Areas of Focus
The law is an immensely broad field of study reflecting the many varied career paths that are available to lawyers. At Duke Law, you'll find a multitude of academic, extracurricular, and professional development opportunities that will enable you to focus deeply in the areas the most interest you.
Constitutional Law and Civil Rights
The U.S. Constitution is the cornerstone of all the nation’s laws, individual rights, and structure of government. Constitutional Law is a foundational course in the first-year curriculum, and upper-level students can choose courses in specific areas of constitutional theory, doctrine, or practice.
Corporate and Financial Law
The Duke Law faculty possess unrivalled expertise as scholars and practitioners in all areas of business, financial, and transactional law and regulation, both domestic and international.Their expertise has resulted in a curriculum of exceptional breadth and depth in these areas.
Criminal Law and Policy
The practice of criminal law demands a comprehensive understanding of the Constitution, criminal statutes, and the rules of federal and state criminal procedure, ethics, and evidence. It also requires an awareness of the social and political factors that underlie criminal justice policy.
Environmental Law and Policy
Duke Law faculty and alumni have long used their expertise to influence national and international environmental law and policy, find moral and practical solutions to complex environmental problems, and train successive generations of lawyers and policy advocates.
Health Law and Policy
Health care is a highly regulated and continually changing industry that engages many law and policy disciplines, from tax, benefits, and employment law to intellectual property, bioethics, privacy, and family law.
International Law and Human Rights
An understanding of international law is essential to virtually every legal practice area in an interconnected world, whether one is developing policy, handling cross-border transactions, or advocating for human rights.
Technology, Science, and Innovation
From social media apps to self-driving cars, technology often moves faster than the law, but the law usually catches up. Duke is a leader in research, teaching, and practical training on where the two intersect.
Legal Theory and Critical Legal Studies
A legal education is a rigorous intellectual experience – in addition to learning how to think like a lawyer, you will also develop deep historical and theoretical understandings of the law and its development.
Litigation and the Courts
Whether your aspire to be a legendary trial lawyer, a Supreme Court advocate, or even a judge, Duke offers a multitude of opportunities to learn about litigation and the courts through both curricular and extracurricular activities and our uniquely strong connection to the judiciary.