The fall term of 1874 opened with one hundred and thirty-four students. The good seed planted two years previously was thus already bearing its fruit. A few changes had been made in the faculty and lecturers. Mr. Nicholas St. John Greene was performing the duties of acting Dean, to enable Mr. Hillard to seek that retirement which his health demanded. Judge John Lowell offered a course of lectures on Bankruptcy, and the well-known lawyers Charles B. Goodrich and Chauncey Smith, of Boston, were prepared to meet the senior class with their specialties, respectively, of Corporation and Patent law. With the opening of this term a change of quarters was necessitated; the school was removed to the Wesleyan building, 36 Bromfield street, which was then considered very commodious. Here it remained till the fall of 1884. Each subsequent year saw a continued increase in the number of pupils. In the fall of 1877 Judge Edmund H. Bennett was appointed Dean. A more fortunate selection could not have been made. A long experience as Probate Judge had given him a wide and practical knowledge of Probate law in all its departments, and his varied legal writings in other departments of the law showed how well qualified he was to undertake the general administration of the school. With all his learning, moreover, Judge Bennett possesses a remarkable power of imparting knowledge, a very clear insight into human nature, and a certain gentle magnetism which attracts and charms young men. The man and the occasion were thus well suited to each other. If the important place of Dean had been filled at that time by an ordinary man, the remarkable progress then made might have gone for nought; but with Judge Bennett at its head, the Boston Law School has continually justified the hopes and wishes of its founders. This result could only have been brought about by the patient supervision, watchful energy, and valuable experience, which are clearly set forth in the rare character of its Dean.
In the fall of 1879 the corps of lecturers was increased by the name of Truman H. Kimpton, lecturer on the Constitution of the United States; and three special instructors were appointed to assist the lecturers,—Messrs. Wayland E. Benjamin, George R. Swasey, and John E. Wetherbee; and in 1880 the list of instructors was further increased by Austin V. Fletcher. In 1881 Benjamin R. Curtis took his father's place as lecturer on the Jurisdiction and Practice of the United States Courts. John Lathrop came to lecture on Corporations, and Francis L. Wellman was added to the corps of instructors. In 1883 Edward J. Phelps began to lecture on Constitutional law, and continued his connection with the school till his departure to England, as United States Minister at the Court of St. James.
The year 1883 also marked the retirement from the school of Hon. Henry W. Paine, who for eleven years had filled the chair of Lecturer on Real Property. "So thoroughly was he master of his subject, difficult and intricate as it confessedly is, that in not a single instance, except during the lectures of the last year, did he take a note or scrap of memoranda into the class-room."[A]
In 1884, owing to the receipt of several large legacies, the University was enabled to provide new quarters for the Law School. A large and well-built house, No. 10 Ashburton place, was purchased by the corporation, and was at once remodelled in accordance with a careful plan which one of the best architects in the city had devised. This house was formerly the residence of the late Mr. Augustus H. Fiske, the well-known lawyer, who died many years ago. Mr. Fiske was a remarkable man. His practice was very extensive throughout Suffolk and Middlesex counties, and he is said to have been in the habit of entering more cases at the terms of the courts than any other lawyer of his day. He made it a point to reach his office before seven o'clock in the morning, and he generally remained there till late in the evening. The consequence was that he broke down rather early in life, and died in his prime. His early death, however, was not expected by the Bar. A short time before his last sickness he appeared as a witness in a certain case in Suffolk County, and at the conclusion of a long cross-examination at the hands of Henry W. Paine, Mr. Fiske inquired if Mr. Paine had any further questions to ask. "No, Brother Fiske," said Mr. Paine, "I think not,—but stay; you have just told us when you began practice; now, what your brethren of the Bar are more concerned in, is, when are you going to leave off?"—"Not till the last nail is driven in my coffin," was the answer. Soon after this Mr. Fiske fell sick, and Mr. Paine called on him at his house. Mr. Fiske was sitting up in bed taking a deposition in his night-gown, with the parties gathered about him. The next day he died.
The alterations at No. 10 Ashburton place were made under the supervision of Mr. William G. Preston, the architect. The front of the basement, about twenty feet square, is a pleasant room, well lighted, and is used by the students, for study, conversation, and general social purposes. Directly back of this is a dressing-room, 25 × 19, containing about one hundred lockers, for the use of the students. Ascending to the first floor, one is struck with the spaciousness of the hall-way, which extends from the entrance to the door of the lecture-hall. It is finished in light wood, and the design of the staircase is particularly tasteful, while the stairs themselves are very easy of ascent. To the left of the entrance is the Dean's room, 19 × 19, finished in cherry; and next on the left is a part of the library, which is finished in white-wood. In the rear is the lecture-hall, where everything has been done to combine light and air with comfort. The hall is something over fifty-two feet long, twenty-six feet wide, and seventeen feet in height. Almost the entire roof, which is in the shape of an immense skylight, is made of glass. The walls are light in color, while the general effect is one of light and airiness. In the lecture-hall, as elsewhere, special regard has been paid to the ventilation. The atmosphere is changed continually, without any perceptible draughts. The seating capacity of the lecture-hall is about two hundred. The second story is devoted wholly to the library, which, with the room on the first floor, affords space for the University's valuable collection of books. Leading from one of the large rooms on this floor is a small one for the librarians, which is fitted up with open fireplace, desks, and other suitable furnishings. The whole floor is finished in white-wood. On the third floor are two recitation rooms, with a seating capacity of eighty and fifty, respectively. Above are three club-rooms, devoted to the use of the several law clubs in the school. With such accommodations the school will receive a new impetus.
The cause of legal education has advanced greatly within the memory of lawyers who are even now hardly of middle age. Twenty years ago law schools in this country were few in number and most of them poor in equipment. No examination, and but little study, was required as a condition for the degree of Bachelor of Laws; one of the oldest schools conferred the degree upon all students registered therein for a certain length of time,—one year. To-day, in most of the schools, students are required to study at least two years, and to pass examinations in some ten or twelve branches of the law before a degree is given. Some schools require three years' study, and of these this school is one. Indeed, it was the first to establish such a course, the trustees including it in the statutes of organization in 1871. Transition from the earlier standards to the present one has been gradual but steady, and to-day the degree is conferred (save in exceptional cases) only upon those who have studied law at least three years.
One or two features of the course of instruction deserve especial mention. The first of these is the prominence given to the system of recitations, and their separation from the lectures. These latter are given by the elder members of the profession; the lecturer himself occupies most of the hour in laying down and explaining propositions of law and citing authorities in support. The lecturer's work is supplemented by the instructors, who conduct recitations upon the topics already reviewed by their elders; in these exercises the students are expected and required to occupy most of the time in asking or answering questions, and in the discussion and argument of points raised or suggested in the previous lecture.
The freedom of debate and liberty of criticism given at the recitations, larger than it is practicable to obtain at the lectures, is found to be a most useful method of fixing principles or correcting errors.
The Moot Courts are another prominent feature of the instruction. These are held regularly every Saturday. Some question of law is argued by students who have been previously assigned as counsel; a member of the faculty sits as Chief-Justice, two students being associated with him as Justices. Upon the decision of the question written opinions are prepared by each of the Associate Justices and read by them at a subsequent session of the court. These opinions are afterwards printed and bound under the title of "Boston University Reports."
In October last (1885) the school opened with one hundred and seventy-one students, and with the following list of lecturers and their topics: Brooks Adams, Chartered Rights; Edmund H. Bennet, Agency, Contracts, Criminal Law, Partnership, Wills; Melville M. Bigelow, Bills and Notes, Insurance, Torts; Uriel H. Crocker, Massachusetts Conveyancing; Samuel S. Curry, Elocution and Oratory; Benjamin R. Curtis, Jurisdiction and Practice of the United States Courts; William G. Hammond, History of the Common Law; John Lathrop, Corporations; James K. Maynadier, Patent Law; Elias Merwin (who succeeded the late Judge Dwight Foster in 1884), Equity Jurisprudence, Equity Pleading; John Ordronaux, Medical Jurisprudence; John E. Wetherbee, Real Property; Edward J. Phelps, Constitutional Law; Charles T. Russell, Admiralty and Shipping, Evidence, Parliamentary Law, Pleading and Practice; Charles T. Russell, Jr., Law of Elections; James Schouler, Bailments, Domestic Relations; George R. Swasey, Sales; Francis Wharton, Conflict of Laws.