The clinic options are fairly robust, financially well-supported, and staffed with high quality attorneys. There are numerous options for being on a journal that have a wide range of subjects. Duke puts a lot of resources behind OCI prep and recruitment, as the school should. Duke is quite generous with financial aid.

The introductory classes are absurdly large and impersonal--you are basically a number and your entire grade is based on a single exam. More sophisticated schools have realized that this is a terrible teaching model, but Duke has no interest in being innovative or in spending the extra resources to provide a higher quality education. The school is also extremely snobby--if you do well your first year the administration will bend over backwards for you. If you slip through the cracks you will have to fight for everything. For example, I was applying for clerkships and could not even get the clerkship person to call me back. Friends who were at the top of the class were getting phone calls from the same person pressuring them to apply. I ended up getting a clerkship with a district judge in one of the most competitive districts in the country. Duke makes no effort to place people in the West Coast markets. Other southern schools like UVA conduct West Coast recruiting panels and maintain active alumni networks.

If saving money is your greatest concern and you get a generous financial aid offer, then Duke may be the place for you.

Yes