What SEALS Looks Like for a Compliance Scholar

The past three days were a whirlwind of fun, intellectual engagement, productive conversations, getting caught in a monsoon with friends while in business casual attire, and more at the SEALS annual meeting.

The first time I attended SEALS, I was invited to be in a discussion group on the topic of compliance.  Since then, if I have attended SEALS it has been most often to participate in a group discussing various white collars matters.  This year, however, my white collar friends focused on insider trading, which isn’t part of my current research agenda, so I thought I would forego the conference.  But I received some other interesting invitations, and the conference was fantastic as usual.

On Wednesday, I participated in a Sexual Harassment Law discussion group.  I’ve been testing out some methods for facilitating interdisciplinary work (more on that later), and the topic my Notre Dame colleagues and I have been focusing on is sexual harassment within organizations.  This discussion group gave me an opportunity to discuss the two potential theses we have identified, and I received excellent suggestions from the group both during and after the session.  On Thursday, I participated in a discussion group focused on The Ethics of Legal Education.  This was definitely more of an opportunity to learn, as my own contribution was quite nominal, but there is very good work being done by my professional responsibility colleagues.  I’m looking forward to reading some new books on the subject.  On Friday, I participated in a Corporate Governance discussion group where I presented a paper I’m currently working on, and again I received helpful comments.  The real benefit, however, of the discussion group model is the opportunity to hear what others are working on.  It allows you to think about new ideas and expand your knowledge base.  I have really come to love the model.

When I told someone what discussion groups I was participating in, I realized from his reaction that my mix of groups might look odd to some.  But for me, this is what my compliance research does.  It allows me to straddle a few scholarly areas in an effort to focus on the more precise research question of identifying mechanisms that will lead to the creation of inclusive, compliant, and ethical environments within organizations.