Law Commons^™

Requirements Of A Legal Education, Bradley M. Thompson

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The sentiment which has been assigned to me and to which, in a Pickwickian sense, I am to respond, covers the whole field of a lawyer's professional education. It is a subject of special interest to the bar, and of much importance, indeed, to all, for the bar furnishes from its ranks all the members of the judicial department, one of the three co-ordinate departments of the government, whether state or national. And since every member of the bar is a member of the court before whom he practices, we constitute, at least, one third of the government. And if …

The Memorial Addresses Delivered In University Hall, November 26, 1880, At The Funeral Of Professor James Craig Watson, … Professor In The University From 1859 To 1879, Henry S. Frieze, Charles K. Adams, Alexander Winchell, Thomas M. Cooley

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This is Judge Cooley's tribute to former University of Michigan astronomer Professor James Craig Watson, who died unexpectedly at age 42 and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor. While not specifically related to the law, Cooley memorializes Watson with his ringing prose: "... it was among the stars this great man found his chief delight, and fitting it was that he should do so. He knew the stars as one knows the faces of his friends ..." But it is the last few pages of the tribute that Cooley asserts the glory of the State of Michigan …

Changes In The Balance Of Governmental Power, Thomas M. Cooley

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“In taking up for brief review the action of the convention in framing, and that of the people of the Union in adopting the Federal Constitution ninety years ago, we should be able after such a lapse of time, and in view of our diversified experience under it, to deal with it in a spirit of dispassionate criticism, and without boasting or unreasonable exultation. Yet we may perhaps truly say that the act itself was the most notable in government-making of which history bears record….”

The Lawyer’S Duty To Be Faithful To His Own Manhood, Thomas M. Cooley

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“On a previous occasion similar to this when I was invited to address a few parting words to a class of law students, I directed their attention specifically to their duty to observe fidelity to their clients. To-day I shall call your attention to a duty equally imperative, and perhaps still more often neglected, namely: the duty of fidelity to one’s own manhood....

“I shall have accomplished fully my purpose in these parting admonitions if I impress upon your convictions the paramount importance of observing in all your professional life the obligation of fidelity to truth, to justice, …

The State Of The Law: A Test Of National Progress, Thomas M. Cooley

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“The work to which the student in law first addresses himself is the fixing in his mind of certain principles which are agreed upon, or are supposed to be, and which collectively constitute the body of the law…. The brief remarks that I shall make will be addressed to two points: 1. That the law of the land must in the main be the handiwork of those who administer and practice it, and 2, That the final and most satisfactory evidence of assured national advancement must be found in the state of the law….”

Washington: His Character And The Lessons To Be Drawn From It, Thomas M. Cooley

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Justice Cooley’s memorial on the occasion of Washington’s birthday: “In fabulous history nations are founded by gods. But these gods are only impersonations of the rough virtues most prized in a barbarous age, and their worship is therefore an adoration of those qualities … We have no fabulous history of our nation … Great characters may loom up as the builders, but they are not simply exaggerated personifications of power and force; they are men with human qualities, whose lives, in the records which are preserved, are open to our inspection; we may see what manner of men they were, …

Hints To Young Lawyers. An Address Delivered To The Senior Class Of The Law Department Of The University Of Michigan, Thomas M. Cooley

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Professor Cooley’s counsel to the gentlemen departing the Law Department: “To those of you who are about to bear away from this institution the certificate of its approbation, I have a few words to say in response to what I understand to be your desire, that my last address should be devoted to such hints of a practical character as may be of service to you in your professional career. The transition from the life of a student to that of a practicing lawyer is so great that it is not possible for one to be too well prepared by …

Law And Lawyers In Society: An Address Delivered Before The Graduating Class Of The Law Department Of The University Of Michigan, March 28, 1866, James V. Campbell

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"We have spent some pleasant time together in searching out the foundations of the law. In studying its principles, you have acquired, I trust, a creditable amount of knowledge upon the special topics which are most likely to claim the attention of active lawyers ...."

"You need never fear to aim to high. The arrow never gravitates upward. The great danger among lawyers is, that they sometimes aim to low...."

Closing Remarks Of Prof J.V. Campbell To The Graduating Class Of The Law Department, March 21st, 1863., James V. Campbell

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[The following remarks of Professor Campbell, at the close of his series of Law Lectures for the present year, having been unanimously requested by the class for publication, were kindly furnished by him. Being extempore, and prompted solely by the feelings and emotions of the hour, it is the wish of those who heard those words of counsel and farewell to publish them, verbatim, as delivered.] ....

"....But among our thoughts the question will arise, To what end have we been spending this long period in searching out and studying the principles of the law? ... Why then have …

On The Study Of Law: An Address At The Opening Of The Law Department Of The University Of Michigan, October 3, 1859, James V. Campbell

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Professor Campbell's address on the occasion of the inauguration of the Department of Law at the University of Michigan, laying out the hopes for and expectations of the newly-created unit. He sweeps wide through the history of the State and the nobility of the profession: "Let everyone come to the study of the Law with a proper sense of its dignity and importance."