Duke ASO March 26th Forum

[someones alt]

I booked my flight to go visit. Anyone else going? I'm still working out transportation details, I'm hoping current students have suggestions of where to stay and how to get back and forth. Does Duke have a program similar to Berkeley where current students can offer a room to prospectives for the night? I want to save money however possible

Can't wait. I've been wanting to go to Duke since I was 16.

[someones alt]

For those who are interested, I had an email discussion with Mark Hill who told me that they've approved $150 travel stipend to go to the ASO. A few people have been waiting to hear, so thought I would pass it along. I know thats less than prior years, but it should help!

[jdcballer]

I'm going...I think it's going to be awesome.

Any current students know any must-see things in the Durham area?

[gunners]

I'm going...I think it's going to be awesome.

Any current students know any must-see things in the Durham area?

Yeah. Chapel Hill (Franklin St) on a Thursday or Friday night.

[wiseowl]

we (current 1Ls) haven't even really started talking about this yet, but I'm sure we will soon.

there will probably be plenty of places to stay nearby with students.

when you get here, take a tour of campus (the whole thing, not just law). chapel hill may be worth it at night. downtown durham is pretty cool nowadays too.

[existenz]

Too bad this is their only ASO. Just got admitted today but I'm already booked the weekend of March 26th for Michigan's ASW. Boo.

[chinny123]

I booked my flight to go visit. Anyone else going? I'm still working out transportation details, I'm hoping current students have suggestions of where to stay and how to get back and forth. Does Duke have a program similar to Berkeley where current students can offer a room to prospectives for the night? I want to save money however possible

Can't wait. I've been wanting to go to Duke since I was 16.

I'll be going. I've been telling my Duke (undergrad) friends that I was going to go and visit Duke for 3 years now, this will finally give me a chance to do so.

[portena]

I'll be going too (and I'm really excited!) but I haven't booked a flight or hotel yet. It seems like they would have told us by now if they were offering some sort of accommodations with current students, but maybe we'll hear soon. I was really hoping to go to UVA's ASW the weekend before, spend the week in DC with friends and then take the train down. But I haven't heard from UVA, so I guess I'll be waiting until possibly the last minute to book flights and whatnot.

Getting around seems like it might be a bit of a hassle without a car. Are any of you planning on renting one?

[lz06]

Just found this thread. I'm 99% sure I'll be going

[Jericwithers]

I'm still procrastinating on purchasing my flight. Reserved a rental car today however: $101 for Thurs-Sun (not bad--enterprise). I'm pretty sure its one of those go-cars though haha.

[toolshed]

I'll be there. Any current Duke students want to advise areas NOT to stay in?

[Jericwithers]

Just booked my flight and hotel; priceline gave me a pretty good deal today. I'm staying at the Comfort Inn, and it seems like a cheap option that isn't ratty.

[thickfreakness]

Signed up for ASW this morning. Will be driving in.

[soullesswonder]

Count me in as well. Duke was the first law school I visited (almost exactly a year ago), and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

[idiothek]

can't make it. will some of you be so kind as to talk about your experiences/impressions?

[thickfreakness]

Just booked the hotel. Staying at the Courtyard close to Duke. Wootage. I'm pumped, but not so much about the approximately 9 hour drive.

[soullesswonder]

Are there really no other TLS members going? They had to close registration on the 16th due to lack of space, so it's not like this thing will be sparsely attended...

[orphanarium]

...

[worldwithoutend]

Anyone going down from DC? Happy to offer a lift.

[quetzalcoatl]

Do they rent cars to people under 25 in NC? I have to fly, but Im worried about getting aroung in Durham. I cant just wave down a cab.

[Jericwithers]

Do they rent cars to people under 25 in NC? I have to fly, but Im worried about getting aroung in Durham. I cant just wave down a cab.

Yes, check Enterprise. I got a car from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon for less than $100.

[SeiferD]

I'll be there. Stupidly booked my tickets last minute.

[thickfreakness]

I've been incredibly impressed thus far. The facilities are absolutely incredible--it looks like a wonderful place to learn and work for three years. Faculty and current students all seem really helpful and cool, as well. Etc, etc etc.

[poprox]

can't make it. will some of you be so kind as to talk about your experiences/impressions?

I'll share my experience and impressions.

The school - facilities are top-notch. The classrooms I saw were all wired for power at each seat, and there's wifi throughout the law school. The commons area is fantastic - it's basically a large lounge with different seating options - comfy leather sofas and armchairs, small lunch tables with chairs, flatscreen monitors with satellite/cable tv access, etc. Star Commons is a striking space because the ceiling is 4 floors above you - they cut out that whole section of the building to make a huge-feeling commons area. Next to the commons is a cafe with a separate seating area, and outside behind the building is a courtyard with plenty of metal tables and chairs. Parking is the only negative I noticed. While there appears to be ample parking space on campus, almost none of it is very close to the law school. I'd plan on a 5-8 minute walk to the law school building each morning. Not a bad walk though, since the whole campus is gorgeous.

The faculty - We had two mock classes during ASD - contracts and criminal law. Both were very entertaining classes. The professors had markedly different syles (one was very funny and energetic and he used socratic method, the other very laid back and taught in a more didactic manner). I enjoyed both classes equally since each one stimulated my interest in the reading we were given prior to class. Overall, all of the faculty were approachable and easy to converse with. I attended a session on clinics and also one on PI/Pro Bono programs at Duke Law. From both of these sessions I got the sense that faculty members tend to form very close knits bonds with their students. The criminal law professor who taught mock class #2 shared a pretty funny story during the clinics session. Apparently he and a student were up in Richmond and the student was delivering an oral argument in court (the teacher shared that they as teachers are there as "backup" in case anything every happens to the student, although in reality the teachers are rarely prepared to actually to do so of course). So anyways, the student apparently suffers from low blood sugar, but only ate 1/4 of a bagel for breakfast, despite the teacher's insistence otherwise. He's up arguing in front of the judge, and just seizes up and falls over flat on the floor. The teacher and judge rush over to his aid, and he comes to, immediately continuing his argument while flat on his back. Anyway, apparently the kid was totally fine and went on to deliver an argument that, in sum, completely impressed everyone in court. It was pretty funny how the teacher described it because he said when he's asking the student if he's OK to continue he says 'so I'm thinking to myself, you bet you're feeling ready to continue kid, because if you don't I have no idea what's going to happen' lol.

My fellow admitted students - a good, diverse group of people. Most were very down to earth and easy to converse with. I met a local who attends UNC for undergrad, and I was fortunate to speak with him about the Raleigh-Durham area. He shared a lot of insight about the economic growth there, the reputation of Duke law, inter-school relationships, town-school relationships, social and sporting events, etc. I got the sense from him that RDU is generally an outdoorsy lifestyle kind of place, and it is comprised of a VERY high proportion of college educated residents, many with graduate degrees. It apparently has one of the top three (if not the highest) concentrations of M.D.s in the country. On top of that, Duke law is highly regarded in the community. I noticed that there were a LOT of admitted students from the I-95 corridor and the southeast (I include Texas when I say 'southeast'). In general, the admitted students would not hold up to the -insert negative superlative- law school stereotype of Duke. There were only two people who seemed unsavory. One was a really overweight guy in a blazer wearing a bowtie, the other also happened to be wearing a blazer and he was from *** undergrad - came off like a total toolshed. Other than that, people were great.

The programs - Duke Law offers clinics that cover a wide variety of practices areas - IP, Environment, Military, Criminal, and other types of law. Their pro-bono and public interest programs sound pretty well-developed. They do a "Southern Justice" roadtrip every spring break. I think last year the program director said they went to Atlanta to review alleged crimes that happened in prison, and subsequently advocated on behalf of prisoners whose cases had merit. But there are many other programs in place, like working at the local credit union to prepare taxes on behalf of local citizens who are unable to do so on their own. You can typically start participating in clinics during 2nd semester of your second year at Duke law, per NC third-year practice rules. Your level of time commitment to pro bono stuff is totally up to you - you can contribute as little as 1 hour per week if you choose.

I realize I'm writing a book here, so feel free to post up specific questions or pm me and I'll do my best to respond. Since I didn't mention it thusfar, I'll close by saying that the entire program came off as being very well planned and executed. Everything went smoothly; all of the participants from Duke were happy to be there and truly helpful. I was very impressed, and decided to put down a seat deposit before the day ended. Go Duke

[soullesswonder]

I'm feeling really lazy right now, but a big +1 to all of the above.

I spent a little time yesterday lurking around the library and it was very nice. There's actually two floors below the main entrance as well as one above, so there's four floors to the library. The total amount of floor space seemed about equal to Virginia, which seems great considering Duke has half the number of students. There was no shortage of study carrels and quiet alcoves to work.