Reading law
Reading lawwas the primary method used incommon lawcountries, particularly theUnited States,for people to prepare for and enter thelegal professionbefore the advent oflaw schools.It consisted of an extendedinternshiporapprenticeshipunder thetutelageormentoringof an experiencedlawyer.The practice largely died out in the early 20th century. A few U.S. states still permit people to become lawyers by reading law instead of attending law school, although the practice is rare.[1]
In this sense, "reading law" specifically refers to a means of entering the profession, although in England it is still customary to say that a university undergraduate is "reading" a course, which may be law or any other.
United States
[edit]History
[edit]Incolonial America,as inBritainin that day, law schools did not exist at all untilLitchfield Law Schoolwas founded in 1773. Within a few years following theAmerican Revolution,some universities such as theCollege of William and Maryand theUniversity of Pennsylvaniaestablished a "Chair in Law".[2]However, the holder of this position would be the sole purveyor of legal education for the institution, and would give lectures designed to supplement, rather than replace, an apprenticeship.[3]Even as a handful of law schools were established, they remained uncommon in the United States until the late nineteenth century. Most people who entered the legal profession did so through anapprenticeshipwhich incorporated a period of study under the supervision of an experienced attorney. This usually encompassed the reading of the works considered at the time to be the most authoritative on the law, such asEdward Coke'sInstitutes of the Lawes of England,William Blackstone'sCommentaries on the Laws of England,and similar texts.[4]
The scholastic independence of the law student is evident from the following advice ofAbraham Lincolnto a young man in 1855:
If you are absolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself the thing is more than half done already. It is a small matter whether you read with any one or not. I did not read with any one. Get the books and read and study them in their every feature, and that is the main thing. It is no consequence to be in a large town while you are reading. I read atNew Salem,which never had three hundred people in it. The books and your capacity for understanding them are just the same in all places. [...] Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.[5]
Historically,country lawyersor county-seat lawyers were more likely to have read law. Reading law to become an attorney would be the norm, until the 1890s, when theAmerican Bar Association,formed in 1878, began pressing states to limit admission to the Bar to those persons who had satisfactorily completed several years of post-graduate institutional instruction.[6]
On July 8, 1941,James F. Byrnesbecame the last Justice appointed to theSupreme Court of the United Stateswho had never attended college or law school, and he was the penultimate appointee who had been admitted to practice by reading law. Byrnes was followed byRobert H. Jackson,who was commissioned just three days later, on July 11, 1941, and had also been admitted to the practice of law by reading, although he had attendedAlbany Law Schoolfor less than one year, taking a two-year program in the single year to save money.
Modern practice
[edit]In 2013, 60 people qualified to sit for the bar exam by reading law as opposed to 83,926 via law schools, and of those 60, 17 passed on their first attempt.[1]
As of 2024, four US states still permit reading law as the sole means of legal education. InCalifornia,[1]Vermont[1]andWashington,[7]an applicant who has not attended law school may take thebar examafter reading law under a judge or practicing attorney for a period of four years. In the fourth state,Virginia,[8]the period of reading law is only three years. Other rules vary as well. For example, Virginia does not allow the reader to be gainfully employed by the tutoring lawyer, while Washington requires just that. In California the requirements of the state bar association for reading law are set forth in Rule 4.29, Study in a law office or judge's chambers.[9]
Two other states allow reading law in combination with some law school.New Yorkallows applicants to read law provided they have already completed at least one year of law school study.[10]Mainerequires applicants to have completed at least two-thirds of a law degree.[11]A 2023 bill before theMaine Legislatureattempted to remove the requirement for two years of law school study, but the bill was indefinitely tabled.[12]
| State | Required law school | Required time reading law | Bar passage rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | None | Four years[13] | |
| New York | One year | Three years[14] | |
| Maine | Two years | One year[15] | |
| Vermont | None | Four years[16] | |
| Virginia | None | Three years[17] | 20.21%[18] |
| Washington | None | Four years[19] |
Notable Americans who became lawyers by reading law
[edit]U.S. presidents
[edit]- John Adams[20]
- Thomas Jefferson[21]
- John Quincy Adams
- Andrew Jackson
- Martin Van Buren
- John Tyler
- Millard Fillmore[22]
- James Buchanan
- Abraham Lincoln– later said of his legal education that "I studied with nobody."
- James A. Garfield[23]
- Chester A. Arthur[24]
- Grover Cleveland[25]
- Woodrow Wilson,[26]leftUniversity of Virginia School of Lawto read law
- Calvin Coolidge[27]
U.S vice presidents
[edit]U.S. legislators
[edit]- Daniel Webster,Senator from Massachusetts
- George Gray,[30]Senator and JudgeUnited States Court of Appeals
- George S. Houston,[31]Senator and Governor of Alabama
- John H. Mitchell,U.S. Senator from Oregon in the 1870s
U.S. Supreme Court chief justices
[edit]Except for the second chief justiceJohn Rutledge,who had formal legal education at theMiddle Templein London, no chief justice had any university-based legal training until Melville Fuller in 1888, who attendedHarvard Law Schoolfor six months. In short, 7 of the first 8 U.S. Supreme Court chief justices engaged in their legal education primarily by reading law. All chief justices since the appointment ofEdward Douglass Whitein 1910 have held law degrees.
U.S. Supreme Court justices after 1900
[edit]Few early Supreme Court justices attended law school although the practice of attending law school became more common after around 1900. Supreme Court justices who read law after 1900 include:
- James F. Byrnes[32]
- Pierce Butler[33]
- John Hessin Clarke[34]
- Gabriel Duvall
- Joseph Rucker Lamar[35]
- Robert H. Jackson
- William Henry Moody,left Harvard Law School to read law
- Mahlon Pitney[36]
- George Sutherland,left University of Michigan Law School to read law[37]
Other politicians
[edit]- Patrick Henry,1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
- Marilla Ricker,[38]Examiner in Chancery
- Frank B. Kellogg,United States Secretary of State
- Thomas R. Marshall,[39]Vice President and Governor of Indiana
- Thomas Clarke Rye,Governor of Tennessee
- Granville Pearl Aikman,Judge and suffragist[40]
- Edmund Pendleton,1st Chief Justice,Supreme Court of Virginia
- William Simon U'Ren,Father of theOregon System
- Rush Limbaugh Sr.,Missouri judge
Non-governmental
[edit]- Francis Scott Key
- John Neal,[41]writer and activist
- Charles D. Drake,[42]one ofDred Scott'sattorneys
- Clarence Darrow[43][44]
References
[edit]- ^abcdAdwar, Corey (July 30, 2014)."There's A Way To Become An Attorney Without Setting Foot In Law School".Business Insider.
- ^Harno, Albert J. (1953).Legal Education in the United States: A Report Prepared for the Survey of the Legal Profession.p. 23.
- ^Harno (1953),p. 27.
- ^Harno (1953),pp. 19–20.
- ^Allen, Frederick James (1919).The Law as a Vocation.Harvard University. p. 25.
- ^Harno (1953),pp. 86–87.
- ^"Rules and Regulations Governing the Washington Law Clerk Program".Washington State Bar Association. 2002.RetrievedMarch 4,2007.
- ^"Law Reader Program".Virginia Board of Bar Examiners. 2010.RetrievedJanuary 6,2010.
- ^"TITLE 4. ADMISSIONS AND EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS Adopted July 2007 DIVISION 1. ADMISSION TO PRACTICE LAW IN CALIFORNIA Chapter 1. General Provisions, Rule 4.29 Study in a law office or judge's chambers"(PDF).
- ^"New York Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys".New York State Board of Bar Examiners. 2000.RetrievedJanuary 20,2011.
- ^"Maine Bar Admission Rules"(PDF).Maine Board of Bar Examiners. 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 27, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 20,2011.
- ^"Bill aims to drop law school requirement to become licensed to practice in Maine".Lewiston Sun Journal.2023-04-06.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"The State Bar of California".www.calbar.ca.gov.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"Part 520 - Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law".nycourts.gov.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"Title 4, §803: Qualifications for taking bar examination".legislature.maine.gov.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"The Law Office Study Program | Vermont Judiciary".www.vermontjudiciary.org.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"VBBE - Law Reader Program - Rules & Regulations".barexam.virginia.gov.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"VBBE - Law Reader Program - Memorandum".barexam.virginia.gov.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"Washington State Bar Association Law Clerk Program (APR 6)".admissions.wsba.org.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"Education | John Adams Historical Society".www.john-adams-heritage.com.29 February 2012.Retrieved2019-12-27.
- ^Meacham, Jon(2012).Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.Random House LLC. pp. 29, 39.ISBN978-0679645368.
- ^"Millard Fillmore".HISTORY.Retrieved2019-12-27.
- ^"James A. Garfield Papers".Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
- ^"Chester A. Arthur | Biography, Presidency, Accomplishments, & Facts".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2019-12-31.
- ^"Grover Cleveland | Biography & Facts".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2020-02-21.
- ^"Wilson, Woodrow (1856–1924)".www.encyclopediavirginia.org.Retrieved2019-12-29.
- ^"Calvin Coolidge: Life Before the Presidency".Miller Center.2016-10-04.Retrieved2019-12-31.
- ^Libbey in "The Making of the 'Paducah Politician'", p. 255.
- ^"U.S. Senate: Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President (1929-1933)".www.senate.gov.Retrieved2019-12-27.
- ^"George Gray".www.fjc.gov.Retrieved2019-12-27.
- ^"Alabama Department of Archives and History: Alabama Governors--George Smith Houston".archives.alabama.gov.Retrieved2019-12-28.
- ^"James Byrnes: South Carolina's Governor, 1951-1955".www.sciway.net.Retrieved2019-10-11.
- ^"Butler, Pierce at Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.Retrieved2019-12-29.
- ^"Clarke, John Hessin at the Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.Retrieved2019-12-29.
- ^"Lamar, Joseph Rucker at the Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.Retrieved2019-12-29.
- ^"Pitney, Mahlon at the Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.Retrieved2019-12-29.
- ^"The Supreme Court. Capitalism and Conflict. Biographies of the Robes. Alexander George Sutherland | PBS".www.thirteen.org.Retrieved2019-12-29.
- ^"Marilla Ricker, 1840-1920 | Library".www.library.unh.edu.Retrieved2019-12-29.
- ^"U.S. Senate: Thomas R. Marshall, 28th Vice President (1913-1921)".www.senate.gov.Retrieved2019-12-27.
- ^staff (November 1, 1900). "Endorsed by Bryanites".The Eureka Herald.
- ^Neal, John(1869).Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life.Boston, Massachusetts: Roberts Brothers. pp. 273–288.OCLC1056818562.
- ^"Drake, Charles Daniel - Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.Retrieved2019-12-31.
- ^"Clarence Seward Darrow Facts".biography.yourdictionary.com.Retrieved2019-12-30.
- ^"Clarence Darrow | American lawyer".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2019-12-30.
