University of Virginia Library

LAW DEPARTMENT.

JOHN B. MINOR, LL. D., . . . . . Professor of Common and Slatute Law.

JAS. H. GILMORE, LL. D., Professor of Constitutional and International Law, Equity, etc.

This Department is organized with a view to acquaint the student familiarly
and practically with the principles of his profession. The instruction is as
thorough as possible, and is given partly through text-books and partly
through lectures, with daily examination upon both.

A Moot-court, in connection with other instruction, tends to perfect the
student in the details of practice. Under the immediate supervision of the
Professors, he is required to pronounce opinions upon supposed cases; to
devise and institute remedies by suit or otherwise; to conduct suits at law
and in equity from their inception, through all their stages; to draw wills,
conveyances, and other assurances; and, in short, to perform most of the
functions of a practising lawyer.

The Department comprises two Schools, each of which is divided into
two classes, and the course of instruction is as follows:

SCHOOL OF COMMON AND STATUTE LAW.

Professor Minor.

Junior Class.—Minor's Institutes of Common and Statute Law, namely:

Vol. I. The Rights which relate to the Person.

Vol. II. The Rights which relate to Real Property.

Minor's Synopsis of Criminal Law.

Blackstone's Commentaries.

Senior Class.—Minor's Institutes of Common and Statute Law, namely:

Vol. IV., The Practice of the Law in Civil Cases, including Pleading.

Vol. III., The Rights which relate to Personal Property.

Stephen on Pleading.

For reference.—Virginia Code (1887); Revised Statutes of the United States.

SCHOOL OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
LAW, MERCANTILE LAW,
EVIDENCE, AND EQUITY.

Professor Gilmore.

Junior Class.—Vattel's International Law, with Lectures; Lectures on Government;
Federalist.

Senior Class.—Smith's Mercantile Law; Greenleaf's Evidence; Adams's Equity, with
Lectures.

For Reference:—Stephen's Digest of the Law of Evidence (Chase's edition preferred).

DEGREE.

In the Department of Law, the degree of Bachelor of Law is conferred
upon those who, upon examination conducted in writing, manifest an intimate
acquaintance with the subjects taught in all the classes; and to those
who, upon like examination, exhibit a competent knowledge of International
and Constitutional Law, including the Science of Government, a Certificate
of Proficiency is awarded.

In order to obtain the degree, the whole of the course must be completed
here, no preliminary examination being had upon entering.

But a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Law, who in a previous
session has become a Proficient in Constitutional and International Law, is
not required to stand examination in this subject anew. All other examinations
must be passed in the year of graduation.

COURSE OF STUDY.

The course is designed for two sessions, and in general it is not prudent to
devote less time to it, the future professional success of the student depending
much upon his full mastery of it. 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." And in order to such thorough
acquaintance with the elements of the law, thought is requisite as well as
reading; and for the purpose of thought, there must be time to digest, as
well as industry to acquire. One cannot expect to gorge himself with law,
as a boa-constrictor does with masses of food, and then digest it afterwards;
the process of assimilation must go on, if it is to proceed healthfully and

beneficially, at the same time with the reception of knowledge. So the
athlete judges, who wishes to train the physical man to the most vigorous
development, and the intellectual athlete should imitate the example.

But whilst the student is advised, as a general rule, not to attempt to complete
the course in a single session, yet, if he chooses to essay it (as some do
successfully), he is admitted to the graduating examinations, and if he attains
the standard required, he is entitled to the degree.

EXPENSES.

The necessary expenses of a student in the Law Department are, for the
session of nine months, as follows:

                 

Tuition	$ 80
Matriculation	25
Infirmary Fee	7
Dormitory Rent (two in a room)	15
Fuel and lights (two in a room)	12
Washing	14
Board at $13 a Month	117
Total necessary expenses (board at $13)	$270
Payable on entrance	$175

The sum payable on entrance includes a contingent deposit of $10, which
is credited in final settlement, and hence forms no part of the necessary
expenses. This deposit is assessed for any damage to property, violation of
Library rules, and so on, which the student himself may commit.

To the above total must be added the cost of books and stationery, about
$80 for the entire course, and the cost of a degree which, if taken, is $15.

The board at $13 is plain, but wholesome and abundant. Better board
can be had at $18 a month. At $18 the total necessary expenses will be
$315, of which $180 is payable on entrance.

For the entire course, if taken in one year, the total necessary expenses,
including books, will be $350 to $395, according to the price paid for board,
with the addition of $15 for the degree, if the degree is taken.