Gibson and Weldon was a law practice at 27 Chancery Lane in London and the name of its tutorial firm which from 1876 until 1962 prepared hundreds of thousands of future solicitors and barristers in England and Wales for their examinations.[1] Gibson and Weldon also published the monthly journal Law Notes and a series of legal textbooks from adjacent offices at 25–26 Chancery Lane. The firm's principals were Albert Gibson (1852–1921) and Arthur William Weldon (1856–1943). After the death of Arthur Weldon the tutorial firm continued until 1962 when it was merged with the Law Society's own law school to form the College of Law (since 2013 known as the University of Law).
1911 advertisement for three of Gibson and Weldon's law books
The latter part of the 19th century saw the introduction of formal examinations for entry into the legal profession. From 1862 solicitors were required to pass the Intermediate and Preliminary Examinations set by the Law Society, and later a prestigious Honours Examination was introduced. Compulsory written examinations for barristers were introduced in 1872. The university law schools concentrated on the principles, as opposed to the practice, of the law and found it increasingly difficult to sustain courses which could provide the practical knowledge required to pass the examinations. The Council of Legal Education, established by the Inns of Court in 1852, had the same problem.[2] This in turn led to the rise of specialist tutorial firms which legal historian Patricia Leighton has termed "the first professional law teachers."[3] The firms were largely established and run by practicing attorneys in London. The tension arising in the profession between the systems followed by the university law schools and those of the tutorial firms had sometimes led them to be dismissed as "crammers". It was a tension reflected in Gibson and Weldon's own 1905 advertisement stating that their "system of student preparation is as far as possible that of a Law School and all idea of preparing students on a 'cram' system is disregarded."[4][a] Over 60 years after the firm's founding, the British jurist R. M. Jackson wrote in The Machinery of Justice in England:
I was in my time a pupil of Gibson and Weldon and I received better training from Mr. Weldon than I ever had in Cambridge, and by that I do not mean just the know-how to pass examinations but a real insight into the ways of lawyers and the courts.[6]
Gibson and Weldon began in 1876 when Albert Gibson who had qualified as a solicitor in the Easter 1874 Honours examination began advertising for pupils who needed coaching for the Law Society examinations. In 1881, he was joined by the newly qualified Arthur Weldon who had been one of his first pupils.[7] By the end of the 19th century, Gibson and Weldon, along with Indermaur and Thwaites,[b] dominated the law tutorial market in the UK. The two firms also dominated the law publishing market.[3] January 1882 saw the first edition of Gibson's Law Notes, a monthly magazine for law students which originally published model answers and study advice for the Law Society examinations and other articles of interest to the legal profession. In 1885 it became simply Law Notes and remained in publication until the mid-1990s, long after Gibson and Weldon had ceased existence as a tutorial firm. Gibson and Weldon also published guides to the profession such as How to Become a Barrister and How to Become a Solicitor and numerous student-centered text books which were frequently updated in multiple editions. Their text book on conveyancing, first published in 1888 ran to 21 editions, the last of which was published in 1980.[9]
For a time Edward Power Bilbrough was a partner in their practice at 27 Chancery Lane and also co-authored a textbook on the Companies Act of 1900 with Gibson and Weldon.[c] However, he left to form his own practice in 1901, and Gibson, Weldon and Bilbrough once again became Gibson and Weldon.[11] Over the years, several other lawyers joined the firm as tutors and as authors of their teaching materials. These included Gibson's godson Henry Gibson Rivington (1872–1954), Arthur Clifford Fountaine (1875–1931) and Hermon Joseph Bond Cockshutt (1907–1970). In addition to their taught courses, which normally consisted of three months of intensive teaching, Gibson and Weldon also ran correspondence courses for articled clerks working outside London or unable to take time off work to attend in person. Lord Hailsham studied for all his examinations in the early 1930s via their correspondence courses.[12]
In 1931, ten years after the death of Albert Gibson, the firm was incorporated as a limited liability company, Gibson and Weldon (Law Tutors) Ltd.[d] In 1961 the company was acquired by the Law Society, whose own law school was one of their competitors. The following year, the society merged the two schools into the College of Law with branches in London and Guildford. Hermon Cockshutt, an expert on tax law and the senior partner in Gibson and Weldon after the death of Arthur Weldon in 1943, had been instrumental in the negotiations leading to the firm's acquisition by the Law Society. He became the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the newly formed college.[14]John Widgery, the future Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, was another of Gibson and Weldon's tutors who continued teaching at the newly formed college.[15] Richard Antony Donell (1923–2006), the last of the former partners of Gibson and Weldon on the staff of the College of Law, retired in 1988. Donell had prepared and updated the 21st and final edition of Gibson's Conveyancing.[16]
Former pupilsedit
Former pupils of Gibson and Weldon include:
Robin Day (1923–2000), British political broadcaster and former barrister[17]
^In 1929, while still an undergraduate at Cambridge, Mohammad Hidayatullah, the future Chief Justice of India, applied to Gibson and Weldon to prepare him for the barrister examination in six weeks. The firm refused, writing to him "we do not work miracles."[5]
^The principals of Indermaur and Thwaites were John Indermaur (1852–1925) and Charles Thwaites who qualified as a solicitor in 1880, six years after Indermaur. Their firm was located at 22 Chancery Lane.[8]
^ Edward Power Bilbrough later married Mary Lewis, an actress and the sister of Lewis Waller.[10]
^Despite its merger into the College of Law in 1962, Gibson and Weldon (Law Tutors) Ltd. was not formally dissolved until 2013.[13]
Referencesedit
^International Bar Journal (November 1973). "Book Review: Gibson's, 1876–1962: A chapter in legal education", p. 133.
^Abel, (1998). The Making of the English Legal Profession 1800–1988, pp. 50; 145–146. Beard Books (reprint of the 1988 edition). ISBN1587982501
^ abLeighton, Patricia (2014). "Who were the first professional law teachers? An historical investigation". Paper presented at the Society of Legal Scholars Conference, Nottingham 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
^Hidayatullah, Mohammad (2010). Law in the Scientific Era, p. 54. Universal Law Publishing (reprint of the 1981 edition). ISBN8175342609.
^ abStevens, Robert Bocking (January 1969). "The Machinery of Justice in England by R. M. Jackson". Harvard Law Review, Vol. 82, No. 3, p. 722. Retrieved via JSTOR 12 June 2016 (subscription required).
^Graya: A Magazine for Members of Gray's Inn (1957). Volume 10, p. 102
^Indermaur, John and Thwaites, Charles (1886). The Student's Guide to Specific Performance and Mortgages (front matter). G. Barber.
^Law Notes (1981). "Lord Widgery". Vol. 100, No. 9, p. 226. Quote: "Lord Widgery never lost touch with his legal roots: he maintained contact with his former colleagues at Gibson's and subsequently with the College of Law."
^Law Notes (1988). "R. A. Donell", Vol. 107, No. 7, p. 170
^ abWaterhouse, Ronald (2013). Child of Another Century: Recollections of a High Court Judge, p. 59. The Radcliffe Press. ISBN0857733141
^Stabroek News (10 December 2008). "David de Caires: Man, mission and the media". Retrieved 13 June 2016.
^Dunn, Robin (1993). Sword and Wig: Memoirs of a Lord Justice, p. 103. Quiller Press. ISBN1870948882
^Daily Telegraph (5 December 2006). Obituary: WRP George". Retrieved 13 June 2016.
^Williams, Susan (2007). Colour Bar: The triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation, p. 193. Penguin. ISBN014190092X
^Court of Appeal Nigeria. Former Chief Justices of Nigeria. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
^Merriman, Nicholas (25 October 2006). "Sir Robert Megarry; Long-lived judge of profound learning and epigrammatic wit". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
^Yong Kuet Tze, Stephen (1998). A life twice lived, p. 70. S. Yong. ISBN983994570X
Further readingedit
Kersley, Robert Henry (1973). Gibson's, 1876-1962: A chapter in legal education. Law Notes Library (an illustrated history of the firm written by one of its former tutors, with a foreword by Lord Widgery)
Leighton, Patricia (2015). "The LLB as a liberal degree? A re-assessment from an historical perspective". International Journal of the Legal Profession, Vol. 22, Issue 1, pp. 87–102 (a detailed critique of the texts and study materials developed by Gibson and Weldon and other tutorial firms, subscription required)
Three complete law books by Gibson and Weldon on the Internet Archive
March 15, 2024
gibson, weldon, practice, chancery, lane, london, name, tutorial, firm, which, from, 1876, until, 1962, prepared, hundreds, thousands, future, solicitors, barristers, england, wales, their, examinations, also, published, monthly, journal, notes, series, legal,. Gibson and Weldon was a law practice at 27 Chancery Lane in London and the name of its tutorial firm which from 1876 until 1962 prepared hundreds of thousands of future solicitors and barristers in England and Wales for their examinations 1 Gibson and Weldon also published the monthly journal Law Notes and a series of legal textbooks from adjacent offices at 25 26 Chancery Lane The firm s principals were Albert Gibson 1852 1921 and Arthur William Weldon 1856 1943 After the death of Arthur Weldon the tutorial firm continued until 1962 when it was merged with the Law Society s own law school to form the College of Law since 2013 known as the University of Law 1911 advertisement for three of Gibson and Weldon s law books Contents 1 History 2 Former pupils 3 Notes 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksHistory editThe latter part of the 19th century saw the introduction of formal examinations for entry into the legal profession From 1862 solicitors were required to pass the Intermediate and Preliminary Examinations set by the Law Society and later a prestigious Honours Examination was introduced Compulsory written examinations for barristers were introduced in 1872 The university law schools concentrated on the principles as opposed to the practice of the law and found it increasingly difficult to sustain courses which could provide the practical knowledge required to pass the examinations The Council of Legal Education established by the Inns of Court in 1852 had the same problem 2 This in turn led to the rise of specialist tutorial firms which legal historian Patricia Leighton has termed the first professional law teachers 3 The firms were largely established and run by practicing attorneys in London The tension arising in the profession between the systems followed by the university law schools and those of the tutorial firms had sometimes led them to be dismissed as crammers It was a tension reflected in Gibson and Weldon s own 1905 advertisement stating that their system of student preparation is as far as possible that of a Law School and all idea of preparing students on a cram system is disregarded 4 a Over 60 years after the firm s founding the British jurist R M Jackson wrote in The Machinery of Justice in England I was in my time a pupil of Gibson and Weldon and I received better training from Mr Weldon than I ever had in Cambridge and by that I do not mean just the know how to pass examinations but a real insight into the ways of lawyers and the courts 6 Gibson and Weldon began in 1876 when Albert Gibson who had qualified as a solicitor in the Easter 1874 Honours examination began advertising for pupils who needed coaching for the Law Society examinations In 1881 he was joined by the newly qualified Arthur Weldon who had been one of his first pupils 7 By the end of the 19th century Gibson and Weldon along with Indermaur and Thwaites b dominated the law tutorial market in the UK The two firms also dominated the law publishing market 3 January 1882 saw the first edition of Gibson s Law Notes a monthly magazine for law students which originally published model answers and study advice for the Law Society examinations and other articles of interest to the legal profession In 1885 it became simply Law Notes and remained in publication until the mid 1990s long after Gibson and Weldon had ceased existence as a tutorial firm Gibson and Weldon also published guides to the profession such as How to Become a Barrister and How to Become a Solicitor and numerous student centered text books which were frequently updated in multiple editions Their text book on conveyancing first published in 1888 ran to 21 editions the last of which was published in 1980 9 For a time Edward Power Bilbrough was a partner in their practice at 27 Chancery Lane and also co authored a textbook on the Companies Act of 1900 with Gibson and Weldon c However he left to form his own practice in 1901 and Gibson Weldon and Bilbrough once again became Gibson and Weldon 11 Over the years several other lawyers joined the firm as tutors and as authors of their teaching materials These included Gibson s godson Henry Gibson Rivington 1872 1954 Arthur Clifford Fountaine 1875 1931 and Hermon Joseph Bond Cockshutt 1907 1970 In addition to their taught courses which normally consisted of three months of intensive teaching Gibson and Weldon also ran correspondence courses for articled clerks working outside London or unable to take time off work to attend in person Lord Hailsham studied for all his examinations in the early 1930s via their correspondence courses 12 In 1931 ten years after the death of Albert Gibson the firm was incorporated as a limited liability company Gibson and Weldon Law Tutors Ltd d In 1961 the company was acquired by the Law Society whose own law school was one of their competitors The following year the society merged the two schools into the College of Law with branches in London and Guildford Hermon Cockshutt an expert on tax law and the senior partner in Gibson and Weldon after the death of Arthur Weldon in 1943 had been instrumental in the negotiations leading to the firm s acquisition by the Law Society He became the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the newly formed college 14 John Widgery the future Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales was another of Gibson and Weldon s tutors who continued teaching at the newly formed college 15 Richard Antony Donell 1923 2006 the last of the former partners of Gibson and Weldon on the staff of the College of Law retired in 1988 Donell had prepared and updated the 21st and final edition of Gibson s Conveyancing 16 Former pupils editFormer pupils of Gibson and Weldon include Robin Day 1923 2000 British political broadcaster and former barrister 17 David de Caires 1937 2008 Guyanese solicitor founder and Editor in Chief of Stabroek News 18 Robin Dunn 1918 2014 High Court of Justice and Lord Justice of Appeal from 1980 to 1984 19 William R P George 1912 2006 Welsh solicitor and poet 20 Quintin Hogg Lord Hailsham 1907 2001 Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1979 to 1987 12 R M Jackson 1903 1986 British jurist and legal scholar 6 Seretse Khama 1921 1980 the first president of Botswana 21 Idris Legbo Kutigi 1939 Chief Justice of Nigeria from 2007 to 2009 22 Robert Megarry 1910 2006 Vice Chancellor of the Supreme Court from 1982 to 1985 23 Ronald Waterhouse 1926 2011 High Court of Justice from 1978 to 1996 17 Stephen Yong Kuet Tze 1921 2001 Malaysian politician Secretary General of the Sarawak United Peoples Party from 1959 to 1982 24 Notes edit In 1929 while still an undergraduate at Cambridge Mohammad Hidayatullah the future Chief Justice of India applied to Gibson and Weldon to prepare him for the barrister examination in six weeks The firm refused writing to him we do not work miracles 5 The principals of Indermaur and Thwaites were John Indermaur 1852 1925 and Charles Thwaites who qualified as a solicitor in 1880 six years after Indermaur Their firm was located at 22 Chancery Lane 8 Edward Power Bilbrough later married Mary Lewis an actress and the sister of Lewis Waller 10 Despite its merger into the College of Law in 1962 Gibson and Weldon Law Tutors Ltd was not formally dissolved until 2013 13 References edit International Bar Journal November 1973 Book Review Gibson s 1876 1962 A chapter in legal education p 133 Abel 1998 The Making of the English Legal Profession 1800 1988 pp 50 145 146 Beard Books reprint of the 1988 edition ISBN 1587982501 a b Leighton Patricia 2014 Who were the first professional law teachers An historical investigation Paper presented at the Society of Legal Scholars Conference Nottingham 2014 Retrieved 12 June 2016 Quoted in Leighton 2014 p 14 Hidayatullah Mohammad 2010 Law in the Scientific Era p 54 Universal Law Publishing reprint of the 1981 edition ISBN 8175342609 a b Stevens Robert Bocking January 1969 The Machinery of Justice in England by R M Jackson Harvard Law Review Vol 82 No 3 p 722 Retrieved via JSTOR 12 June 2016 subscription required Graya A Magazine for Members of Gray s Inn 1957 Volume 10 p 102 Indermaur John and Thwaites Charles 1886 The Student s Guide to Specific Performance and Mortgages front matter G Barber OCLC 499718708 The Law Times 1909 Marriages Vol 126 p 70 London Gazette 7 January 1902 Gibson Weldon and Bilborough p 179 a b Hogg Quintin 1990 A Sparrow s Flight The Memoirs of Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone p 70 HarperCollins ISBN 0002155451 Companies House Company number 00259519 Retrieved 13 June 2016 Law Society Gazette 1970 Hermon Joseph Bond Cockshutt Vol 10 p 269 Law Notes 1981 Lord Widgery Vol 100 No 9 p 226 Quote Lord Widgery never lost touch with his legal roots he maintained contact with his former colleagues at Gibson s and subsequently with the College of Law Law Notes 1988 R A Donell Vol 107 No 7 p 170 a b Waterhouse Ronald 2013 Child of Another Century Recollections of a High Court Judge p 59 The Radcliffe Press ISBN 0857733141 Stabroek News 10 December 2008 David de Caires Man mission and the media Retrieved 13 June 2016 Dunn Robin 1993 Sword and Wig Memoirs of a Lord Justice p 103 Quiller Press ISBN 1870948882 Daily Telegraph 5 December 2006 Obituary WRP George Retrieved 13 June 2016 Williams Susan 2007 Colour Bar The triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation p 193 Penguin ISBN 014190092X Court of Appeal Nigeria Former Chief Justices of Nigeria Retrieved 14 June 2016 Merriman Nicholas 25 October 2006 Sir Robert Megarry Long lived judge of profound learning and epigrammatic wit The Independent Retrieved 13 June 2016 Yong Kuet Tze Stephen 1998 A life twice lived p 70 S Yong ISBN 983994570XFurther reading editKersley Robert Henry 1973 Gibson s 1876 1962 A chapter in legal education Law Notes Library an illustrated history of the firm written by one of its former tutors with a foreword by Lord Widgery Leighton Patricia 2015 The LLB as a liberal degree A re assessment from an historical perspective International Journal of the Legal Profession Vol 22 Issue 1 pp 87 102 a detailed critique of the texts and study materials developed by Gibson and Weldon and other tutorial firms subscription required External links editGibson Albert 1852 1921 on WorldCat Weldon Arthur 1856 1943 on WorldCat Three complete law books by Gibson and Weldon on the Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gibson and Weldon amp oldid 1147741048, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
