University of Nebraska College of Law - Yearbook (Lincoln, NE)

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68 THE DIGEST natural gift, yet nature can be much assisted by thorough gen- eral education and acquaintance with the best English writers- One unconsciously acquires something of the style of expression- of the authors whom he reads. A wise choice of English prose may do do much-to improve one's style of expression. The speeches of great orators may often be studied to advantage by those who wish to improve in public speaking. lVhile true elo- quence is essentially a natural gift, the power of clear and forci- ble expression is an art capable of successful cultivation. It is not so much in the acquisition of knowledge as in the in- tellectual training that thorough, general education is a necessary prerequisite to the successful study and practice of law. One- cannot delay entering upon the study of law until he has mas tered the science of medicine, merely because his first case may be one of malpractice, nor can he wait to master civil engineer- ing, because he may at once be called upon to try a case in- volving the proper construction of a railway bridge, but he ought not to enter upon the study of law until by long, per- sistent and patient study of other things he has acquired that power of mental concentration and endurance that will render' success in the study of the law probable. In all schemes of edu-- cation there are certain branches of knowledge that are permit- ted to be taken only after certain preliminary preparation has been made. This is because without such preparation there is no reasonable hope of success in them. The law isdihicult and abstruse, and the young man whose education is limited to the three Ris- ought not for his own good, as well as that of the public, to be permitted to enter upon the study of law with a view to its prac- tice. It is not contended that all well educated meniwould make- good lawyers, but it is true that no man will ever be likely to- reach high rank as a lawyer without a fair general education acquired either in or out of the schools. An efort is being made by the law schools of the country to' raise the requirements, as to the general education of the appli- cants for admission to their classes. So long as no preliminary preparation is required for oflilce reading with a view to being' admitted to the bar, such a movement among the law colleges is likely to defeat its own purpose. Its purpose doubtless is to

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PREPARATION FOR THE STUDY OF LAW tion, but at times every lawyer will End that his only way to suc- cess lies across the term fincognizfa, and he must have the intellec- tual courage to lead the way, and the skill to make it so plain that even the conservative court may find sure footing on which to follow. . lVhat preparation should then precede the study of the law? The conditions of success at the bar are very different from what they were a century or even a half century ago, and these con- ditions are every year growing more exacting. Many started in the law forty or fifty years ago with but meager preliminary pre- paration, and have reached high places in the profession, who -could not start now with like preparation and ever hope to reach the same relative rank. Success in the study and practice of the law now demands long and thorough preparation. It demands a broad foundation in good general scholarship. I do not mean that one must necessarily hold a college diploma before studying law. He may hold that and yet be very deicient in the rudiments of a good general education. True, the college or university is the best place in which to acquire a good general education, but it is by no means the only place where it can be had. Many of our great lawyers whose general education was broad and thorough, were not college-bred men. The practice of law touches life at every point, and with the growth of our civilization the demands upon the lawyer are nec- essarily more varied. There is no held of human knowledge into which his work may not lead him. There is no science, a knowl- edge of whose principles may not be of importance to him. It is the business of the advocate to enforce his ideas upon the court and jury. No one can ever hope to rise to the rank of even a second-rate advocate who has not acquired the art of clear and forcible expression. It is true, that to some nature has denied the power to ever acquire this art, but it is likewise true that she has denied to them the possibility of ever becoming great advocates. No one should, however, lay the blame entirely upon dame na- ture until he has made heroic efforts to accomplish his end. There are many examples of great power of expression acquired only after obstacles apparently insuperable were overcome. VVhile the power of clear, forcible expression is, to some extent, a

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PREPARATION Fon THE STUDY or LAXV 69 raise the general educational level of the legal profession. If, however, a young man of limited general education is to be ad- mitted to the bar, it were much better that he prosecute his study of the law in a law college, surrounded by a scholarly atmosphere, than in a law office where the educational level is perhaps no higher than his own. It will avail nothing to close the law col- lege to those whose general education has not prepared them for the study of the law, if they can come to the bar through oiiice reading, with no preliminary training and much less knowledge of the law itself than the law college would have given them. Unless the higher standard of preliminary preparation be also demanded as a prerequisite of oflice reading, then such a demand on the part of the law schools is likely to lower rather than raise the general educational level of the profession. The remedy, therefore, lies in the higher standard of preliminary preparation for the study of law in the law oiiice, as well as admission to the law schools. It is often urged that severe requirements of preliminary gen- eral education would exclude from the profession many who are destined to become its brightest ornaments. It may be said that the names of Clay, Calhoun, and Lincoln, would never have adorned the roll of honor in the legal profession if a high standard of general education had been, in their day, required as a necessary qualiiieation for admission to the bar. It must, however, be re- membered that we new live in aiday when higher education forms a part of the great system of public schools. It may well be doubted whether any young man of our time, who has not the energy and determination to obtain a good general education, will ever attain distinction at the bar either with or without its ad- vantages. One can hardly conceive of a Clay, a Calhoun, or a Lincoln, surrounded by our present educational advantages, en- tering upon the study of the law without having laid a good foundation for it in general education. Neither will we believe that men like these would even in their day have been deter1'ed from entering their chosen profession because of any reasonable requirement of preliminary preparation. It is more than doubt- ful whether even these great men could have entered the law titty years later and with no better preliminary preparation achieved the same lll0IlSll1'C of success.