Author Valerie Bauerlein to speak at Craven-Everett Inn of Court on Nov. 14

October 30, 2024

RALEIGH - The Craven-Everett Inn of Court is honored to host an evening with author Valerie Bauerlein on Thursday, Nov. 14 at Campbell Law School.

Bauerlein will discuss her latest book, "The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty."

Bauerlein is a national reporter for The Wall Street Journal who writes about small-town America and Southern politics, economics and culture, according to her bio. She has covered the South her entire career, including 19 years at the Journal and four years at The State in Columbia, South Carolina. Bauerlein, who graduated from Duke University, lives in Raleigh with her husband and their two children.

The event is free for Inn of Court members (both dinner and presentation). Non-members may attend dinner and the presentation for $35 or the presentation alone for free. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. in the Pope Foyer with the presentation following at 8 p.m. in Room 105.

Register at this link.

The following description of "The Devil at His Elbow" is from Amazon:

"Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator-the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers' association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family's law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family's 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect-and fear-for a hundred miles.

"When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex's world could no longer hold. His forefathers had covered up a midnight suicide at a remote railroad crossing, a bootlegging ring run from a courthouse, and the attempted murder of a pregnant lover. Alex, too, almost walked away from his unspeakable crimes with his reputation intact, but his downfall was secured by a twist of fate, some stray mistakes, and a fateful decision by an old friend who'd finally seen enough.

"Why would a man who had everything kill his wife and grown son? To unwind the roots of Alex's ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina's Lowcountry. When the jurors made their pilgrimage to the crime scene, trying to envision Maggie and Paul's last moments, she walked right behind them, sensing the ghosts that haunt the Murdaughs' now-shattered legacy.

"Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex's life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told."

ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL

Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation's top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation's best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts nearly 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2024, Campbell Law is celebrating 45 years of graduating legal leaders and 15 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina's Capital City.

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