Juris Doctor
Program Code: LAW-JD
Degree Designation: Juris Doctor
Department: School of Law
Website: law.duke.edu/study/jdrequirements
Program Summary
Duke Law School offers a JD program that is rigorous, relevant, innovative, and interdisciplinary.
First-year students begin their study of law through the traditional core courses of civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property, and torts, and legal analysis, research, and writing. At least one core first-year course is a small section of around thirty-five students, with most first-year classes taught in double sections.
The first-year writing course is taught in sections of less than thirty students.
From the first-year foundation, Duke has built an extensive upper-level curriculum that blends traditional coursework with an extensive array of practical skills courses and clinics and opportunities to study in small groups with faculty.
Students must complete 87 course credits to earn the JD degree.
While the core curriculum is strong across the board, Duke has given special attention to those areas in which there is likely to be a growing demand for lawyers over the coming decades—business and finance law, international and comparative law, constitutional and public law, and fields relating to science and technology such as intellectual property and environmental law.
Academic Requirements
Students enrolled in the JD program must earn 87 law credits to graduate. Those 87 credits must be comprised of the following:
The prescribed first-year courses (complete all)
LAW 110 Civil Procedure
LAW 120 Constitutional Law
LAW 130 Contracts
LAW 140 Criminal Law
LAW 160A Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing
LAW 160B Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing
LAW 170 Property
LAW 180 Torts
Ethics Requirement (complete 1): A two-credit course in ethics and professional responsibility.
LAW 231 Ethics in Action: Large Law Firm Practice
LAW 237 The Law of Lawyering: Ethics of Social Justice Lawyering
LAW 238 Ethics and the Law of Lawyering
LAW 239 Ethics and the Law of Lawyering in Civil Litigation
LAW 240 Ethics and Professional Responsibility
LAW 317 Criminal Justice Ethics
LAW 539 Ethics in Action
Substantial Research and Writing Project Requirement (complete 1): One faculty-supervised research paper for a minimum of two credits. This may be fulfilled by way of a seminar or an independent study. The SRWP paper must be a solo project; group projects may not be used to fulfill the requirement.
LAW 242W Social Justice Lawyering Writing Credit
LAW 302 Appellate Courts
LAW 318W Comparative Constitutional Law, Writing
LAW 321 The Law and Policy of Innovation: The Life Sciences
LAW 329 Education Law
LAW 473 Scholarly Writing Workshop
LAW 517W Advanced Contracts Writing Credit
LAW 527W Access to Medicines Writing Credit
LAW 558W Foreign Anti-Bribery, Independent Study
LAW 628 JD Legal Writing Degree Requirement
Experiential Learning Requirement (complete 6 credits): A minimum of six credits in simulation courses, clinics, and/or externships.
LAW 315, LAW 400, LAW 405, LAW 407, LAW 408, LAW 416, LAW 420, LAW 421, LAW 422, LAW 425, LAW 427, LAW 429, LAW 435, LAW 437, LAW 441, LAW 443, LAW 445, LAW 447, LAW 460, LAW 465, LAW 471, LAW 478, LAW 480, LAW 493, LAW 500, LAW 502, LAW 506, LAW 510, LAW 514, LAW 515, LAW 519, LAW 522, LAW 533, LAW 549, LAW 550, LAW 563, LAW 575, LAW 589, LAW 596, LAW 621, LAW 639, LAW 679, LAW 705, LAW 760, LAW 760E, LAW 760L, LAW 765, LAW 767, LAW 773, LAW 777, LAW 785, LAW 789, LAW 800, LAW 805, LAW 809, LAW 814, LAW 815, LAW 816, LAW 817, LAW 820, LAW 822, LAW 823, LAW 825, LAW 831, LAW 832, LAW 846, LAW 850, LAW 853, LAW 855, LAW 856, LAW 857, LAW 858, LAW 860, LAW 864, LAW 865, LAW 867, LAW 869, LAW 870, LAW 871, LAW 872, LAW 873, LAW 880, LAW 881, LAW 882, LAW 883, LAW 884, LAW 886, LAW 887, LAW 888, LAW 890
Professional Development Requirement: Two non-academic professional development credits. These credits do not count toward the minimum credit requirement for your degree.
Repeat LAW 614 or LAW 615 at least 2 times
Regularly-Scheduled Courses: A minimum of 64 of the 87 credits must be earned in courses that require attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction.
Regularly-scheduled law school courses include:
Law School courses and seminars, including courses cross-listed at the Law School but originating in another school or department at the University.
Law School clinics
Regularly-scheduled courses completed at another ABA-accredited law school, including through the interinstitutional agreement with UNC and NCCU, and transfer credits for students who completed the first year at another law school or who visited away at another law school.
Credits from an approved study abroad program.
Regularly-scheduled law school courses do not include independent study, non-law courses, externships, research tutorials, ad hoc seminars, and Bass Connections.
All students are responsible for monitoring their compliance with the graduation requirements. Detailed information about these requirements is available at law.duke.edu/study/jdrequirements.
Joint Programs
JD/LLM in International and Comparative Law
The JD/LLM in international and comparative law allows students to earn both the JD and LLM degrees in three years, with additional coursework between the first and second year at the Duke Law Summer Institute in Transnational Law. Courses for the LLM degree focus on international and comparative law and prepare students for careers in international law practice. During the six semesters of law study and in coursework at Duke’s summer institute, JD/LLM students participate in 24 course credits in international and comparative law.
Courses required for the LLM include international law; comparative law; research methodology in international, foreign, and comparative law; a selected seminar focused on international and comparative law; and coursework or an independent study for which a significant piece of writing is required.
Candidates for the JD/LLM in international and comparative law must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.5 in these courses.
JD/LLM in Law and Entrepreneurship
The JD/LLM in law and entrepreneurship allows students to earn both the JD and LLM degrees in three years, with a summer of additional coursework. Coursework in the LLM degree provides students with a deep understanding of the historical and current perspectives on entrepreneurship and the law; enables students to understand the business, institutional, and strategic considerations applicable to entrepreneurs; fosters an understanding of the public policy and legal frameworks that promote innovation; ensures that students master both the core substantive law and the lawyering skills that are necessary for effective representation of entrepreneurs; and provides students with an opportunity to explore their potential for entrepreneurship.
Students must complete 24 course credits in entrepreneurship, business law, and IP courses for the LLM degree. Upper-level courses for JD/LLMLE students include, for example, Law 534 (Advising the Entrepreneurial Client), Law 778 (Law and Entrepreneurship), Law 319 (Analytical Methods), Law 203 (Business Strategy), Law 532 (Venture Capital Financing), and Law 441 (Start-Up Ventures Clinic).
JD/MA Degree
Duke offers the opportunity for students to earn both a law degree and a master’s degree in bioethics and science policy. Students who wish to pursue this program may apply to The Graduate School after matriculating at the law school.
JD/MBA and Accelerated JD/MBA Degrees
Students and faculty affiliated with Duke Law School and The Fuqua School of Business have many opportunities to collaborate on issues at the intersection of law and business. Students who are particularly ambitious and focused in this area may apply to the program by submitting separate applications to both the Law School and to The Fuqua School of Business.
Course of Study. Students who are admitted to both degree programs may choose to begin their studies either at Duke Law School or at The Fuqua School of Business. The JD/MBA can be completed in four years, rather than the five it would take to complete each degree separately.
A typical course of study might begin with the first-year curriculum at the law school, followed by the first-year curriculum in The Duke MBA, and then two years of classes selected from both schools, with approximately two-thirds of the courses taken in the law school. However, students may choose to spend their first year at the business school and their second at the law school, or the first two years at the law school and the third at the business school. This flexibility is typical of the opportunities in the JD/MBA program.
Accelerated JD/MBA Option
Typically, JD/MBA students will complete both degrees in four years (eight semesters) of study. However, with careful course scheduling, some students are able to complete their JD/MBA in three and a half years (seven semesters). Students who pursue this option are attracted by the opportunity to get a head start on their entry into the job market. Students do not need to commit themselves to the accelerated JD/MBA option during the application process; one can explore the possibility during the first year of study at Duke. For more application information, visit law.duke.edu/admis/degreeprograms/jd-mba.
JD/MBA Careers
JD/MBA students have a wide range of career options, whether they choose to pursue legal practice informed by a deeper understanding of business and finance, work in finance or management drawing on their legal expertise, or some other combination of the two disciplines. Three summers for both legal and business employment and internships allow students to gain experience in both fields. And they can take full advantage of the resources and advice of both Duke Law’s Career Center and the Duke MBA Career Management Center.