 | University of Virginia |  |
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 for the student to follow the principle to its legitimate
conclusion, though that be at variance with the decisions of the courts, than to
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 textbooks
and partly through lectures, with careful daily examinations upon both.
The daily quiz has long been one of the marked features of the system of instruction,
and, as experience proves, one of the most valuable. As cross-examination
of the witness 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, since the future professional success of the
student depends upon his intimate acquaintance with elementary principles, it is
hazardous to devote less time to preparation for practice, even though the student
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 expect to gorge himself with legal principles and to digest them afterwards;
the process of assimilation, if it is to proceed healthfully and beneficially,
must accompany the reception of knowledge.
| University of Virginia | |