The college was founded in 1855 in Poland, Ohio, by the law firm of Judge Chester Hayden, Marcus King, and MD Legett as the Poland Law College.
Hayden served as dean, with 2 full-time instructors until 1863, when he sold the school to John Crowell, a Cleveland lawyer who became president of the College 1n 1862.
[4] According to its 1872-73 prospectus, the college aimed to given the student a thorough practical as well as a theoretical legal education.
It did this by focusing on practical exercises such as the preparation of legal questions and motions for argument, weekly debates, and trials of causes, in addition to lectures.
The prospectus expected that the students attending the course would get as much actual practice in all parts of the profession than lawyers generally have during their first ten year of practice.