Andrew Spalding
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Profile
Professor Andy Spalding is the Jennifer and Samuel Tarry Research Scholar and Director of the 2026 Project on Business and Human Rights. He teaches and writes in the area of corruption, human rights, and international business, with a particular focus on human rights and anti-corruption reforms in megasports (principally the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups and the Olympic Games). His monograph, A New Megasport Legacy (Oxford University Press 2022) explores the emerging capacity of megasporting events to catalyze enduring anti-corruption and human rights reforms in the host country. As Director of the 2026 Project, he leads an alliance of international corporate law firms providing pro bono legal support to the host cities of the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup in the design and implementation of their human rights strategies. He has contributed chapters on corruption, human rights, and megasports to the Routledge Handbook on Megasporting Events and Human Rights and the Elgar Encyclopedia on Corruption Law. In 2022, Professor Spalding led a UN-trained team of human rights observers in Qatar for the duration of the FIFA Men’s World Cup, and in 2024 visited at Sciences Po Law School in Paris to teach a seminar on Corruption, Human Rights, and the Paris 2024 Olympics. A devoted and passionate teacher, he is a recent recipient of the University of Richmond Distinguished Educator Award.
Professor Spalding has also written more broadly on issues of transnational corruption, human rights, and business. His anti-bribery research focuses on the causes and effects of uneven global enforcement; the impact of current enforcement on bribery’s victims, especially in developing countries; the universality of the anti-corruption ethic; and whether freedom from corruption should be understood as a human right. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime recently commissioned Professor Spalding to serve as principal author to a forthcoming report on global anti-corruption enforcement. His research has appeared in the UCLA Law Review, Washington University Law Review, Ohio State Law Journal, Wisconsin Law Review, in books published by the University of Chicago Press, Cambridge University Press, and Routledge Press, and in many other academic venues. His work specifically on corruption and human rights has been published with the Brookings Institution and appears in New Human Rights: Recognition, Novelty, Rhetoric (Cambridge University Press 2022), commissioned by the European Commission. He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist, Atlantic, Forbes, and National Public Radio, and other outlets. He has served as an expert witness in multiple cases involving corporate bribery, including in connection with the FIFA bribery scheme and U.S. Department of Justice indictments.
Professor Spalding is a member of the Frequent Visiting Faculty at the UN-founded International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Austria, the original Senior Editor of the FCPA Blog, and was the founding president of the American Society of International Law’s Anti-Corruption Interest Group. A JD/PhD, Professor Spalding recently completed a research grant from the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Studies Centre, and was formerly a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar based in Mumbai, India. Andy also serves as an analyst for ESPN+ broadcasts of the University of Richmond’s Division I Women’s Soccer Team, holding a coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation.
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Presentations
"Corruption in Sport," Conference of States Parties, UNODC (December 2023)
"The Statecraft of Business and Human Rights," Economic Statecraft in a Multipolar World, Maryland Journal of International Law (November 2023)
"The New Megasport Legacy," Book talk, University of Sydney (July 2023)
"The New Megasport Legacy," Book talk, University of Auckland (July 2023)
"The New Megasport Legacy," Book talk, Victoria University of Wellington (July 2023)
"Sports as an Anti-Corruption Teaching Tool," YouthLED Conference, YouthLED (April 2023)
"Corruption in Sports," Alumni Conference, International Anti-Corruption Academy (March 2023)
"Labor and LGBTQ Reforms in Qatar," ISA Annual Convention, International Studies Association (March 2023)
"The Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Legacy of Paris 2024," Book talk, Sciences Po Law School, Paris (March 2023)
"Forecasting Human Rights Legacies: On Practices and Principles ," How Football Changed Qatar (Or NOt), Asser Institute (February 2023)
"Trends in Latin American Enforcement," Inter-American Bar Association Conference, (October 2021)
"A Legacy Opportunity," Joint Meeting of Australia and New Zealand Human Rights Commissions, (June 2021)
"A New Megasport Legacy," Advanced Research Grant Presentation, International Olympic Committee (March 2021)
"A Governance Legacy: Building a Conceptual Model," Advanced Research Grant Presentation, International Olympic Committee (February 2020)
Presentations Prior to 2019
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Bar Admissions
Washington, D.C.
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Professional Experience
Professor of Law (2017 - present)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAAssociate Professor of Law (2015 - 2017)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAAssistant Professor of Law (2012 - 2015)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAVisiting Assistant Professor of Law (2010 - 2012)
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, ILFulbright Senior Research Scholar (2009 - 2010)
The U.S.-India Educational Foundation, Mumbai,Associate, Securities Enforcement and Litigation (2006 - 2008)
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Washington, DCJudicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Jay S. Bybee (2004 - 2005)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Las Vegas, NVJudicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Howard D. McKibben (2003 - 2004)
U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, Reno, NV
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Presentations
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Publications
Books
A New Megasport Legacy: Host-Country Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Reforms (Oxford University Press) (June 2022).
Journal ArticlesThe Statecraft of Business and Human Rights, Symposium: Statecraft in a Multipolar World Maryland Journal of International Law
Labor and LGBTQ in Qatar, Sport and Society (special edition) (Taylor and Francis)
Forecasting Human Rights Legacies, German Law Journal
A Governance Legacy: Building a Conceptual Model, Olympic Studies Centre, International Olympic Committee (2021).
Brazil's Olympic-Era Anti-Corruption Reforms, 32 Maryland Journal of International Law 188 (2017).
Restoring Pre-Existing Compliance through the FCPA Pilot Program, 48 University of Toledo Law Review 519 (2017).
On Maximizing Deterrence Per Dollar: Thoughts Inspired by Peter Reilly, 67 Florida Law Review 233 (2016).
Deconstructing Duty Free: Investor-State Arbitration as Private Anti-Bribery Enforcement, 49 U.C. Davis Law Review 443 (2015).
Restorative Justice for Multinational Corporations, 76 Ohio State Law Journal 357 (2015).
Corruption, Corporations, and the New Human Right, 91 Washington University Law Review 1365 (2014).
From the 2014 World Cup to the 2016 Olympics: Brazil's Role in the Global anti-Corruption Movement, 21 Southwestern Journal of International Law 71 (2014).
The Problem of Deterring Extraterritorial White-Collar Crime, 17 Chapman Law Review 355 (2014).
Four Uncharterered Corners of Anti-Corruption Law: In Search of Remedies to the Sanctioning Effect, 2012 Wisconsin Law Review 661 (2012).
The Irony of International Business Law: U.S. Progressivism and China's New Laissez-Faire, 59 UCLA Law Review 354 (2011).
Unwitting Sanctions: Understanding Anti-Bribery Legislation as Economic Sanctions against Emerging Markets, 62 Florida Law Review 351 (2010).
Book ChaptersInternational sport, in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Corruption Law (Edward Elgar Publishing) (December 2023).
Corruption and Sport, in Elgar Encyclopedia on Corruption Law (Elgar) (September 2023) (About 3000 words).
Mega-sporting event human rights and anti-corruption legacies, in The Routledge Handbook of Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights (Routledge) (August 2023).
Qatar's Human Rights Legacy, in Handbook on Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights (Routledge) (July 2023) (About 5000 words).
Freedom from Corruption as a Human Right, in New Human Rights for the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press) (2020).
Restoring Bribery's Victims , in Corruption, Business Law, and Business Ethics (Phil Nichols, ed.) (2020).
Restoring Bribery's Victims, in Corruption, Business Law, and Business Ethics (University of Chicago Press) (2016).
Rio 2016 and the Birth of Brazilian Transparency, in Executive Summary - Global Corruption Report: Sport (with Pat Barr et al.) (2016).
Rio 2016 and the Birth of Brazilian Transparency, in Corruption and International Sport (2016).
Civil Justice and Judicial Selection, in Justice in Jeopardy: Report of the Commission on the 21st Century Judiciary (American Bar Association) (with Carl Tobias) (2003).
Civil Justice and Judicial Selection, in Justice in Jeopardy: Report of the Commission on the 21st Century Judiciary (American Bar Association) (with Carl Tobias) (2003).
Blog PostsSeparating corruption from culture with the CROOK Act, The FCPA Blog (June 2020).
The Governance Legacy of Mega-Sporting Events: A Golden Opportunity to Promote Human Rights, Institute for Human Rights and Business (December 2018).
Corruption kills another Olympic dream, FCPA Blog (November 2018).
Surprise: Federal, state, and local agencies enforce Brazil's anti-corruption law, FCPA Blog (with Luiz Santiago) (November 2018).
Anti-corruption law from a British point of view, FCPA Blog (July 2018).
Will FIFA now follow the IOC's lead?, FCPA Blog (June 2018).
Olympic compliance and Paris 2024: It's France's turn to lead, FCPA Blog (with Cecilia Fellhouse-Guenkel) (June 2018).
Going global: IACA's new Master in Anti-Corruption Compliance, FCPA Blog (May 2018).
Olympic anti-corruption measures, in three dimensions, FCPA Blog (February 2018).
The view from Pyeongchang: On windmills and anti-corruption, FCPA Blog (February 2018).
Larry Nassar and the anti-corruption Olympics, FCPA Blog (January 2018).
But what can I do before a violation occurs?, FCPA Blog (December 2017).
'Constructive criticism' actually has two elements, FCPA Blog (September 2017).
The South Korea revolution continues, FCPA Blog (August 2017).
Andy Spalding on Bhutan: An anti-corruption movement like no other, FCPA Blog (July 2017).
On gift giving, the rule of law, and the human heart, FCPA Blog (June 2017).
Is anti-bribery enforcement about to become partisan?, FCPA Blog (January 2017).
With Trump, what's next for the FCPA?, FCPA Blog (November 2016).
Brazil's anti-corruption revolution continues, FCPA Blog (September 2016).
Brazil's generational clash, FCPA Blog (September 2016).
Why Olympism and anti-corruption are kindred movements, FCPA Blog (August 2016).
Andy Spalding on Brazil's first pillar: Procurement reform, FCPA Blog (July 2016).
Andy Spalding on Brazil's fourth pillar: The organized crime law, FCPA Blog (July 2016).
Andy Spalding on Brazil's second pillar: The access to information law, FCPA Blog (July 2016).
Andy Spalding on Brazil's third pillar: The Clean Companies Act, FCPA Blog (July 2016).
The four pillars of Brazil's Olympic governance legacy, FCPA Blog (July 2016).
Brazil's got no use for an anti-anti-corruption minister, FCPA Blog (June 2016).
Brazil's Untold Success Story, FCPA Blog (May 2016).
Corruption is not cultural: The Jeitinho Brasileiro in decline, FCPA Blog (May 2016).
Dilma's removal and the new rule of law in Brazil, FCPA Blog (May 2016).
Here's the e-Book we wrote about Brazil's anti-corruption triumph, FCPA Blog (May 2016).
Is Brazil's anti-corruption moment in jeopardy?, FCPA Blog (May 2016).
Call for papers: Business ethics and corruption in the globalized world, FCPA Blog (February 2016).
Will Wal-Mart Change India?, FCPA Blog (January 2016).
Call for papers: business ethics and corruption in the globalized world, FCPA Blog (December 2015).
Andy Spalding answers the call of nature, FCPA Blog (August 2015).
Brazil seeks to expand use of leniency agreements, FCPA Blog (August 2015).
Does the prohibition on facilitating payments correlate with higher levels of corruption? A question revisited, FCPA Blog (August 2015).
Olympics update: Beijing in, Boston out (Part One), FCPA Blog (August 2015).
Olympics update: Beijing in, Boston out (Part Two), FCPA Blog (August 2015).
Is freedom from corruption a human right? Part 1 of 3, FCPA Blog (May 2015).
Is freedom from corruption a human right? Part 2 of 3, FCPA Blog (May 2015).
Is freedom from corruption a human right? Part 3 of 3, FCPA Blog (May 2015).
After protests, Brazil president issues anti-graft regulations, FCPA Blog (March 2015).
Rio 2016: Who watches the watchmen?, FCPA Blog (March 2015).
The Rio 2016 Olympics: A Window into Our World (Part Five, conc.), FCPA Blog (February 2015).
The Rio 2016 Olympics: A Window into Our World (Part Four), FCPA Blog (February 2015).
The Rio 2016 Olympics: A Window into Our World (Part One), FCPA Blog (February 2015).
The Rio 2016 Olympics: A Window into Our World (Part Three), FCPA Blog (February 2015).
The Rio 2016 Olympics: A Window into Our World (Part Two), FCPA Blog (February 2015).
JP Morgan revisited: What's a princeling supposed to do?, FCPA Blog (January 2015).
A DOJ initiative that helps corruption's victims, FCPA Blog (October 2014).
In defense of Caldwell Doctrine, FCPA Blog (October 2014).
It really is about the children, FCPA Blog (October 2014).
The much misunderstood Miscellaneous Receipts Act (Part 3 of 4), FCPA Blog (October 2014).
The much misunderstood Miscellaneous Receipts Act (Part 4 of 4), FCPA Blog (October 2014).
A plea to Mr. Holder: Help corruption's victims, FCPA Blog (September 2014).
First BP, then BofA: Could an FCPA defendant be next?, FCPA Blog (September 2014).
The much misunderstood Miscellaneous Receipts Act (Part 1 of 4), FCPA Blog (September 2014).
The much misunderstood Miscellaneous Receipts Act (Part 2 of 4), FCPA Blog (September 2014).
Updated University of Richmond anti-bribery research guide, FCPA Blog (June 2014).
Are China's views on foreign bribery changing?, FCPA Blog (May 2014).
IACA training programs: Procurement anti-corruption and anti-corruption in the infrastructure sector, FCPA Blog (May 2014).
An epiphany at the Brookings Institution's World Forum on Governance, FCPA Blog (April 2014).
Beyond deterrence (Part 1 of 4), FCPA Blog (March 2014).
Beyond deterrence (Part 2 of 4): Rational actors, FCPA Blog (March 2014).
Beyond deterrence (Part 3 of 4): A model that mirrors reality, FCPA Blog (March 2014).
Beyond deterrence (Part 4 of 4): That dreadful shift, FCPA Blog (March 2014).
IACA's upcoming programs, FCPA Blog (March 2014).
It's simple: The Nigerian money is the Nigerians' money, FCPA Blog (March 2014).
Teaching at the new International Anti-Corruption Academy, FCPA Blog (March 2014).
Brazil's President Dilma takes a stand, FCPA Blog (August 2013).
Magazines/Trade PublicationsFreedom from Official Corruption as a Human Right, Brookings Institution (with Matthew Murray) (January 2015).
The Russian Federation Joins the OECD Convention Against Bribery, 16 American Society of International Law (ASIL) Insights (June 2012).
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In the News
FCPA Compliance Report: Andy Spalding on Transforming Global Sports (Compliance Podcast Network)
Mon., Jun. 3, 2024France launches anti-corruption push ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics (France 24)
Wed., Feb. 21, 2024BLM’s new mission: Protect landscape in West’s ‘sea of solar’ (E&E News)
Thu., Feb. 1, 2024Make America Build Again (Business Insider)
Thu., Nov. 16, 2023Can Permitting Barriers Be Overcome to Accelerate Clean Energy? (PBS)
Wed., Aug. 2, 2023Can Permitting Barriers Be Overcome to Accelerate Clean Energy? (The Sweaty Penguin)
Wed., Aug. 2, 2023Eyes on the World Cup (Richmond Magazine)
Wed., Feb. 8, 2023Finding Their Place (Richmond Magazine )
Mon., Feb. 21, 2022Trump called global anti-bribery law 'horrible.' His administration is pursuing fewer new investigations. (The Washington Post)
Fri., Jan. 31, 2020Could Women Be The Future of Men? (Forbes)
Tue., Jul. 9, 2019Education News: July 8, 2019 (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Mon., Jul. 8, 2019Law Professor Andrew Spalding Awarded Grant for Olympic Research Focused on Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Law (University of Richmond Newsroom)
Mon., Jul. 1, 2019What bribery experts say about the Trump organization's plan to give Putin a penthouse (HuffPost)
Tue., Dec. 4, 2018Vienna chapter of the ABA addresses the long jurisdictional reach of the FCPA and related anti-corruption investigations (Knoetzl)
Fri., Apr. 13, 2018Jailing Lula won't fix Brazilian justice (Bloomberg)
Mon., Apr. 9, 2018Cleaning up: The Brazilian judiciary roots out corruption (Politics of Hope)
Sat., Mar. 24, 2018Political corruption and the art of the deal (The New Republic)
Wed., Mar. 21, 2018Corruption-free Olympics (The Korea Times)
Tue., Feb. 20, 2018US expert praises S. Korea's anticorruption law (KBS World Radio)
Mon., Feb. 19, 2018How a Hong Kong millionaire's bribery case exposes China's corruption problem in Africa (CNN)
Sat., Feb. 10, 2018Corruption at the Olympics (Virginia This Morning)
Fri., Feb. 9, 2018Pence talks tough ahead of Olympics (VOA Asia)
Thu., Feb. 8, 2018Q&A: Why are corruption and the Olympics so tied together? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Thu., Feb. 8, 2018UR professor headed to winter Olympics to research corruption in international sports (WRIC ABC-8 News)
Tue., Feb. 6, 2018Peruvian soccer official acquitted in corruption probe (Bloomberg)
Wed., Dec. 27, 2017Pyongyang says war could come at any time (VOA News)
Thu., Dec. 7, 2017Deals in code, arrests in raids: The risky stakes of oil middlemen (The New York Times)
Sat., Sep. 23, 2017The morning risk report: Anti-corruption compliance makes its Olympics debut (The Wall Street Journal)
Mon., Aug. 7, 2017Panama's ex-leader faces graft case, retains UA ties (Arkansas Online)
Sun., Jun. 4, 2017Odebrecht ordered to pay $2.6 billion fine for bribes (Bloomberg)
Tue., Apr. 18, 2017One of the US's greatest gifts to the global economy is under threat from Trump (Quartz)
Mon., Mar. 13, 2017Rolls-Royce will pay $800 million in bribery scandal (Huffington Post)
Tue., Jan. 17, 2017Venezuela's claim of victim status in bribery case unlikely to convince U.S. (Reuters)
Fri., Dec. 23, 2016Why Odebrecht handed prosecutors a record FCPA deal (Law360)
Wed., Dec. 21, 2016Letter to the Editor: Brazil's future (The Economist)
Sat., Jul. 30, 2016It's not just Russian doping. Why the Justice Department is trying to be the world's prosecutor (The Washington Post)
Wed., May. 18, 2016There's a huge new corporate corruption scandal. Here's why everyone should care. (Huffpost Politics)
Wed., Mar. 30, 2016U.S. oil industry giant paid millions to a company at the center of a huge corruption scandal (Huffpost Politics)
Wed., Mar. 30, 2016Global bribery convention to flex its muscles (The Morning Risk Report on WSJ.com)
Wed., Sep. 23, 2015FIFA dominoes fall, but does the trail lead to Blatter (AFP, via Yahoo Sports)
Thu., Jun. 4, 2015$150M in bribes, dozen schemes: U.S. prosecutors' FIFA case (AP via The New York Times)
Wed., May. 27, 2015FIFA case not 'just sports': Prosecutors using informants, complex techniques (LA Times)
Wed., May. 27, 2015FIFA caught offside as US tackles global graft with penalties in mind (Al Jazeera America)
Wed., May. 27, 2015What we know about FIFA president Sepp Blatter (USA Today)
Wed., May. 27, 2015Massive forfeiture opened by U.S. government for claims (Pub Memo)
Tue., May. 19, 2015More details on Brazil's Clean Company Act regulations (GlobalAutoIndustry.com)
Wed., Apr. 1, 2015Mike Scher: Can law students really disrupt the vicious cycle of corruption? (FCPA Blog)
Tue., Mar. 24, 2015Africa: Corruption Concerns Taint Burgeoning China-Africa Trade (Voice of America, AllAfrica)
Mon., Sep. 1, 2014US Companies Falling Behind as Africa Surges (ABC News, MSN News)
Wed., Aug. 6, 2014The Illusion of No Victims: The Final Component of "Rationalizing Bribery." (JD Supra, Corporate Compliance Insights)
Tue., Aug. 5, 2014RPT-Wal-Mart pays lawyer fees for dozens of execs in bribery probe (Reuters)
Wed., Dec. 4, 2013Analysis: US foreign bribery penalties for drugmakers may lack bite (Reuters, QualityHealth.com)
Mon., Oct. 29, 2012Foreign Firms Most Affected by a U.S. Law Barring Bribes (The New York Times)
Mon., Sep. 3, 2012 - Links