Why the First Law School in the United States was Established in Connecticut

Extract

The education of all lawyers everywhere in the British American colonies before 1784 was by apprenticeship. Aspirants to the profession, usually without any prior college education at all, read law in the office of an established practitioner. The most important part of this training occurred during the sessions of the local, county, and colony courts when the neophyte would observe, listen carefully, and take notes. After a time, sometimes only months, sometimes two to three years, the student would be examined cursorily and, with senior members of the bar attesting to his good character, admitted to practice. A few whose parents could afford it would travel to London and read law there at the Inns of Court.