Author and journalist George Packer will deliver a keynote address during a University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law lecture.

Packer will present the 2009 Annual J. Byron McCormick Society for Law and Public Affairs Lecture on March 10 at 10 a.m. The one-hour lecture will be held in Room 164 of the UA James E. Rogers College of Law, which is located at 1201 E. Speedway Blvd.

A brief reception will follow the lecture, and both are free and open to the public.

Packer, who is a staff writer for New Yorker magazine, has authored several novels and nonfiction books, including "The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq." The book received several national book prizes and was named one of the 10 best books of 2005 by the New York Times Book Review.

He will speak about the new liberalism, a topic he has written about on numerous occasions noting that it emphasizes the public good. Packer has previously written about the political consciousness of U.S. President Barack Obama and has noted that it could create a shift from traditional conservative leanings.

"On issues of culture and law, Obama's liberalism is more procedural than substantive: his most fervent belief is in rules and in standards of serious debate," Packer wrote in the Nov. 17, 2008, edition of New Yorker.

"But Obama's personal caution and conservatism, his sense of rectitude, as well as his idea of politics as a mature calling, shouldn't be mistaken for split-the-difference centrism on every issue," Packer wrote.

"On questions of social welfare – jobs, income, health care, energy – which don't immediately provoke a battle over irreconcilable values, he has given every indication of favoring activist government," he continued.

Packer went on to say that the success of Obama and his administration will "ultimately hinge on how he chooses to interpret the 'modern application' of liberalism" in the 21st century. The lecture is made possible by the J. Byron McCormick Society for Law and Public Affairs at the James E. Rogers College of Law. The Society was founded to honor the memory of J. Byron McCormick, former UA president and law school dean.