Goals
The ABA Criminal Justice Section Global Anti-Corruption Committee is energized to start its 13th year since inception. For more than a decade, the Section’s Global Anti-Corruption Committee has been a leading voice in the international anti-corruption community.
As Committee Chairs, we are pleased to continue to carry forward the Committee’s mandate in this increasingly important space. In doing so, we intend to continue to build on the Committee’s many years of leadership and success. As we have done in the past, we will provide cutting-edge content, as well as support to, the many constituents who are involved in the anti-corruption field. We also intend to make diversity an important focus of our work. Diversity makes us stronger and allows us to reach a wider audience as we draw on the professional and life experiences of our many constituents. We achieve greater diversity by drawing on talent and experience from all over the world. In fact, we are humbled that many of our newest members join us from the international community, including Pakistan, India, and Peru, just to name a few. As Chairs our mission is to make the Section’s Global Anti-Corruption Committee a leading voice in the fight against corruption. We believe that by harnessing our members many talents, we can excel in our efforts to do so. What follows are some concrete goals that the Committee intends to achieve in the coming fiscal year:
First, we will continue to make diversity a key priority. We will work hard to achieve diversity across our membership, activities, and ideas. Our membership is our greatest strength; we recognize this and will work hard to promote this objective.
Second, we intend to hold subject-specific events for our members, whether online and/or in person. Not only will this allow us to continue to serve our members and others, but it will ensure that our profile and content remains at the forefront of the broader community work at large.
Third, as it has done in years past, the Committee intends to further expand its membership through a variety of means, including by hosting relevant events and continuing to boost the LinkedIn and podcasting engagement outlined below. We view such growth as another sign of the Committee’s vitality—and hard proof of the strength of the Committee’s work and the market’s recognition of that strength. We continue to look forward to expanding our footprint with new members from throughout the world involved in the global anti-corruption community.
Fourth, and consistent with our third goal from immediately above, we will focus attention on continuing to attract young professionals to our Committee. Our young lawyers are our future, and we want to ensure a strong pipeline of talent for the years of work that lies ahead.
Fifth, in coordination with Committee Co-Chair Markus Funk and Perkins Coie, the Committee launched a podcast series as an extension of our Committee work and Perkin Coie’s White Collar Briefly blog. In years past, the podcast was named the #2 U.S. white collar podcast, blog, or website. We intend to continue to team up with Markus and Perkins on this important project. To give you a sense of the strength of that collaboration, immediately below are a few 2021/22 episodes feature fascinating, candid conversations with a variety of special guests, including:
- American “book of the year” author, editor, screenplay writer and publisher Dave Eggers
- Joel Esquenazi (defendant in the high-profile US v. Esquenazi FCPA case)
- Molson Coors’ Global Ethics & Compliance Chief Caroline McMichen
- Chicago-based U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall
- University of Colorado COO (and former GC) Patrick O’Rourke
- Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Denny Chin
- Morgan Stanley Chief Legal Officer Eric Grossman
- “FCPA Professor” Mike Koehler
- Investigative Journalist Cam Simpson
- World Wildlife Fund VP Corey Norton
- Retired Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender.
- Avanos Medical Deputy GC Ross Mansbach
Sixth, the Committee intends to continue to run and update the LinkedIn ABA Global Anti-Corruption Group. This LinkedIn page is home to one of the largest anti-corruption groups of its kind, with more than 1,400 diverse members from around the world and an average of 5-10 daily entries.
Seventh, as part of its ongoing efforts to support and help collaborate on the important work being done by the CJS and other ABA Sections, the Committee will continue to collaborate closely with other ABA and external constituents, such as the International Section and its Anti-Corruption Committee.