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Anti-corruption expert William Steinman began his career in international law at a large law firm in Washington, DC in the 1990s. As part of his practice, Steinman advised clients on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests. At the time, the FCPA was rarely enforced, and not a high priority. One day, Steinman remembers, his boss came up to him and said, “I’m going to make you an FCPA lawyer because you think like a criminal.”

Steinman’s conversation launched a career. He spent 15 years practicing at big firms, then started a boutique firm — Steinman & Rodgers — 13 years ago. By saying that Steinman “thinks like a criminal,” his boss was acknowledging the fact that Steinman was especially attuned to look at a business transaction or a corporate process and find potential for abuse.

Steinman humorously attributes his early success in the field to overprotective parents, whom he says, “help you look at any situation and say, ‘here are the vulnerabilities.’”

Steinman humorously attributes his early success in the field to overprotective parents, whom he says, “help you look at any situation and say, ‘here are the vulnerabilities.’”

The Importance of Anti-Corruption
Steinman has found that some who work in the anticorruption field and are frequently exposed to norms that enable corruption become more jaded, while others become less. Steinman himself, however, identifies as an “anti-corruption zealot.” In his career, Steinman has traveled a great deal, working in jurisdictions where many resources are “terribly hobbled” by corruption. Countries around the world that should be economic powerhouses are held back when the structure of many basic services is predicated on corruption. Within this context, Steinman views fighting corruption in a world where corruption gradually ebbs as a critical part of the “arc of human progress” and the “bigger theme of the forward march of humanity.”
Throughout his career, Steinman has found that the private sector provides the best avenue to change these entrenched norms around corruption. Steinman describes Ethics 1st, CIPE’s innovative initiative to connect businesses that meet certain compliance requirements with large multinational companies, as a powerful platform that empowers the private sector to improve the business climate and create win-win outcomes.
Ethics 1st: An Innovative CIPE Initiative
“One of the things I love about the Ethics 1st Program,” Steinman pointed out, “is that I have believed for years that it is a business advantage for local suppliers. If you understand the anticorruption requirements that multinational clients expect and need to live with, that’s a business advantage.” Additionally, large multinationals that “won’t engage in supply-side bribery, won’t give in to demand-side bribery” greatly benefit from access to a vetted, global network of companies that set the standard for their peers.