Mortgages)	3	30	37.	Evidence (begun)	2	20
	Prof. Dobie								Prof. Minor
[12] 7.	Master and Servant	2	14		Prof. Dobie			38.	Conflict of Laws and Jurisdictions	3	30
	Prof. Paul			21a.	Fed. Procedure (completed)	2	20
[13] 4a.	Public Speaking (completed)	2	6		Prof. —				Prof. Dobie
	Prof. —			[14] 22.	Insurance	2	20	39.	Probate and Administrat'n	2	20
8.	Sales	2	20						Prof. —
								[15] 40.	Damages	2	10
								[16] 41.	Admiralty	2	10
Third Term—March 23 to June 6—11 Weeks.[17]
	Prof. Lile				Prof. Lile				Prof. Lile
9.	Negotiable Paper	2	20	23.	Public Corporations	2	20	[18] 42.	Practice of Law and Preparation of Cases	2	10
	Prof. Minor				Prof. Graves
[19] 10.	International Law	2	20	[20] 24.	Pleading and Practice in Virginia	4	40	[21] 43.	Receiverships	2	10
	Prof. Dobie								Prof. Graves
[22] 11.	Carriers and Bailments	3	30		Prof. Minor			37a.	Evidence (completed)	2	20
	Prof. —			20a.	Real Property (completed)	4	40		Prof. Dobie
[23] 12.	Interest and Usury	3	10		Prof. Dobie			[24] 44.	Public Officers	1	10
13.	Domestic Relations		20	[25] 26.	Code Pleading	2	20		Prof. —
					Prof. Paul			[26] 45.	Suretyship and Guaranty	2	13
				[27] 27.	Parliamentary Law	1	10	46.	Legal Ethics	2	7

Alteration of Courses and Schedules.—The right is reserved to
make such alterations in the nature or number of courses offered, or in
the schedules of lectures and examinations, as may be deemed necessary
or expedient.

MOOT COURT.

A Moot Court is organized by the students in the First Year's course
for the discussion of legal questions. Its meetings begin at the opening and
continue to the end of the session, with such interruptions only as are
incident to the proximity of the examinations. Attendance is voluntary,
as presence during the debates is intended to be a privilege and not a
burden. But every candidate for the degree is required to argue at least
one case in the Moot Court, and to hand in a carefully prepared brief of
his argument, with a digest of the authorities relied on. The questions are
chosen by the Law Faculty, one of whom presides over the discussions.
Interest and life are added to the proceedings by the open debate held
after the argument, the presiding judge acting as interlocutor, and leading
into the debate those whom diffidence prompts to silence.

PRACTICE COURT.

The object of the Practice Court is to afford to the student practical
facility in the procedure which he will be called on to apply at the bar,
and to familiarize him with the whole proceedings in actions at law, and
suits in equity.

The Practice Court is presided over by members of the Law Faculty,
and is organized shortly after the beginning of the session. Its terms are
held weekly. Attendance, with punctual performance of all assigned work
is an essential part of the courses in Virginia Pleading and Practice, and
Equity Procedure.

PRIZE.

Edward Thompson Company Prize.—The prize for the best thesis on
a subject assigned by the Law Faculty is awarded annually in a competition
open to members of the third year class, who are candidates for
graduation. It is donated by the Edward Thompson Company of Northport,
N. Y., and consists of a set of the second edition of the American and
English Encyclopedia of Law (32 volumes), of the estimated value of $240.

The Edward Thompson Company Prize for the session of 1907-'08 was
awarded to William Kenneth Jackson, B. A., of Jacksonville, Fla. The
subject for the thesis was: "Scope and Effect of the Sunday Laws in
Virginia."

LIBRARY.

The Law Library is accommodated by its own library rooms, separate
from the general University library. The rooms are heated by steam and
lighted by electricity, and are located with special reference to the convenience
of the law students. A librarian is in attendance during working
hours.

The library contains practically a complete set of the English Reports
to date; the reports of nearly all the States; the United States
Supreme Court Reports; the National Reporter System Complete; modern
annotated reports, such as the American Decisions, American Reports,
American State Reports, Law Reports Annotated, English Ruling Cases,
etc.; and all the modern search-books, in the form of general digests (including
the Century) and Encyclopedias, besides a large collection of textbooks.
Law students have all the privileges of the general University
Library, containing more than 60,000 volumes, without extra charge.

NEW LAW BUILDING.

By the liberality of the Virginia Legislature, a sufficient appropriation
is immediately available for the erection of a handsome building for the
Law School—plans for which are now being drawn. It is hoped that by
the beginning of the session of 1909-10, or shortly thereafter, the building
will be ready for occupancy.

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES

(In effect 1910-1911)

                         

FIRST TERM
Hours	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
9:30 to 11:00	Equity Contracts	Equity Titles and Convey. Mining and Irrig.[28]	Contracts Titles and Convey. Mining and Irrig.[29]	Com. Law Pl. Study of Cases	Com. Law Pl. Bankruptcy[30] Interp. Stat.[31]	Contracts Bankruptcy[32] Interp. Stat.[33]
11:00 to 12:30	Const. and Code of Va.[34] Crim. Proc.[35]	Contracts	Equity Jurisp. Equity Proc. Fed. Proced.	Taxation[36] Roman Law[37]	Study of Cases	Equity Jurisp. Equity Proc.
12:30 to 2:00	Crim. Law Partnership	Const. Law Taxation[38] Roman Law[39]	Const. and Code of Va.[40] Crim. Proc.[41] Public Speaking[42]	Const. Law Public Speaking[43]	Const. Law Taxation[44] Roman Law[45]	Const. and Code of Va.[46] Crim. Proc.[47] Crim. Law
SECOND TERM
9:30 to 11:00	Torts Damages[48] Admiralty[49]	Torts Private Corp.	Evidence Fed. Proced.	Torts Priv. Corp.	Evidence Insurance[50]	Torts Judic. Sales[51]
11:00 to 12:30	Private Corp.	Damages Admiralty[52]	Agency	Prob. and Adm.	Agency	Real Prop.
12:30 to 2:00	Confl. Laws Master and S.[53]	Real Prop. Master and S.[54] Pub. Speaking[55]	Confl. Laws Insurance[56]	Real Prop. Sales	Confl. Laws Fed. Proced.	Prob. and Adm. Sales
THIRD TERM
9:30 to 11:00	Va. Pl. and Pr.[57] Neg. Paper	Parl. Law[58] Evidence	Va. Pl. and Pr.[59] Dom. Rel. Int. and Usury[60]	Va. Pl. and Pr.[61]	Public Corp. Dom. Rel. Int. and Usury[62]	Va. Pl. and Pr.[63] Dom. Rel. Int. and Usury[64]
11:00 to 12:30	Code Pl.[65]	Internat. Law[66] Public Corp.	Pract. of Law[67] Receivers[68]	Neg. Paper	Evidence	Pract. of Law[69] Receivers[70]
12:30 to 2:00	Surety and G.[71] Legal Eth Real Prop.	Surety and G.[72] Legal Eth. Carriers[73]	Code Pl.[74] Internat. Law[75]	Pub. Officers[76] Real Prop.	Carriers[77] Real Prop.	Carriers[78] Real Prop.

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES

For Session 1909-1910

This temporary schedule is rendered necessary by the transition from the two to the three years' course, and is subject to such alteration
as the Law Faculty may deem necessary.

       

Hours	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
9:30 to 11:00	Prof. Graves Second Year Prof. Dobie Fed. Proc.[79]	Prof. Graves Contracts[80] Torts[81]	Prof. Graves Second Year Prof. Dobie Fed. Proc.[82]	Prof. Graves Contracts[83] Torts[84] Prof Lile Practice Court[85]	Prof. Graves Second Year Prof. Dobie Fed. Proc.[86]	Prof. Graves Contracts[87] Torts[88]
11:00 to 12:30	Prof. Dobie Agency[89] Dom. Rel.[90] Int. and Usury[91]	Prof. Minor Second Year	Prof. Dobie Agency[92] Dom. Rel.[93] Int. and Usury[94] Master and S.[95] Carriers[96] Sales[97]	Prof. Minor Second Year	Prof. Dobie Agency[98] Dom. Rel.[99] Int. and Usury[100] Master and S.[101] Carriers[102] Sales[103]	Prof. Minor Second Year
12:30 to 2:00	Prof. Lile Second Year Prof. Minor Crim. Law[104] Internat. Law[105]	Prof Lile Study of Cases[106] Neg. Paper[107] Prof. Paul Public Speaking[108]	Prof. Lile Second Year Prof. Minor Crim. Law[109] Internat. Law[110]	Prof. Lile Study of Cases[111] Neg. Paper[112] Prof. Graves Practice Court[113]		Prof. Dobie Agency[114] Dom. Rel.[115] Int. and Usury[116] Master and S.[117] Carriers[118] Sales[119]

SCHEDULE OF EXAMINATIONS.

For Session of 1909-10.

(Subject to alteration).

First Year.

                         

Contracts	Dec. 17
Int. and Usury	Dec. 18
Agency	Dec. 20
Cases, Leg. Bibl., etc.	Dec. 21
Domestic Relations	Dec. 23
Sales	Feb. 24
Crim. Law	March 31
Torts	April 15
Carriers	April 24
Neg. Paper	June 1
Internat. Law	June 3
Master and Servant	June 5
Public Speaking	—

Second Year.

                 

Real Property (I)	Nov. 18
Pleading and Pr. (I)	Dec. 15
Practice Court (Motion Session)	Dec. 21
Equity	Feb. 2
Pleading and Pr. (II)	March 9
Real Property (II)	March 24
Conflict Laws	May 16
Evidence	May 28
Corporations	June 5

SCHEDULE OF EXAMINATIONS.

For Session 1910-11.

Examinations will be held during the last week of each term, on all
subjects completed during the term. The precise dates will be announced
hereafter.

Fall Examinations.—The privilege of standing Fall examinations
is granted to candidates for graduation who have fallen slightly below the
required standard, and who have not more than two classes to complete.

These Fall examinations will begin on the first Tuesday after the
opening of the session, and will continue from day to day until completed,
in the following order: (1) Equity Jurisprudence and Procedure; (2)
Pleading and Practice; (3) Conflict of Laws; (4) Corporations; (5)
Evidence; (6) Real Property.

Notice is given that this privilege will be withdrawn after the session
of 1909-1910.