What’s a tort? How do I get my cable hooked up? Where’s the best all-you-can-eat sushi buffet in town? These are just a few of the questions that we’d like to answer here.

This handbook is named De Novo, a Latin phrase that means “starting over.” In the law, de novo is the “standard of review” that a court uses when it wants to evaluate the facts of a case on appeal without accepting the findings of the lower court. In an attempt to provide a useful tool for your new beginning at Duke Law School, we put together the following materials. This is a student-written compilation of information and opinions that we think will give you a solid introduction to Duke, Durham, and everything else that comes with being at Duke Law.

We know choosing a law school isn’t easy. After all, how could you possibly know what a school is going to be like before you’ve had a chance to live in the community? While everyone who worked on this project really enjoys Duke Law School and is happy with their decision, there is a ton of stuff that we would have liked to have known before we arrived in Durham to start classes. This booklet is intended to answer some of those questions, especially those you haven’t thought of just yet. What’s a tort? How do I get my cable hooked up? These are just a few of the questions that we’d like to answer here.

We’ve packed this handbook full of as much information as we could think of. We hope that you will find De Novo helpful and wish you the best of luck as you head to law school.

Enjoy!

The Duke Bar Association

P.S. Be sure to check out the new Durham section of Duke Law’s website for information about eating out and having fun in Durham. The site includes DBA’s picks for restaurants and nightlife.