Hoffman's ''Course of Legal Study'' is an 1817 legal textbook by American law professor David Hoffman that was influential in the development of America's first law school curricula. An early American law professor, Hoffman was largely forgotten for generations but has gained more attention since the 1970s and been called "the first of the systemic legal educators" and "the father of American legal ethics".

History

Originally published in 1817 as ''A Course of Legal Study; Respectfully Addressed to the Students of Law in the United States'', the book was more commonly referred to as "Hoffman's ''Course of Legal Study''". Author David Hoffman released the book when there were 40 lawyers practicing in Baltimore and shortly after founding the

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...

in 1816. He republished the book in 1836 as ''A Course of Legal Study, Addressed to Students and the Profession Generally'', around the time he was losing interest in his law school and legal practice. The book included an extensive reading list and a guide for producing one's own series of notebooks to use while

reading law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

. Hoffman designed the course to require between five and seven years to complete, but US Supreme Court Justice

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin v. Hunter's Lessee'' and ''United States ...

believed it should take at least seven. Hoffman's ''Course'' was influential in the development of America's first law school curricula and Hoffman has been called "the first of the systemic legal educators" and "the father of American legal ethics". Hoffman was left out of ''The Bench and Bar of Maryland: A History 1634 to 1901'' (1901), but his approach to legal ethics gained renewed attention in the 1970s after the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

. The "moral crisis" that

President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

's lawyers had "blindly followed the demands of their client" was compared to Hoffman's conclusion that "a lawyer's duty to a client was limited by his duties to society".

Reception

The same year it was first published, Joseph Story recommended Hoffman's ''Course of Legal Study'' in the ''

North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived a ...

'', and said of Hoffman that "the writers whom he recommends are of the very best authority; and his own notes are composed in a tone of the most enlarged philosophy, and abound in just and discriminating criticism, and in precepts calculated to elevate the moral as well as intellectual character of the Profession". Writer and lawyer John Neal claimed to have completed Hoffman's course in only sixteen months and he gave a positive review to the book in 1819, saying that he was "a student who... but for that work, might have continued a student for years, without any further understanding of the science".

John Gage Marvin John Gage Marvin (1815–1855) was an American lawyer, known as a legal bibliographer and figure of the history of California. Early life He was born at Le Raysville, Pennsylvania, and was educated at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He then t ...

offered praise for the book in his 1847 legal bibliography, calling it "a work of peculiar excellence... a priceless contribution to young men just starting upon the life-long study of the law" and "truly a bibliographical treasure, that none will do without who are in downright earnest in studying the law".

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * {{cite web , url = https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/fac_pubs/1055/ , title = David Hoffman: Life, Letters and Lectures at the University of Maryland 1821-1837 , author = University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law , date = , website = Digital Commons@UM Carey Law , publisher =

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...

, access-date = April 7, 2021 , quote = David Hoffman was a prominent pioneer in the establishment of university-based legal education. He helped to found the University of Maryland Law School in 1816 and was its first professor. His A Course of Legal Study (1817) and Legal Outlines (1829) played a critical role in the development of law school curricula and provided guidance to hundreds of antebellum law students and attorneys.

External links

Full text
of first edition available via

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

Full text
of second edition available via

Law textbooks 1817 non-fiction books American non-fiction books