The defence lawyer at the centre of the 2015 Netflix documentary series ‘Making A Murderer’ will take up a position this month as guest lecturer on the University of Limerick law programme.
American attorney Dean Strang will lead a six week module of lectures at the UL law school starting on February 10, 2018.
Mr Strang provided legal representation for Steven Avery, twice convicted of murder in Wisconsin, who came to public attention in the Netflix series documenting the overturning of his first conviction and the procedural details of his second. The series drew global audiences and shone a light on the US legal system.
Commenting on the announcement Mr Strang said: “The University of Limerick has given me the chance of a lifetime: to immerse myself in an Irish law school for nearly two months, and to learn about how law is taught and lived in Ireland. I will have chances to hear and meet Irish students, professors, lawyers and judges and to consider questions that daily law practice either crowds out or omits.”
Mr Strang will be joined by Mark Nicholas, a Senior Counsel and an expert in criminal law and will provide insight from an Irish perspective. A question and answer session with Dean Strang, Mark Nicholas and audience members will follow.
This is Mr Strang’s second visit to Ireland – last year he conducted an Irish university lecture tour and gave a public talk in Limerick at the invitation of the UL Law Society.
Professor Shane Kilcommins, Head of the School of Law, University of Limerick, welcomed the announcement, saying: “Dean Strang has a unique perspective on the US legal system and a very valuable contribution to make to our understanding of the relationship between the legal profession and the citizen. His last visit to Ireland provoked a lot of interest and discussion – I am delighted that law students at UL will have the opportunity to learn from Strang’s insights and to share with him their legal perspectives from Ireland and Europe.”
Mr Strang will kick off his time in Limerick with a public conversation on the role of the defence lawyer, entitled ‘How Can You Defend Those People?’. Tickets for the event are now on sale from University Concert Hall or online at http://www.uch.ie/event/a- conversation-with-dean-strang/
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