Litchfield Law School

• Author: Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps

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The first law school in America, founded by Tapping Reeve (b. October 1744, in Southhold, Long Island, New York; d. December 13, 1823, in Litchfield, Connecticut) in 1784 in Litchfield, Connecticut. It continued operation until 1833.

In 1778, Tapping Reeve, a young attorney recently admitted to the bar, settled in Litchfield

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to practice law. Born in Southhold, Long Island, New York, in 1744, the son of Reverend Abner Reeve, a Presbyterian minister, he graduated from Princeton College in 1763 and immediately taught at a grammar school affiliated with the college. He spent seven years in that position and as a tutor in the college itself. He then moved to Connecticut to study law, entering the office of Judge Elihu Root, who was at that time a practicing attorney in Hartford, and, subsequently, a judge of the Supreme Court. From Hartford, he arrived in Litchfield, after marrying Sally Burr, daughter of President Aaron Burr of Princeton and sister of AARON BURR, the later vice president.

Until the Revolutionary War ended, there was very little civil business transacted in Litchfield County, and Reeve provided legal instruction in anticipation of the conclusion of the war and the resumption of ordinary business matters. This employment augmented his legal knowledge and proficiency and enabled him to commence in 1784 a systematic course of instruction in the law, including regular classes.

The Litchfield Law School officially opened its doors to students in 1784 and continued in successful operation with annual graduating classes until 1833. Its catalog contained the names of 1,500 young men who prepared for the bar after 1798. Most graduates were admitted to the PRACTICE OF LAW in the court at Litchfield. The roster of students prior to that date is inaccurate, but it is certain that there were at least 210. More than two-thirds of the students were from states other than Connecticut, with the original thirteen colonies amply represented. A lesser number of students came from states recently admitted to the Union. The greatest number who entered in any one year was 54 in 1813, when the law school apparently reached its zenith.

Prominent statesmen and politicians, such as Aaron Burr and JOHN C. CALHOUN, studied law at Litchfield. Two of its graduates, HENRY BALDWIN and LEVI WOODBURY, became Supreme Court justices. In addition, fifteen U.S. senators, fifty members of Congress, five cabinet members, ten...