Chitty, Joseph

Born: 1776-03-12 London, United Kingdom

Died: 1841-02-17 London, United Kingdom

Flourished: London, United Kingdom

Joseph Chitty was an English lawyer, legal scholar, tutor, and author. Chitty's practiced as a special pleader until called to the bar in June 1816. He built a successful legal practice in London, where he tutored numerous eminent attorneys. He also authored a series of practitioners's books that became standard reading for aspiring lawyers. Abraham Lincoln recommended Chitty's A Treatise on the Parties to Actions, and On Pleading to a prospective pupil in 1858. Chitty retired from practicing law in 1833 due to ill-health, but continued to publish legal treatises up to his death. Chitty's sons were also prominent lawyers and legal scholars.

J. A. Hamilton, "Chitty, Joseph," Dictionary of National Biography, ed. by Leslie Stephen (New York: MacMillan, 1887), 10:266-67; Abraham Lincoln to James T. Thornton; Abraham Lincoln to James T. Thornton.