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Renowned writer to visit campus

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by Carl Jaeger

Thursday, March 29, 2007

The University of Wisconsin Legal Studies Program will welcome an award-winning author and attorney to campus the Monday after spring break to speak to students.

Scott Turow, who has sold more than 25 million copies of his various publications worldwide, will give a presentation titled "Reflection of a Man with Two Heads" April 9 and will discuss his work as a legal expert and author.

According to political science professor Donald Downs, the UW Legal Studies Department invited Turow as part of the Harris Legal Studies endowment the department receives annually.

In addition to spending funds from the endowment on other areas in the Legal Studies Department, Downs said a "portion is spent on activities that advance the program."

Downs added that Turow's work is comprehensible to a mass audience and is "extremely interesting."

"He was someone who has written a lot about law in a way that's accessible to the educated public," Downs said.

Turow is the author of numerous works of fiction, including "Presumed Innocence," "The Burden of Truth" and "Limitations," as well as two nonfiction books, including "One L," which discusses his experiences during his first year in law school.

Turow's awards include the 2003 Heartland Prize for "Reversible Errors" and a 2004 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for "Ultimate Punishment."

Downs said attending lectures of well-known speakers enhances prospective legal studies students' knowledge of the field.

"It gives them a chance to hear someone involved in legal studies that is well known, and it also gives the program some visibility," Downs said, adding the lectures help make the program more widely recognized.

Tom Verhagen, a member of the UW Legal Studies Association, said having legal studies speakers on various topics shows the large variation in the field.

"We try to get a diverse group of speakers," Verhagen said. "A lot of students who are interested in the legal profession don't exactly know what spot they fit into — it's such a broad field."

Verhagen added that people enter law school with various undergraduate degrees, and hearing about other professions helps prospective students find their career paths.

"A lot of times, people never study legal studies. People can come from biology or English — it really doesn't matter," Verhagen said. "It gives everybody a little bit more light on what a career path could be like."

The presentation will be held Monday, April 9, in Room 1100 of Grainger Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

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