Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 15.pdf/256

 The Educational Status of the Legal Profession. So far the present paper has dealt only with the educational preparation of the rank and file of the legal profession. In order to make a comparison between this and the pre paration of the leading lights within it, I have studied with considerable detail the aca demic and legal schooling of 857 lawyers and jurists of acknowledged eminence who were alive in 1900. (Note: Names of lawyers in Wlw's Who in America for 1900.) Every part of the country is represented in the number, and although it is true that not all who have achieved legal distinction are included, it is, I think, safe to say that each man considered has made more than an or dinary success in the practice of law and is therefore a fit object of study by those whose ambitions are similar. The average age of the whole number is 57 years, but 5.6 per cent, being under 40 years. For the purpose of study I have classified them as follows according to their educa tional preparation: (a) Those who had gone no farther than the High School. (b) Those who had taken the college course only. (c) Those who had taken the law course only. (d) Those whose training has been en tirely abroad. (f) Those who had taken both college and law courses. (h) Those who had taken both college and post graduate courses. (j) Those with college, professional, and post graduate courses. All came within these seven classes with the exception of a very few who combined training abroad in various ways with that in our institutions, but the numbers were so few as to be disregarded without invalidat ing1 the results. In the table given below, however, the totals include them. In this table, the letters at the top of the columns

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refer to the classification given. The table is divided horizontally into lines, the per centages in each one of which are for the men between the ages indicated by the num ber in the left hand column. The study by ages was undertaken in order to see what changes have taken place in the last half century and more in the legal training. By subtracting twenty-five years from the age of each group, we have approximately the num ber of years which have elapsed since active practice was begun. In the horizontal line marked "Tot. No.'' is given the number of men for each of the educational classifica tions, while the column similarly headed shows the number for each definite age group: Age

a

bed

f

g

,


 * ot. Tot.

15.4

3.8

26

3.

14.1!

2.5

120

14.

80 to 90 46.2

iffl.l

11.5

70 to 80

42.5

24.2

6.8

60 to 70

45

23.3

10.4

.4

8.4

7.5

4.2

240

28.

BO to 60

40

17.1

13.6

1.9

13.2

9.8

3.5

267

30.

40 to 50

30 .5

18.8

16.3

3.6

12.8

10.4

10.4

164

19.1

30 to 40

36.4

14.6

27.1

6.3

8.4

8.4

48

5.6

Total

341

174

109

11

90

83

41

867

39.8

20.3

1.26

1.3

10.5

9.7

4.8

No. Tot. %

10.

The percentages in the bottom line of the table are for the total number found in each of the educational classifications and are per haps of the greatest interest. The first (a) shows that roughly 40 per cent., or one in two and one-half of these picked men had made no use of our educational machinery be yond the secondary school. That is, men who had entered the profession through the law office and who had had no considerable breadth of training previous to doing so. This seems to be an unusually large number: much larger than for the eminent men of any of the other learned professions similar ly considered, and these facts would seem to imply that success before the bar as com pared with success in' other professions is