2023-24
ARE A SUPPORTIVE AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY, PASSIONATE ABOUT REAL-WORLD LEARNING, ACADEMIC RIGOR, AND COLLABORATION.
Our society is in the midst of extraordinary social, political, economic, environmental, and technological change. In times like these, lawyers have a special part to play, ensuring the vitality and stability of the institutions that support our democracy and our economy. As a lawyer, you will have opportunities to engage in creative, meaningful, and even world-changing endeavors.
Regardless of the type of work they do, the best lawyers share certain qualities: They are innovative in their ideas and outlook. They seek to clarify rather than to obfuscate. They believe in the rule of law. They understand that they operate within a complex society, in which people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives must find ways to coexist, and even flourish, together.
At Duke Law School, you will find students who are extremely talented and motivated, faculty and staff who are devoted teachers, researchers, and professionals, and alumni who are passionate in their devotion to the school and their contributions to the legal profession and beyond. I invite you to learn more about this extraordinary community on the following pages.
KERRY ABRAMS
James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of the School of Law and Distinguished Professor of Law
What makes Duke Law different from other law schools?
Is it the world-class faculty who love to teach?
The close-knit student body who lift up and support one another? The advisors and counselors whose individualized attention will help you chart your own course?
The global network of graduates ready to help launch your legal career? It’s all of the above, and more. It’s all here.
Duke Law School’s faculty are an integral part of a culture that is both intellectually rigorous and exceptionally supportive.
At Duke, your professors will be world-renowned legal scholars, innovative interdisciplinary researchers, advisors to governments and NGOs, and authors of amicus briefs read by Supreme Court justices. But they will also be dedicated and energetic teachers who care deeply about helping you master doctrine and theory and guiding your development as legal practitioners.
They will be accessible, lingering long after class to answer questions and stopping in the hallways to ask how you are. And some will become lifelong friends and colleagues, welcoming you and your classmates into their homes for dinner, inviting you to collaborate with them on research and writing, and joining with you in extracurricular activities and projects to help the community.
“I had all these misconceptions about what law school was, and then I came in and Duke Law provided such a great experience because of interaction with professors. It’s a very small school when you get to know people on an individual basis. People care about what you care about — they were wanting to share their ideas and perspectives.”
“When I was applying to law schools, I always knew that I wanted to end up somewhere with a tight-knit, collaborative, and engaged community. I eventually decided to attend Duke Law because it offered exactly that, with opportunities to work closely with faculty and students outside the classroom to effect change in the wider world.”
MATTHEW PHILLIPS ’20 was part of a Bass Connections team led by Duke Law faculty members that studied how cyberattacks and data breaches harm consumers. He collaborated with graduate students from Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering.
When you enroll at Duke Law, you become part of one of the world’s leading research universities, known for its commitment to collaboration on campus and innovative interdisciplinary programs. Duke has more graduate students than undergraduates, and the Law School is steps away from Duke’s prestigious schools of business, public policy, engineering, the environment, and medicine, enabling you to take cross-listed courses, attend lectures and panel discussions, and engage in extracurricular academic, professional, and social activities.
Programs like BASS CONNECTIONS offer the opportunity to learn alongside students in other disciplines — who might be your future colleagues or clients — and collaborate on immersive research projects, many for academic credit. Students’ work has resulted in policy recommendations, journal articles, datasets to inform future research, and more. They have collaborated with policymakers on Medicaid reform, developed cybersecurity guidelines to protect personal data, and produced a documentary film on peacemaking in post-conflict zones.
Additionally, a number of Duke Law students take their commitment to interdisciplinary work further by signing up for a DUAL DEGREE, pursuing two world-class degrees at once and preparing for a career at the intersection of law and another discipline. Many choose one of the Law School’s signature programs: the JD/LLM in International and Comparative Law, JD/LLM in Law and Entrepreneurship, or the JD/MA in Bioethics and Science Policy.
Through Duke’s MARGOLIS CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY, Bennett Wright ’20 worked with Duke Law Professor Arti Rai, an internationally recognized expert in innovation policy and intellectual property, administrative, and health law, to craft and implement research into trade secrecy and accountability in artificial intelligence-enabled health care. Along with Rai, he also looked at how recent Supreme Court decisions might be affecting investment in the biotech sphere. And he collaborated with other Margolis Scholars in research both on new privacy regulations pertaining to health care and new U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules.
“Those are regulations that the businesses I plan to help in my career are going to encounter,” said Wright, who went on to clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears appeals of patent cases. “These projects have been very helpful to me in terms of getting a deeper understanding of the field.”
Whether you aspire to become a public interest lawyer, incorporate pro bono work into your practice, or serve your community in other ways, you will find the resources at Duke Law to reach your goals. The value of service is core to the profession and central to student experience.
Through the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono at Duke Law, students lead projects in areas such as criminal law, environmental law, and civil rights, that provide much-needed legal services to clients who couldn’t otherwise afford them. Many students graduate with highly competitive fellowships and job placements in government agencies, nonprofits, and organizations serving indigent clients.
Tom Murphy ’23, Susan Murley ’24, and attorney Kimberly McKenzie ’18 assist clients (at left) at a Wills for Heroes clinic.
“ Working with clients helps to bring a sense of perspective to everything that we’re doing. I find that it grounds me in reality. It helps me to remember what this is really all about and what the legal profession can do, and how it can serve people.”
MADISON SANTOLI ’23 led a Wills for Heroes clinic, where students drafted simple wills and other essential legal documents for Durham County first responders. She also worked in the Health Justice Clinic and as a student leader for the Health Care Planning Project.
Launched in 2017, Duke Law’s Certificate in Public Interest and Public Service Law gives students who are committed to working in public service a head start on their careers.
Certificate students complete curricular requirements and are assigned faculty mentors to assist in selecting academic, clinical, and experiential courses that will help them develop competencies necessary toward achieving their professional aspirations. Students in the program benefit from a community of peers, faculty, administrators, and Duke Law alumni committed to supporting them as they pursue careers in public interest and public service.
43,670
$313,601
Duke Law is committed to providing students with experiential learning opportunities that not only contribute to your professional development, but also stress the value of service. These student-led groups give you the opportunity to engage with the local Durham community and beyond:
• Clemency Project
• Coalition Against Gendered Violence
• Consumer Rights and Economic Justice Project
• Duke Immigrant and Refugee Project
• Economic Justice Project
• Environmental Law Society
• Fair Chance Project
• Guardian ad Litem
• Health Care Planning Project
• Human Rights Project
• If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice
• Innocence Project
• Lawyer-on-the-Line
• Lyme Disease Advocacy Project
• Veterans Assistance Project
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Project
5
Hours of public service contributed by the Class of 2023 through clinics, externships, and pro bono projects Stanback Fellowships awarded for summer work in environmental law Awarded for summer public interest work in 2023
At Duke Law, we believe in learning by doing, and there’s no better way to hone your skills and train alongside real clients than by taking a clinic.
Students in our 12 clinics are directly involved in all aspects of their cases, from interviewing clients and witnesses and conducting investigations to writing briefs and presenting arguments in court. And best of all, your work will have a real and immediate impact, whether it’s securing housing for a client facing eviction or helping entrepreneurs navigate complex transactional issues to launch their start-up.
Ronnie Long was imprisoned for 44 years following a 1976 trial tainted by police misconduct and the suppression of exculpatory evidence. On Aug. 28, 2020, he became a free man, marking the Wrongful Convictions Clinic’s ninth exoneration.
“You keep that hope because I felt like one day [God] is going to send me somebody that’s going to make it happen. And that’s him,” Long said, gesturing toward his lead attorney, Clinical Professor Jamie Lau ’09.
Numerous Duke Law students and alumni worked on Long’s case alongside Lau since the clinic took the case in 2015.
“This is incredible news, especially during this time of turmoil and racial injustice,” said Emma Wade ’20. “It has been such a privilege to work on Ronnie’s case.”
CLINICS
• Appellate Litigation
• Children’s Law
• Civil Justice
• Community Enterprise
• Criminal Defense
• Environmental Law & Policy
• First Amendment
• Health Justice
• Immigrant Rights
• International Human Rights
• Start-Up Ventures
• Wrongful Convictions
“I knew the Start-Up Ventures Clinic was in line with what I wanted to do and that it would teach me useful skills but I had no idea the degree to which it would give me practical experience in contract drafting, in working with entrepreneurs, in working with supervisors, and getting and implementing feedback in transactional law. It has been my greatest avenue for learning and for growth, and for adding value as a future lawyer.”
NEIL DATAR ’20 worked with a new company through the Start-Up Ventures Clinic to draft customer contracts, navigate securities regulations, and register a medical device with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and also worked in the First Amendment Clinic.
“One of the reasons I chose to attend Duke Law was the unique opportunity to defend free speech through the First Amendment Clinic. In the clinic, I’ve drafted written discovery documents as well as an appellate brief and counseled clients. Most importantly, our work has supported individuals’ right to advocate for their communities, share personal stories, and investigate journalistic leads.”
HADLEY DREIBELBIS ’21 worked in the First Amendment Clinic and as a student leader of the Cancer Pro Bono Project, preparing power of attorney and living will documents for Duke Cancer Center patients.
Children’s Law Clinic Director Crystal Grant, right, discusses a case with Samantha Smith ’20.
Students have the opportunity to earn academic credit and build connections in Durham and the Triangle area through the Law School’s Externship Program by working under the guidance of attorneys in local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, technology firms, and more.
“The best part of the work was the client interaction. It is an amazing — but simultaneously terrifying— feeling to realize that a person in a difficult situation is willing to place their trust in a law student who has not yet completed two full years of law school. One client even told me that that particular day was ‘the best day of her life’ because I was able to get her case dismissed without leave.”
CHRIS MEADOWS ’21 completed an externship with the Durham Public Defender’s Office.
RECENT LOCAL EXTERNSHIP PLACEMENTS
• ACLU Capital Punishment Project
• Duke Office for Translation and Commercialization
• Durham Public Defender’s Office
• JusticeMatters
• N.C. Board of Elections
• N.C. Solicitor General
• Southern Environmental Law Center
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of N.C.
RECENT DUKE IN D.C. EXTERNSHIP PLACEMENTS
• Federal Trade Commission
• Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
• U.S. Department of Justice
• U.S. Department of State
• U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform
• U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
• World Bank
Duke Law students have numerous opportunities to apply the skills they’re learning in real-world settings. Through the externship program, students receive academic credit while gaining valuable experience under the supervision of a licensed attorney in a governmental or nonprofit setting.
The DUKE IN D.C. program combines a semester-long externship placement in Washington, D.C., with a weekly seminar course — and a substantial research paper — taught by Duke Law faculty. This integrated externship model allows students to engage in hands-on practice and develop an invaluable network while tackling rigorous coursework with law and policy experts.
ALEX TATE ’20 worked with the U.S. House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy as part of the Duke in D.C. program.
The semester I spent doing Duke in D.C. was my favorite semester of law school. I loved having the real world as my classroom. Through my externship and the speakers invited to class, I got to meet lawyers with wildly varying careers but who were all passionate and dedicated to public service.”
Duke Law is home to seven student-edited scholarly journals, each with a strong reputation for excellence in its field. These journals offer students an opportunity to hone their writing and editing skills, work collaboratively with classmates, and explore subjects that are personally and professionally interesting.
In 2020, Duke Law Journal joined with the flagship law reviews at 15 other top law schools to produce a special edition that commemorated a milestone in legal education— for the first time ever, all of their editors-in-chief were women. Women & Law was conceived by Farrah Bara ’20, who was editor-in-chief of Duke Law Journal, and features 14 essays, including one by Dean Kerry Abrams.
To celebrate the issue and commemorate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Duke Law School hosted a conference in Washington, D.C., featuring leading scholars, lawyers, and judges, including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It is you, the students, who are our future. In the next 50 years, it is you who will decide the jurisprudence of gender equality. So this event is our love letter to you. It reflects both our pride in your achievements and our hope for what you will do.”
DEAN KERRY ABRAMS, speaking at the Honoring Women’s Advancement in Law conference in Washington, D.C.
“ We wanted to learn what we could from some amazing women in the field. Dean Abrams’s piece considers how part of women’s advancement is thinking about how we conceive of families, and if we are often putting the burden on women for childcare, then women will struggle to advance. There are a lot of amazing essays, and that one definitely stands out for me.”
• Bolch Judicial Institute
• Center for Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility
• Center for Firearms Law
• Center for Innovation Policy
• Center for Institutional and Organizational Performance
• Center for International & Comparative Law
• Center for Law, Economics and Public Policy
• Center on Law, Ethics and National Security
• Center on Law, Race and Policy
• Center for Sports Law and Policy
• Center for the Study of the Public Domain
• Duke Center on Law & Technology
• Duke Center on Risk
• Duke Initiative for Science & Society
• Horvitz Program in Constitutional & Public Law
• Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability
• Voices of American Law
• Wilson Center for Science and Justice
“Researching for policing reform legislation in this eventful and often heartbreaking summer is a particularly powerful experience. I hope that our work will be part of the collective effort changing the set custom in policing legislation. It also gives me new appreciation on lawyers’ roles in pushing for positive social changes.”
EMMA LI ’22 was an intern with the Policing Reform Project in the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, which tracks new legislation introduced at the federal and state levels following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The collection serves as a resource for the public, policymakers, lawmakers, and researchers.
Duke Law has 18 centers, institutes, and programs in which faculty, working alongside student research assistants, engage in cutting-edge research and education on a range of subjects of critical importance to the law, public policy, and society. With focus areas ranging from national security to sports law, the public domain to international law, the centers are a constant source of activity at the Law School, hosting hundreds of events each year, from lunchtime speakers to multi-day conferences, that bring some of the top legal minds to engage with Duke Law students.
The WILSON CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND JUSTICE brings together faculty and students from across multiple disciplines to apply scientific research to criminal justice reform. Led by Professor Brandon Garrett, the center recently partnered with the Durham County District Attorney’s Office on a year-long study that shed light on the plea bargaining process, including how prosecutors weigh pleas and how the process results in changes to initial charges and the final sentences imposed.
The DUKE CENTER ON LAW & TECHNOLOGY helps students prepare for the increasing prominence of technology in the legal profession by engaging with entrepreneurs and ensuring graduates understand rapidly evolving technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence, and critical issues such as data privacy. Through programs like the Duke Law Tech Lab, the center collaborates with early-stage startups to change the way legal services are delivered.
The CENTER ON LAW, ETHICS AND NATIONAL SECURITY promotes education and discussion of the complex and diverse issues involved in national security. Led by Professor Charles Dunlap, a retired major general and the former deputy judge advocate general of the U.S. Air Force, the center ’s annual LENS conference draws experts in the field to speak on issues such as cyberwar, the legal issues of humanitarian operations, and the weaponization of social media.
“I’ve lived and studied in several U.S. states, Jamaica, and Japan, but Duke’s student culture was unlike any I’ve experienced. Duke Law is a smattering of contradictions. It is an academically intense place with a cordial and relaxed social scene. Students are competitive but also generally polite, supportive, and humble.”
ANDREW LINDSAY ’21 was president of the American Constitution Society, co-president of the Duke Law & Technology Society, chief of staff of the Black Law Students Association, and editor-in-chief of the Duke Law & Technology Review
Leadership is a critical component of a Duke Law education and a fully engaged life in the law.
Your 1L year begins with LEAD Week (LEAD stands for Lawyer Education and Development) with the Blueprint to LEAD at its core. It outlines the values we think are critical for leadership — engage intellectually, embody integrity, lead with intention, build relationships, serve the community, live with purpose — and we incorporate these ideals in our curriculum, programs, and interactions with each other.
By articulating these ideals and living them, by supporting and encouraging creativity, and by giving you the tools to accomplish your goals, we believe we will set you on course to achieve extraordinary things.
Duke Law students are passionate about their interests both in and out of the classroom, and our student-led organizations are the foundation of the Law School’s vibrant community. From public interest work to intramural sports, you are likely to find classmates who share your passions.
“The Asian Pacific American Law Students Association was a huge part of my decision to come to Duke. It allowed me to connect with current students who not only made me feel like I had a home waiting for me here in Durham but served as a positive first impression of the collegial atmosphere that Duke is known for. Through APALSA, I’ve made the friends and mentors that have been invaluable to me.”
PARKER O’NEILL ’22 served as co-president of APALSA, internal vice president of the Duke Bar Association, staff editor for the Duke Law and Technology Review, and director of community outreach for the Consumer Rights and Economic Justice Project.
• ACLU
• American Constitution Society
• Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
• Black Graduate and Professional Student Association
• Black Law Students Association
• Business Law Society
• Child Welfare Law and Policy Society
• Christian Legal Society
• Coalition Against Gendered Violence
• Competition Law Society
• Duke Art Law Society
• Duke Bar Association
• Duke Environmental Law Society
• Duke Law Florida Club
• Duke Immigrant and Refugee Project
• Duke Immigrant Stories Lab
• Duke Law California Club
• Duke Law Energy Society
• Duke Law First Class
• Duke Law Human Rights Pro Bono Project
• Duke Law Israel Experience
• Duke Law Lifting Club
• Duke Law Music Association
• Duke Law Neurodivergent Law Students Association
• Duke Law Run Club
• Duke Law & Technology Society
• Duke Law Texas Club
• Duke Law Womxn of Color Collective
• Federalist Society
• First Generation Professionals (1GP)
• Global Law Student Association
• Government and Public Service Society
• Graduate and Professional Student Council
• Health Law Society
• Human Rights Law Society
• If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice
• Innocence Project
• Intellectual Property Law Society
• International Law Society
• J. Reuben Clark Society
• Jewish Law Students Association
• Latin American Law Students Association
• Law & Economics Society
• Law & Entrepreneurship Society
• Law Students for Accessibility
• Middle East and North African Law Students Association
• Mock Trial Board
• Moot Court Board
• Muslim Law Students Association
• National Lawyers Guild
• National Security Law Society
• Native American Law Students Association
• North Carolina Club
• OutLaw
• South Asian Law Students Association
• Sports and Entertainment Law Society
• Transactional Law Competition Board
• Tricky Dick
• Veterans Assistance Project
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
• Women Law Students Association
A Duke Law education is a gateway to an exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling professional life, and it begins the day you arrive on our campus. We make it our mission to support the career aspirations and professional development of each and every student.
The result: We regularly rank at the very top of all law schools for student outcomes — our employment rate for the class of 2022 is 99% — and our graduates are recognized by employers as exceptionally well-prepared for their first legal jobs.
Whatever your desired path — a law firm, government agency, nonprofit, or business, a big city, regional center, or international destination — you’ll receive individualized attention and career counseling focused on those aspirations.
In your first year, you’ll meet regularly with a dedicated counselor, who will help you learn about the job market, develop your unique career plan, and connect with alumni and others who can advise you on making it a reality. By your second year, when hundreds of employers visit Duke Law to recruit our students, you’ll be ready to put your best foot forward in your interviews and land the position that’s right for you. In your third year, you’ll refine your plans and augment your knowledge and skills to ensure the best possible launch of your legal career. Just don’t forget us when you graduate!
Average over last three years
Law Firms
72.4% Clerkships
14.4% Government & Public Interest
8.5% Business
2.3% Academia
0.9%
Donovan
About one-third of every graduating class will clerk for a state or federal judge after graduation or early in their legal career, and since 2010, 11 graduates have gone on to clerkships on the U.S. Supreme Court. Our dedicated clerkship team and faculty clerkship committee work tirelessly to help students prepare their applications and get ready for interviews, and students have unique opportunities to meet and learn from sitting judges through our Bolch Judicial Institute and judicial studies master’s program.
“The opportunity to get a clerkship was an important factor in my law school decision. I’ll be spending my first year after graduation clerking on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. It wouldn’t have been possible without the invaluable support and guidance of my two clerkship advisors, Professor Joseph Blocher and Professor Sara Beale, who were there every step of the way.”
HAYLEY LAWRENCE JD/LLM ’21 was editor-in-chief of the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy
Stone ’20 won the 2020 Dean’s Cup moot court competition, arguing his case to a panel of three federal judges. After graduation, he clerked on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Wherever you go, our alumni are leaders in law firms, general counsels for major corporations, attorneys for government agencies, heads of nonprofits, judges, entrepreneurs, elected officials, and academics. In fact, it’s difficult to find a major city, industry, or legal specialty where you won’t encounter a loyal Duke Law graduate, and they love to give back. You’ll see them on campus nearly every day — speaking to, mentoring, and recruiting our students. They will share your experience of Duke’s collegial and intellectually rigorous culture, and will be eager to help you chart your future course.
Duke Law School’s network of 12,000 alumni is distinctly global. Our highest concentrations of graduates work in New York and Washington, D.C., but we also have large and thriving alumni communities in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley, as well as London, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, and Buenos Aires.
Whether they’re on Duke’s lush and beautiful campus or in Durham’s eclectic urban center, Duke Law students have many opportunities to unwind, enjoy time with friends, explore arts and culture, or take in a sporting event. We encourage students to create a well-rounded life outside of their studies, and the Bull City provides a great mix of activities for students to find what they love. With all that Duke and Durham have to offer, we’re positive that you’ll love your life here!
DUKE GARDENS
55 acres of fields and pathways to explore
MAIN STREET
Walk the shops and restaurants
THE PARLOUR
Local handmade ice cream with seasonal flavors
MOTORCO
Enjoy a drink outside or take in a show by an indie favorite
DURHAM FARMERS’ MARKET
Get year-round offerings from local farmers
PICNIC
Sample some traditional North Carolina BBQ
UNSCRIPTED
Relax by the rooftop pool at this downtown hotel and listen to live music
THE PINHOOK
Perform at open mic night or take in a comedy show or live rock music
AL BUEHLER TRAIL
Enjoy a run or hike on this trail close to campus
THE ENO
Go tubing, canoeing, swimming, or hiking at this protected waterway and forest
It’s not hard to see why North Carolina, Durham, and the Research Triangle region regularly rank among the nation’s top places to live.
Here you’ll find a temperate climate, affordable cost of living, proximity to the major cities of the East Coast, and a mix of lively downtown amenities and abundant natural resources.
Durham is also one of the more affordable places to go to law school. You could save more than $22,000 over three years by choosing Duke over schools in New York, Chicago, or other more expensive cities. The lower cost of living means that you can graduate with less debt and enjoy more of your time in the Bull City.
DUKE
• 10,612 graduate students
• 6,543 undergraduate students
• 10 schools
• 107 interdisciplinary institutes
• 1,097 acres on four campuses
• 7,044 acres in Duke Forest
• 30 miles of running, walking, hiking, and biking trails in Duke Forest
• 33 campus restaurants
• 17 national championships since 1986
• 54 intramural sports
• 6 art galleries
• 200 lemurs living on campus in the largest university-based research facility dedicated to endangered prosimian primates
Wall Street Journal/Times
Higher Education College Rankings
Students at Duke Law are part of the larger Duke University community and enjoy all the campus has to offer, including the beautiful Duke Chapel and Duke Gardens, top-flight facilities for the arts and recreation, academic lectures and guest speeches from world-renowned scholars and leaders, and front-row seats to some of the most exciting athletic matchups. visit law.duke.edu/apply
Duke Law Admissions
Duke University School of Law
(919) 613-7020
admissions@law.duke.edu law.duke.edu/apply
