Corruption is the insidious misuse of public office or personal fraud, which could involve money. It is a literal abuse of power for personal gains.
The many faces of corruption are Bribery, Bureaucratic, Fraud, Political Kickbacks, Embezzlement, Grand Extortion, Petty Favouritism, etc.
Thankfully, there are laws in place to keep the bottomless ambition of power-hungry organizations in check.
These promote the participation of society and reflect the proper management of public or private affairs and property, principles of the rule of law, integrity, transparency, and accountability.
Anti-corruption practices are an integral part of a chief compliance officer job description. The same should be percolated to law students who wish to tackle the age-old phenomenon of bribery.
But first, here’s a foreword on anti-corruption practices:
About Anti-Corruption Practices
Corruption was a phenomenon much grieved but little studied. But now, interest in corruption has proliferated.
The volume of scholarly and legal research, including those conducted by national governments, international organizations, and NGOs, is enormous and continues to grow.
The success of anti-corruption policies depends on three factors that must be followed by chief compliance officers:
- Genuine commitment towards the key stakeholders.
- Addressing the relevant needs through relevant actions
- Efficient drafting and implementation of the policy by indulging in formal management.
The introduction of anti-corruption regimes precipitated the drafting of anti-bribery laws.
In turn, this has mandated the need for formal legal training in corruption for law students to understand the role of chief compliance officers.
Why Is Proper Training Of Law Students On Anti-Corruption Practices So Important?
Proper, real-world training in anti-corruption regulations deserves to be at the top of every law student’s list for two main reasons:
The Gateway To New Jobs And Careers
Anti-corruption has become an interdisciplinary industry. From a management perspective, this new international legal framework directly affects an organization’s day-to-day decision-making and operations.
Many countries are re-orienting their practices to address this new legal framework and have promulgated new anti-corruption laws.
The emergence of the international legal framework has also procreated practice for accounting, forensic, and due diligence as core responsibilities of a chief compliance officer.
This has created new positions in the compliance area and a substantial increase in risk-control staffing.
The explosion of compliance across industries and countries guarantees that the demand for chief compliance officers is here to stay.
Developing Core Values Early On
Education can have a crucial impact on efforts towards the prevention of corruption.
The importance of teaching materials for students strengthens the character to build anti-corruption culture and leads to influential results and discussion.
Anti-Corruption education is needed to foster an anti-corruption culture in the young generation – especially those who want to become chief compliance officers.
Every law student’s prior knowledge and exposure to anti-corruption issues vary widely. Decisions about the pertinence of anti-corruption practices should be based on their educational and social context.
5 Training Essentials In Anti-Corruption Practices Every Law Student Needs To know
As a law student, you should be thorough with the ethical dilemmas typical in the moral, legal, and organizational world. Here are 5 ways you can ensure your proficiency in anti-corruption practices:
1. Working On A Series Of Case Studies Of Various Industries
The difference between public and private corruption should be demarcated and learned well.
There is an urgent need for law students to study various case studies about different sectors following anti-corruption practices and deduce a solution assuming themselves as chief compliance officers.
It’s good practice to read about chief executives and why they are inclined towards accepting bribes.
It can also be useful to understand the cultural implications of kickbacks and how barriers can affect the way business is done in certain countries.
2. Assessing Risks And Developing Mitigating Measures
Many companies have run into trouble thanks to their refusal to accept or comply with laws and regulations in major developing economies.
Here, the support and guidance of a senior compliance lawyer are needed to keep these multinational companies on the right track.
Hence, law students should be thorough with the understanding of identifying the risks and mitigating measures.
Students are allowed to share their conclusions with the whole class. Thereafter, the emphasis is on how different business models and corporate culture traits lead to different compliance resolutions.
3. Become A Legal Consultant
Law students must experience the inherent stress between risky business opportunities and legal and ethical compliance.
Apart from proficiency in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), students must learn about the complexity of transnational business transactions and third-party due diligence.
There’s a key difference here between learning in the classroom and getting real-world experience. Hands-on training will edge out books any day in developing skills like detecting red flags.
As a graduate, it is imperative to practice your knowledge of anti-corruption laws in a practical setting via an internship opportunity.
4. Collective Action Role Play
Role-playing for law students is quite important as it pertains to competently interacting with local agencies, government establishments, and clients in the legal setting.
This exercise is designed so that law students are thorough with their roles, as well as understand its documentation and relevance to regional, local, and cultural contexts.
As with everything, practice is key. You need to make sure you don’t just observe the way anti-corruption compliance officers do their jobs: you need to put what you observe into practice.
After the role-play, the discussions should consider the commercial, legal and financial proceedings and how this would affect different stakeholders.
At the end of the role-play, you should try and reach an agreement and reform the regulatory framework.
Conclusion
It is important to have a close environment with law students so that they learn to understand the meaning and value of anti-corruption practices.
It can be built through teaching and learning activities to law students to cultivate anti-corruption attitudes.
Law students who wish to deal with anti-corruption and bribery issues in their career need the right training to qualify for senior in-house counsel roles down the line.
By working to improve regulatory practices for multinational companies, young law professionals stand to earn a pretty sweet chief compliance officer salarypackage.
Comprehensive training also helps students build their new knowledge and upgrade their expertise about anti-corruption action, with apt experience to enhance their critical thinking skills.
