Luke A. Mears

LUKE MEARS earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law and his B.S. from Boston University Questrom School of Business. While attending law school, he served as a note editor for the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy and as a senior research editor on the Duke Law & Technology Review. Luke also participated with the Moot Court and served as a research assistant.

While in law school, Luke also served as the founder and director of Duke Law’s pro bono Lyme Disease Advocacy Project, as director of Duke Law’s Veteran’s Assistance Project, as a pro bono volunteer of The Center for Death Penalty Litigation, and as a pro bono volunteer for The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. He also participated in Duke Law’s Appellate Litigation Clinic and Wrongful Convictions Clinic, where he delivered an argument for summary judgment that was ultimately granted, resulting in an exoneration after 23 years of wrongful incarceration. Luke completed over 1,400 hours of pro bono work while in law school, a record for Duke Law, and he was awarded a “Pro Bono All Star” award, a “Duke Outstanding and Noteworthy Endeavors” award, a Robinson Everett Fellowship, and the “Justin Miller Award for Integrity.”

Prior to joining Sidley, Luke served as a legal intern for the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorneys Office for E.D.N.Y. in the Civil Division. He also completed externships for U.S. Magistrate Judge James Wicks, at Duke University’s General Counsel’s Office, and for the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Luke was recognized by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services on its 2024 “Pro Bono High Honor Roll,” which recognizes attorneys who provide more than 100 hours of pro bono legal services in a calendar year.