Beyond the Personal Statement, Duke Law School requires applicants to submit responses to one or two short-answer essay prompts and offers an additional optional essay opportunity. Crafting a compelling response to each essay gives the school a better idea of who you are and your views of the law and the world.
Let’s look at their prompts, starting with the six short-answer prompts, of which you’ll answer one or two. We say, go ahead and answer two. The more quality ideas you can share with the school, the more they have to consider when reviewing your candidacy.
Short Answer Essay(s) (required): Please write one or two short essays from the list below. Please limit your answer(s) to approximately 250-500 words per essay.
a. What does the rule of law mean to you, and what special background or experience do you have that may help you contribute to its advancement or that underscores its importance to you personally?
b. The promise of equal justice is fundamental to our legal system. Why is equal justice important to you personally, and what personal experiences or knowledge do you have that may help you become an effective advocate for equal justice under law?
Although these questions are different, your responses will take a similar structure. For each, the prompt asks you to describe your unique background, experience, and/or knowledge on the topic at hand.
Anchor your answer in a key experience from your life that impacted your view(s). Invite the reader to follow along on your journey and let them see you learn and grow from the experience. Consider the following: Did the situation solidify your initial impressions or change your perspective/lead to personal growth? What characteristics did you demonstrate during or develop through this experience that will help you advance these ideas? How will your background or the knowledge you’ve gained impact you as a student and a lawyer? How will you bring this experience and its resulting knowledge into the classroom for the benefit of your fellow students?
c. Exposure to a diversity of perspectives and experiences can enhance one's ability to deliver effective professional services. Please describe any opportunities you have had to serve clients or your community, either through work or on a volunteer basis, and how your own exposure to different perspectives and experiences helped you.
For this response, you’ll obviously reflect on past work and community experiences where you learned from and thrived alongside others from different backgrounds. Be sure to highlight what makes these anecdotes meaningful. Did you seek out others’ perspectives or a learning opportunity? What didn’t you know before this experience? How did or will this experience change how you approach something else in the future? And one thing we always advise applicants to do: Use other peoples’ first names. When you’re talking about learning from or having an impactful experience with a member of your community, a colleague, or a client, using their name is simply more personal than not doing it. After all, this person isn’t just their role in your story, they’re an individual.
d. Lawyers are members of a learned profession and are often called to serve the public in a variety of ways. Please describe your interest in public service and any experience that you have had to prepare you for a life of service in the public interest.
This essay is not just for those seeking a career in public interest law. Duke Law School describes public service as, “core to the profession and central to the Duke Law experience.” If you choose to respond to this essay, share an experience that reinforced your interest in public service or pro-bono work. Why was it so meaningful for you? What did you learn? Then segue to your public service goals, both as a law student and legal professional after law school. (Read about the school’s many offerings like clinical courses and externships, here.)
e. Please describe your interest in learning the law in an open, rigorous, and collaborative environment. Why is a commitment to the free expression of ideas so important in the learning process?
This is a timely question. Controversies at Stanford Law, Yale Law, and other elite programs have led the ABA to push forward legislation that would require law schools to enact policies protecting the free exchange of ideas on campus.
So, what do you think of what is happening on these campuses? And how do you think free expression connects to the type of learning you’re seeking? What do you gain by facing something you don’t agree with? What do you gain by expressing yourself freely? If you have misgivings about free expression that could be something you get into here—or a reason to skip this question.
f. What does ethical leadership mean to you? Please provide examples of how you have prepared yourself to become an ethical leader.
Prior to writing this essay, it may benefit you to familiarize yourself with the Duke Law Blueprint, what they call a “framework for ethical growth, engagement, and professional development” for students. Then consider your own ideas about the key tenets of ethical leadership—and when you’ve enacted them. Choose one or two leadership anecdotes to explore—one might be from work, another from a volunteering position, or even as a student leader or captain of a sports team. Relate what you learned to how you will behave as a student leader at Duke and throughout your career.
Optional Essay: You may submit an essay providing additional information about why you have chosen to apply to law school in general and Duke in particular. We are interested in the factors that have prompted your interest in a legal career and the ways in which you think Duke can further that interest. Please use 1-2 pages, double-spaced, for this optional essay.
You likely got into why you’re choosing law school at this juncture in your Personal Statement. So, this is a great place to get into “Why Duke?” in a hyper-detailed way. They’re not looking for a list of reasons why you think Duke is the greatest and definitely avoid telling them bland, flattering things about themselves as if you’re reading them their own pamphlet: “Duke Law is a competitive, prestigious program.” Yeah, no kidding. And writing like that won’t get you into a competitive, prestigious program. They once again need to hear about something you have done, learned or are in the middle of doing/learning—and how that connects to what you want to do at Duke.
What resources unique to Duke will you access? How will they benefit you? How will X class teach you Y so that you can accomplish Z goal? Which professor could you see as a potential mentor? Could you see yourself working at the Appellate Litigation clinic? How will you support pro-bono work? Will you do a pro-bono externship? Do you have family in the area and hope to take the NC bar and work at a local firm post-graduation? Which clubs might position you to reach your goals, and what do you have to offer those student organizations? Why can you picture yourself at Duke? And why should they picture you there? Adding what you will contribute to the community is clutch.