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LEGAL EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Admission to the legal profession in England is controlled by organizations representing the solicitors and barristers, the two great divisions into which the profession is divided. This control by private organizations is peculiar to England, and a proper appreciation of the present condition and tendencies in English legal education therefore requires a somewhat detailed account of these societies and their activities.

The division of the profession into two classes, the solicitors and barristers, does not exist in the United States. The activities of the solicitor correspond, roughly, to those of the so-called office lawyer in America, while the barrister corresponds to the trial lawyer. The solicitor may appear as an advocate in the inferior courts and in noncontroversial matters in chambers before judges of the High Court. By the conveyancing act passed in 1881 the solicitor is permitted to do all kinds of conveyancing, a field formerly belonging exclusively to the barrister. The barrister's chief function is to conduct trials before the High Court; he is employed by the solicitor and does not come in contact with the client in the first instance.

THE LAW SOCIETY.

The incorporated Law Society was established in 1827 and incorporated in 1831, succeeding an earlier society dating back to 1739. In 1833 courses of lectures were established for law clerks, and the present system of instruction dates from 1903. The society's control over admission to the roll of solicitors is derived from parliamentary sanction.1 The society now has a membership of over 9,000 scattered throughout the United Kingdom and the Crown colonies.

THE LAW SCHOOL OF THE LAW SOCIETY.

The law society is not only an examining body, but since 1903 has maintained a system of instruction in London and at various provincial centers and also a correspondence course. The principal law school is maintained in the society's building in London. It is presided over by a principal and director of legal studies corresponding to the dean in American schools; there are, in addition, a

1 Secs. 6 and 7, Vict., ch. 73; 7 and 8, Vict., ch. 86; 23 and 24, Vict., ch. 127; 33 and 34, Vict., ch. 28; 36 and 37, Vict., 81; 37 and 38, Vict., ch. 66; 38 and 39, Vict., ch. 77; 40 and 41, Vict., ch. 25.