Faculty & Research
The faculty of Duke Law School is made up of innovative and influential scholars who are also passionate, creative, and caring teachers.
Duke Law professors are leaders in a broad range of fields and highly regarded for their research, writing, and public service. A community of scholars, they are collegial, collaborative, and interdisciplinary, and many hold joint appointments or collaborate with colleagues in other Duke schools and departments.
They also care deeply about helping students learn, both in the classroom and beyond, devote substantial time to students' academic and professional development, and continue to celebrate successes and provide counsel through difficult times once students become practicing lawyers.
The deep and ongoing engagement of our faculty with the subjects that they study and teach and the students they mentor creates an intellectual excitement that is palpable in our classrooms and hallways and is the foundation for an atmosphere of collaboration and respect that defines our school culture.
Siegel's new paper links the degradation of constitutional norms to long-term processes of racial realignment
The Trump Presidency, Racial Realignment, and the Future of Constitutional Norms, a new paper by David W. Ichel Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science Neil S. Siegel, examines the likely implications of the Trump presidency for the future sustainability of constitutional norms in the U.S.
The paper, a chapter in the forthcoming text Amending America’s Unwritten Constitution, links the degradation of constitutional norms in the contemporary U.S. not primarily to the behavior and influence of Donald Trump, but to long-term processes of racial realignment between the Democratic and Republican Parties that began in the late 1930s and that contributed significantly to the rise in asymmetric partisan polarization and mutual animosity beginning decades later. Among its conclusions: one may expect continued violations of constitutional norms by American politicians to accomplish partisan goals—at least until the electoral impact of demographic changes in the electorate exceeds the electoral impact of the rural favoritism that is built into the nation’s constitutional electoral processes.
Duke's corporate law faculty discuss the recent runup of "meme stocks"
The recent dramatic runup in the stock price of gaming retailer GameStop was caused in part by members of the Reddit message board WallStreetBets seeking to "punish" hedge funds short-selling the stock to capitalize on the company's falling fortunes. The episode captured the attention of media, regulators, and even the White House. During a Feb. 4 lunchtime event moderated by Professor Elisabeth de Fontenay, Duke Law's corporate law faculty members Lawrence G. Baxter, James D. Cox, Gina-Gail S. Fletcher, Lee Reiners, and Emily N. Strauss discussed the recent heavy trading in GameStop and other "meme stocks," the ethics of short-selling by hedge funds, whether traders violated any laws, and what actions regulators might take after the dust settles to fix the system of any irregularities they find.