CENTER YOUR STUDIES

Duke Law has 18 centers, institutes, and programs, in which faculty, working alongside student research assistants, engage in cutting-e dge research and education on a range of subjects of critical importance to the law, public policy, and society. With focus areas ranging from national security to sports law, the public domain to international law, the centers are a constant source of activity at the Law School, hosting hundreds of events each year from lunchtime speakers to multi-day conferences that bring some of the top legal minds to engage with Duke Law students.

The WILSON CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND JUSTICE brings together faculty and students from across multiple disciplines to apply scientific research to criminal justice reform. Led by Professor Brandon Garrett, the center’s Policing Reform Project is tracking new legislation introduced at the federal and state levels following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The collection will serve as a resource for the public, policymakers, lawmakers, and researchers.

The DUKE CENTER ON LAW & TECHNOLOGY helps students prepare for the increasing prominence of technology in the legal profession by engaging with entrepreneurs and ensuring graduates understand rapidly evolving technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and data privacy. Through programs like the Duke Law Tech Lab, the center collaborates with early-stage startups to change the way legal services are delivered.

The CENTER ON LAW, ETHICS AND NATIONAL SECURITY promotes education and discussion of the complex and diverse issues involved in national security. Led by Professor Charles Dunlap, a retired major general and the former deputy judge advocate general of the U.S. Air Force, the center’s annual LENS conference draws experts in the field to speak on issues such as cyberwar, the legal issues of humanitarian operations, and the weaponization of social media.

RESEARCH CENTERS

• Bolch Judicial Institute • Center for Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility • Center for Firearms Law • Center for Innovation Policy • Center for Institutional and Organizational Performance • Center for International & Comparative Law • Center for Law, Economics and Public Policy • Center on Law, Ethics and National Security • Center on Law, Race and Politics • Center for Sports Law and Policy • Center for the Study of the Public Domain • Duke Center on Law & Technology • Duke Initiative for Science & Society • Global Financial Markets Center • Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions • Program in Public Law • Voices of American Law • Wilson Center for Science and Justice

“Researching for policing reform legislation in this eventful and often heartbreaking summer is a particularly powerful experience. I hope that our work will be part of the collective effort changing the set custom in policing legislation. It also gives me new appreciation on lawyers’ roles in pushing for positive social changes.”

EMMA LI ’22 is an intern with the Policing Reform Project in the Wilson Center for Science and Justice.