Jeremiah Black was largely self-educated before beginning to study law with Chauncey Forward.

He gradually became one of the leading American lawyers, and was a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (1851–1857), serving as Chief Justice (1851–1854).

[3] Subsequently, Black was named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, a position he held for two years.

Black was also briefly part of the president's defense team at the outset of his 1868 impeachment trial before the United States Senate.

[4] Later, from 1869 to 1876, Black served with Montgomery Blair and Matthew H. Carpenter as Counsel for U.S. Secretary of War William W. Belknap, who in 1876 was impeached on a charge of corruption.