What does it mean to work as an anti-corruption lawyer at the World Bank? Yale Society of International Law (YSIL) will host Jamieson Smith, Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer of the World Bank, for a wide-ranging conversation about the investigative and adjudicative processes through which the World Bank seeks to root out fraud and corruption in World Bank-financed projects. Mr. Smith will also discuss his career path and offer advice to students interested in working at international organizations like the World Bank, and in the field of anti-corruption more generally.
Real dinner (warm food) will be served.
About the speaker: Jamieson A. Smith has served as the Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer (the “SDO”) for the World Bank since 2017. Mr. Smith heads the World Bank’s Office of Suspension and Debarment (“OSD”), which is an independent unit within the Bank and is the first tier of the Bank’s two-tiered adjudicative sanctions system. The SDO is tasked with impartially reviewing accusations of fraud, corruption, and collusion against respondent firms and individuals brought by the Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency. For each case, Mr. Smith determines whether there is sufficient evidence to suspend the contracting eligibility of the respondents. In deciding on cases, the SDO does not take instructions from any other person or unit. Mr. Smith has spoken on multilateral institutions’ approach to anti-corruption at various domestic and international conferences, including venues in Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining the Bank in 2010, Mr. Smith was an attorney in private practice, where he represented corporations and individuals in a wide variety of white collar criminal and regulatory matters, including alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He has conducted internal investigations in Brazil, China, Croatia, Czechia, Egypt, Indonesia, and Italy, and has advised clients with respect to compliance and corporate governance issues. Mr. Smith also teaches a course on international anti-corruption efforts as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He earned an A.B. from Duke University and a J.D. from Duke University’s School of Law, as well as an M.A. in American Legal History from the University of Virginia.
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Yale Society of International Law