THE AMERICAN LAWYER: HIS TRAINING AND SPECIALIZATION In colonial days, so-called attorneys were uneducated minor court officers, sch as deputy sherifis, clerks, and justices, who fos- tered Jitigation for petiy court fees. Gradually, however, a system of legal training began to develop. a Legal Education in the United States 5 In the early days of ou republic lawyers studied the works of the Jeading authorities in Europe and England, particularly Blackstone's Commentaries, Blackstone's influence is said to have resulted in the establishment of chairs of law at several American universities; yet the main education of lawyers remained, for some time, in office 10 apprenticeships. Lawyers of the last century were still reluctant to accept the idea of university training. ‘They_cldng to the belief that legal education was nothing more than the mastering of a craft, the skills for which had to be passed on from the practitioner to the novice. U.S. Supreme 15 Court Justice Joseph Story criticized the narrowness of the legal instruction at that, time and pointed to the need for knowledge of the principles of law and broad study liberalized by acquaintance with philosophy and the wisdom of ancient and modern times. The first university school of law was founded in Harvard in 20 1815; Yale followed in 1826 with its law school. In 1850 there were fifteen university law schools in the United States and in 1870, thirty- one, Moreover, in 1870, Dean Christopher C, Langdell of Harvard established the “case method,” a system of teaching legal science through the study of judicial decisions. Some Jaw schools continued ) $ to use the textbook method of teaching for many years, but today the case system is still accepted and used in almost every well rec- ognized law school in the country. High Standards of Modern American Law Schools ‘The American Bar Association in 1921, led by such men as Elihu 30 Root and William Howard Taft, recommended that all law colleges‘THE LEGAL PROFESSION 35 ance at law school examination by p should not sutomat ft became apparent, however, that it was im- le to evaluate the qualifications of Iaw schools without personal inspection. In 1927, advisors of the American Bat Association began inspecting Jaw schools and assisting them with their problems and also began urging the state and local bar associations to adopt the American Bar’ Association standards for admission to the bar, As & Ys result of these activities law schools, effective in 1952, increased to three the number of years of aeceptable college study necessary for admission. Post-Admission Legal Education A hundted years ago when a lawyer completed his legal educa ied to the bar, he assumed that his schooling was . on the other hand, appreciates the need th current reading ion courses of instructi vear the Practicing Law Institute conducts courses for thousands of lawyers through Saturday forums, summer sessions, home-study pro- grams, and published monographs. In addition, the American Law supervises post-admission legal education programs on 2 Classification of Lawyers The four main fields in which lawyers serve are (1) private prac- tice of the law, (2) government service, (3) direct employment by - private business, and (4) employment by labor unions, More then 45 75 per cent of the total number of lawyers in the United States are inthe first category, private practice. Unlike England where a lawyer is either a solicitor (office lawyer) or a_barrister (court lawyer), al ‘American lawyers are licensed to be both office and court lawyers Private practitioners may be grouped in ‘scores of classifications municipal law office in the wor ‘THE AMERICAN LAWYER: HIS TRAINING AND SPECIALIZATION — 9 { which the following are typical but not co-equal:_ general prac-#0 joners; office, trial, patent, tax, corporation, real lawyers. Jawyer emplayed by a busing m may be counsel for the jon’ (sometimes designated-2s “house counsel") or a member ‘of the law department of the particular firm. Lawyers serving the government directly may be employed at the federal, state, or local Jevel. More than 7,000 attorneys are employed {in the federal government. Each department of the government has its own law department, For example, in 1961 the U.S. Department of Justice employed over 1,500 lawyers: the General Accovnting BO ‘Office, over 580; and the National Labor Relations Board, more than — 300. Thousands of lawyers are employed by the 50 state and over 2,000 municipal governments. Most cities with populations of more than 5,000 people employ city attorneys; each city attorney may have one or more assistants, The City of New York has the largest 85 it employs over 600 persons, in- luding lawyers, accountants, and clerical personnel. ‘The so-called “labor lawyer” may work for either private indus- try or for labor unions. In the early days of the labor this country there was some prejudice against lawyers who repre-.O a has gradually disappeared, and the integs recognized Lawyers may also be district attorneys, enforcement officers or work as staff members in the judicial braach of a government, or they may be judges, legislators, mayors, or 45 governors. THE AMERICAN LAWYER: HIS PRACTICE, The average person is more familiar with the work of physicians and dentists than with the work of lawyers, An individual usually consults a physician or dentist regularly, but he may consult a lawyer aly ance in his lifetime. ‘The Work of the Average Practitioner ‘What, then, are the everyday activities of the American lawyer? Whether be practices alone, practices a member of a law firm, he may perform any or all the following tasks: He may assist clients in the purchase, sale, leasing, and mort- gaging of houses, buildings, and other real estate. He may give