Duke 1L (soon to be 2L) taking questions Forum

[palmtrees11111]

hey all,

trying to give back to the TLS community for all the help i got pre-law school. i just finished my 1L year at duke and would be more than happy to answer any questions.

it seems like there is a lot of unwarranted hate on duke and not enough support, mostly because we have such a small class and are busy working/playing hard.

i have to say tho that in terms of a law school experience, i would be absolutely shocked if there is another (top) school out there that provides a better one. i have friends at nearly all the top schools and not a one speaks as highly about their experience as my friends and i do about ours at duke.

ask whatever you want, just try not to be a dick.

[northwood]

what happened to the guy who asked for final exam help online?

[xjykybl]

hey all,

trying to give back to the TLS community for all the help i got pre-law school. i just finished my 1L year at duke and would be more than happy to answer any questions.

it seems like there is a lot of unwarranted hate on duke and not enough support, mostly because we have such a small class and are busy working/playing hard.

i have to say tho that in terms of a law school experience, i would be absolutely shocked if there is another (top) school out there that provides a better one. i have friends at nearly all the top schools and not a one speaks as highly about their experience as my friends and i do about ours at duke.

ask whatever you want, just try not to be a dick.

Thanks for taking the initiative to do this! Duke 0L here

[palmtrees11111]

no problem, im happy to do it. its riducluousl how helpful/awesome the 2Ls were in helping us make the transition to duke. wouldnt be right if i didnt carry on the tradition.

as for the guy who posted the exam final question, i probably shouldnt mention exactly what happened to him. however i will say it was taken care of within days. id also say duke admin responded more than appropriately.

[woeisme]

as for the guy who posted the exam final question, i probably shouldnt mention exactly what happened to him. however i will say it was taken care of within days. id also say duke admin responded more than appropriately.

Oh come on. Are you taking Qs are not? Spill!

[palmtrees11111]

hah sorry, friend. even tho i didnt know the person, i dont want to put his/her business out there like that.

[dabbadon8]

Also a duke 1L rising 2L, I want to know what happen to the sec. 6 guy, I was in that con. class and I don't know what happened. PM me.

[woeisme]

Also a duke 1L rising 2L, I want to know what happen to the sec. 6 guy, I was in that con. class and I don't know what happened. PM me.

No fair. Why do you get to know? We don't even know who the guy was so itd be less intrusive to share here. If you get a PM on this, share with us... we're currrrious

[lawyerwannabe]

In that ConLaw class too and have no idea what happened (if anything).

[moonman157]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

[woeisme]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

I've heard Mich and Cornell are better on this front, but hard not sure it's true... Kind of doubt it actually...

[moonman157]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

I've heard Mich and Cornell are better on this front, but hard not sure it's true... Kind of doubt it actually...

I've heard the same thing, but I really wanted warm weather for law school...gaaah south, why must you have such warm weather but so little tolerance?!

[woeisme]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

I've heard Mich and Cornell are better on this front, but hard not sure it's true... Kind of doubt it actually...

I've heard the same thing, but I really wanted warm weather for law school...gaaah south, why must you have such warm weather but so little tolerance?!

(1) suck up cold weather for three years and then move somewhere warm (PM me for more on this) or (2) suck up Duke/UVA... I'm sure there are a decent amount of chill libs

[oakroom]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

Maybe you should ask these folks.

[lawyerwannabe]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

I've heard Mich and Cornell are better on this front, but hard not sure it's true... Kind of doubt it actually...

I've heard the same thing, but I really wanted warm weather for law school...gaaah south, why must you have such warm weather but so little tolerance?!

There are several LGBT people in the Duke 1L class this year. I think you would find, if you attended Duke, that the environment is more than welcoming.

[moonman157]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

I've heard Mich and Cornell are better on this front, but hard not sure it's true... Kind of doubt it actually...

I've heard the same thing, but I really wanted warm weather for law school...gaaah south, why must you have such warm weather but so little tolerance?!

There are several LGBT people in the Duke 1L class this year. I think you would find, if you attended Duke, that the environment is more than welcoming.

Thanks!

[rickgrimes69]

What's the dress code like down there?

[Jacky D.]

.

[palmtrees11111]

You may not be able to answer this question, but how is the atmosphere for lgbt students at duke? One of my biggest concerns with duke and uva is the southern vibe and how that may not create the most welcoming environment for gay students.

while I'm not on LGBT myself, i happen to know many here that are. they are all awesome people, and everyone here is extremely tolerant and accepting. duke is by no means "the south." i remember reading awhile back that the research triangle has the most people with graduate degrees or maybe MDs or PHds per capita related to anywhere else in america (might want to double check that, but its certainly not farfetched given the # of universities and the billions in medical/pharm research that are poured into this area...duke med/science of course being a power player)

im not sure if you're aware, but NC recently (and sadly) passed an amendment to the state constitution that bans gay marriage. theres a map floating around online that shows who voted for/against it and where they were located in NC. the research triangle was far and away if i remember correctly the place that voted the most to make sure the amendment didn't pass

also, throughout the period leading up to voting on the amendment, in our blue lounge (where people congregate and basically everyone passes by at least a few times throughout the day) there were tons of posters of various students/employees (LGBT and not) that had their pictures on it and quotes supporting the LGBT community and criticizing the amendment.

no idea how it would be at michiigan and cornell, but in terms of overall law school experience i haven't heard the best things from friends there, especially when winter comes around.

bottom line, at least wrt LGBT community, I'm fairly certain youll be welcome with open arms not just by other LGBTers but by everyone else too.

if you have more specific questions i can do my best to answer them or try and find the answer and get back to you

[Br3v]

Where do most of your classmates plan to work after graduation? (besides just wherever hires lol)

Where do most of those who get 1L summer work do it? 2L?

From looking at numbers Duke does very well with clerkships, any comment on that?

[palmtrees11111]

How well does 'I'm a Duke Law' student work the ladies on Franklin St?

fantastically. lets be honest, all the UNC ladies are rolling their eyes at their loser tar heel buddies waiting for real men (read: duke men) to step in and work their magic.

[palmtrees11111]

Where do most of your classmates plan to work after graduation? (besides just wherever hires lol)

Where do most of those who get 1L summer work do it? 2L?

From looking at numbers Duke does very well with clerkships, any comment on that?

okay as for my classmates (the rising 2L class), the state that is most represented in terms of citizenship is, oddly enough, california.

as far as the people i know, its very spread out. i would say interest roughly corresponds with our top placement markets, which i believe is
DC, then, NY, then CA (SF/LA). but i think DC/NY are neck and neck.

at least for 1L summer, i know a significant # of people are going to be in DC and NY. a lot of people end up going back to their home markets to save money on rent given that paid 1L summers are not the easiest to come by. a decent # of people i know are also going to be working abroad (we have a JD/LLM program and a lot of those kids are very interested in comparative law/working abroad all that good stuff)

as for 2L summer, most of the people i know are working big law jobs in, again DC/NY/CA. i can't speak to the class as a whole because we haven't seen numbers yet, but based on the NLJ #s that were recently released duke is doing very well in terms of NLJ 250 placement. i also remember when i first started they handed us all a spreadsheet about duke and OCI performance. if i remember correctly (and i think there is a thread out there that discussed this), around 40% of the class (i believe class of 2012) had vault 100 jobs. i can't say for sure but it seems like duke is doing quite well compared to other top schools wrt job placement. i think part of that has to do with the fact that people come from all over the country and don't stay in NC, so when they go back out you're competing with only the duke grads in your market. also i think it helps that we have such a small class (our class is 213).

as for clerkships, duke seems to be working hard on becoming a clerkship powerhouse. i personally haven't given it too much thought so i don't know all the details, but i can say that career services just hired a clerkship coordinator who is supposed to be very legit from what i hear. we never had one before, and seemed to be doing well with clerkship placement, so i can only assume that with a reputable clerkship coordinator our stock will only rise in that department.

[palmtrees11111]

i should also mention that the 40% figure was from a few years back and general consensus its hat things are only getting better.

also, keep in mind those most recent NLJ #s were from a few years back too. duke did really well in those, and again I'm assuming it will only get btter

[palmtrees11111]

oh and one more thing at least about 2L job placement, the consensus seemed to be that if you were at median (3.3) or above, and "normal" (as in, respectable interview skills) you had a good shot at getting a big law gig if thats what you wanted. no idea how that will play out in fall OCI, or even exactly how that played out in the last OCI, but thats at least what i heard from many 2Ls

[Br3v]

What you said about clerkships most sparked my interest. If Duke really is trying to make themselves better in that dept it would be pretty impressive. Grant it I still have to earn a sufficient LSAT, that puts duke more on my radar if I'm in such a lucky position come fall.