The Duke University School of Law is the law school and a constituent academic unit of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law was established in 1930. The School features programs in Business, Comparative and International Law, Environmental Law, and Intellectual Property, among others.

The School has approximately 640 J.D. students and 75 students in the LL.M. and S.J.D. programs. Admission to Duke Law is highly selective, with fewer than 21% of applicants accepted. In 2006, the incoming class posted a median LSAT score of 168 and a median GPA of 3.78. On average, 95% of students are employed at graduation, with a median salary of $125,000. Over 400 law firms annually offer positions to Duke Law students.

The current Dean of the School of Law is David F. Levi, immediate past Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Dean Levi assumed the deanship from outgoing Dean Katharine T. Bartlett on on July 1, 2007.

The School offers joint-degree programs with the Duke University Graduate School, the Duke Divinity School, Fuqua School of Business, the Medical School, the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, and the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Approximately 25% of students are enrolled in joint-degree programs.

Currently, U.S. News & World Report ranks Duke Law as the 10th most prestigious law school in the United States (2008 ranking).

(From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Duke Law Magazine Spring 2007 | Volume 25 Number 1

Features

    * All Rise
      The Hon. David F. Levi leaves the federal bench to lead Duke Law School
    * She Raised the Bar
      Leading with vision, consensus, and compassion, outgoing Dean Katharine Bartlett earned the gratitude of the entire Duke Law community.

Download Duke Law Magazine, Spring 2007

PDF format, 4.5MB, 82Pages.

From the Dean: Dear Alumni and Friends,

This is the last official dean’s letter I write for the Duke Law Magazine. Like so many things I am doing for the last time as dean, it is with mixed feelings that I say farewell, and thank the many members of the Duke family who have supported the School, and me, through this past seven-and-a-half years.

I look forward, after a year’s sabbatical in New York with my husband, Chris Schroeder, to re-starting life as a teacher and scholar at Duke. In this new chapter of my life, I will be much enriched by the many friends I have made as dean and by the insights I have gained into organizational behavior and culture.

I also look forward to more time to write, garden, and become involved in various pro bono activities in the profession and in my local community.

On the other hand, I know that I will miss the privileges of this position – representing a great institution, making decisions that sometimes make a difference to its quality, meeting extraordinary people, and getting credit for the successes of others.

Most of all, perhaps, I will miss the sense of selfgrowth that comes from being stretched beyond my comfort zone. This period has had much of the exhilaration for me that I experienced as a first-year law student, completely blown away by the brilliant minds I encountered and the challenges of a new form of analytical thinking. Every personnel crisis or system collapse in this deanship was, for me, an opportunity to grow in judgment, confidence, respect and admiration for others, and humility.

I believe that Duke Law School is in a good place. We have been made stronger by the many new faculty and staff we have hired over this period, the clinics we have opened, the interdisciplinary centers and programs we have established, the new professorships and scholarships we have created, and the facilities we have built and renovated – all of these accomplishments the result of committed faculty, alumni, staff, and students.

The School is certainly in good hands. Judge David Levi was drawn to Duke Law School because of its unique ability to offer a legal education as rigorous as that of any other law school, yet within a supportive community designed to build teamwork, selfknowledge, ethical reflection, and other skills essential to building lawyers who are responsible leaders and problem-solvers. He brings tremendous talents and ambition to help move Duke to the next level. He recognizes excellence. He is committed to both the academic enterprise and the need for the legal academy to connect with the profession. He understands people, and he is capable of communicating Duke’s quality to all of its various constituencies.

One of the things we try to teach our students about leadership is how to trust others and let go.

Letting go will not be easy for me. I have come to love and identify with this Law School in more ways than I can possibly enumerate. But the time is right, for me and for the Law School, for new leadership. Thank you all for this great opportunity, for all of your support over the years, and for helping Dean Levi to make this place even better in the years ahead.

Sincerely,
Katharine T. Bartlett
Dean and A. Kenneth Pye Professor of Law

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Welcome to Duke Law School - a community of students and scholars located in the center of one of the country's greatest research universities.

Duke is unique among law schools for many reasons, from our commitment to emerging global issues, to our engaged, active community, to our state-of-art clinics, facilities, and centers. This is a place of innovation, exploration, and leadership.

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