The “Great Lawyers” Mostly Didn’t Go to Law School

Who in the world would think it a good idea to make a coloring book of “Great Lawyers?”  In any case, I found this coloring book on the sidewalk recently, and it’s worth mentioning, because among the lawyers who achieved the great honor of being in this coloring book, only a few had a typical law school education. Daniel Webster read the law in the office of a friend. Clarence Darrow put in a little time in law school, but didn’t graduate, and proceeded to read the law in an Ohio law office. John Marshall attended just six weeks of lectures at William & Mary. Belva Lockwood, as I’ve written about before, pieced together her education and studied a lot on her own, after being denied access to law school. Abraham Lincoln is, of course, this blog’s namesake. Sir William Blackstone and Sir Edward Coke each studied at one of London’s Inns of Court, which, as far as I can tell, were organizations that brought law offices and law study together in the same place. It’s good to know that today’s legal apprentices are in good company as they create alternative pathways to becoming lawyers.