Study

The vision for Wintersession is to better prepare Duke Law students for their future legal careers through professional skills training from outstanding practitioners. Short, unique, hands-on courses are offered for a half-credit, specifically targeted at teaching important skills for a lawyer entering practice and providing concrete insight about the realities of the practice of law in different settings. Wintersession also provides students with the opportunity to interact with and learn from Duke Law’s many accomplished alumni and other lawyers of similar stature. This FAQ page for the program is a good source for additional information.

Law 844, The Counselor and the Client: The Corporate Context, which is available only to first-year students, is designed as an introduction to the commercial, regulatory and institutional environment of contemporary business transaction. Students will learn about the role of attorneys in advising and facilitating those transactions. The course seeks to help students better understand the mechanisms, processes and personalities that accompany everyday commercial transactions and become acquainted with the vocabulary used in business and other organizations. The purpose of the course is to provide an overview of the business context in which lawyers function and is intended for all students, whatever their ultimate focus, not just those who intend to practice corporate law. First-year students who enroll in Business Associations in their 1L spring semester may not take Law 844.

Law 861, Perspectives and Foundations of Justice, is also offered exclusively to 1Ls during Wintersession, and is designed to give first-year students a chance to step back from the detailed rules of doctrinal courses and think critically about the connections between those courses and the broader role of the law in achieving justice. We’ll explore different philosophies with which judges may approach their decision-making, and we’ll consider ways that attorneys can promote justice through their work. We’ll use Lon Fuller’s classic Harvard Law Review article, “The Case of The Speluncean Explorers” – an imaginary court opinion about explorers trapped in a cave who resort to cannibalism to survive – and other scenarios to enact our own court arguments and decisions. Students will engage in role-play, apply the legal philosophies to choose and defend a position, and explore the moral and legal issues that arise.

Law 880, Introduction to Research for Public Interest Practice, is the final course offered exclusively to 1Ls. This legal research seminar will introduce students to processes, strategies, and sources for legal research in public interest practice. We will cover primary and secondary sources with an emphasis on free and low-cost research tools. We will also introduce tools for factual research and non-legal literature searches. Students will develop their research skills through a variety of practical, hands-on exercises.

Wintersession is entirely optional; first-year students are permitted to take up to a full credit, though need not do so for degree purposes.* Below is the full list of courses approved for 1Ls in Wintersession 2026. Please note that your LARW classes will be meeting during the lunch hour on Wednesday, January 7, so will not conflict with any Wintersession classes. If you register for a class that is not on this list, you will be dropped automatically.

• Law 800, Basics of Accounting
• Law 814, Basics for the Finance Lawyer
• Law 816, Counseling & Creating an Entity
• Law 817, Excel for Lawyers
• Law 825, Practice and Strategic Development of International Transactions (full credit)
• Law 833, Trauma-Informed Lawyering
• Law 837, Legal and Policy Aspects of US Civil-Military Relations
• Law 844, The Counselor & the Client (1Ls only, if not enrolled in Business Associations for the spring)
• Law 861, Perspectives and Foundations of Justice
• Law 880, Introduction to Research for Public Interest Practice
• Law 884, Lawyering for Systemic Change
• Law 889, Mindfulness for Law Students
• Law 890, Human Rights for Businesses

* JD/LLM-LE students are required to take a course during their first-year Wintersession that has been approved by program director Professor Bryan McGann, and cannot take Law 844 because they will be enrolled in Business Associations in the spring.