University of Wisconsin Law School student Andrew Wang 2L has been named one of the inaugural recipients of the Janet D. Steiger Fellowship.

Announced last year, the fellowship is part of an overall effort by the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law and the National Association of Attorney Generals to provide unique training opportunities to law students interested in a career in public service.  The fellowship is a full-time summer program that places students within the consumer protection departments of state Attorney General offices.  

Approximately one hundred applications were received nationwide for the fellowship, which was awarded to students in eight states: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Wang cultivated an interest in consumer protection and antitrust issues while doing research for UW Law Professor Peter Carstensen.  ?Professor Carstensen is one of those special teachers who takes personal attention and care of his students,?  Wang says.  ?He teaches not only the law, but typifies the law-in-action approach, creating reasoned practical applications of the law to real world situations.?   Wang says his research for Carstensen also impressed upon him a concern for protecting consumers through regulation of corporate practices. 

Wang says his cultural background has also played an important role in his interest in consumer protection.  ?In Asian-American communities you see a lot of consumer fraud and people being taken advantage of because they don't know their rights.  It is not common for individuals to speak out when they are taken advantage of.  As a result, many instances of consumer fraud and other violations don't receive regulatory scrutiny.?

Named in memory of a former Federal Trade Commission chair, the Janet D. Steiger Fellowship provides a $4,000 stipend to participating students.   

Submitted by on April 21, 2005

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