Program on the Legal Profession
Harvard Law School
23 Everett Street #G-24
Cambridge, MA 02138

Narrative

Mr. Heineman is a distinguished senior fellow at the Program on the Legal Profession, senior fellow at the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance, and senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Heineman is also a member of the guest faculty at Harvard Law School Executive Education. He is a graduate of Harvard College (1965), a former Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University (1967 - graduate degree/political science), and holds a law degree from Yale Law School (1971), where he was the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. After graduation, he clerked for Associate Justice Potter Stewart at the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Heineman practiced law in Washington before serving at HEW from 1977-1980, ending his tenure there as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. He was then managing partner of the Washington office of Sidley & Austin, focusing on Supreme Court and test case litigation. In 1987, Mr. Heineman became Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the General Electric Company located in Fairfield, Connecticut. In 2004, he was named GE's Senior Vice President for Law and Public Affairs.

His book, High Performance with High Integrity, was published in June, 2008 by the Harvard Business Press. He is also the author of books on British race relations and the American presidency. He writes and lectures frequently on business, law and international affairs. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Science, Technology and Law and recipient of the American Lawyer’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award of Board Member magazine. He was named one of America’s 100 most influential lawyers by the National Law Journal, was named one of the 100 most influential individuals on business ethics by Ethisphere magazine and was named on of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance by the National Association of Corporate Directors. He serves on the boards of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (chair of patient care committee), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (chair of program committee), Transparency International-USA (chair of program committee) and the Committee For Economic Development (chair of the corporate governance committee). He is a member of the board of trustees of Central European University. He is currently on an international panel advising the President of the World Bank on governance and anti-corruption. In May, 2011, Mr. Heineman was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

Education

JD, Yale Law School, 1971

Rhodes Scholar, Oxford University, 1967

AB, Harvard College, 1965

Selected Writings

Too Hot to Handle? How to Evaluate a Partner's Wish to Represent a Controversial Client—Before Taking on the Case
The American Lawyer (July/August, 2011)
With David B. Wilkins
Read the Article

In China, Corruption and Unrest Threaten Autocratic Rule
The Atlantic (June 29, 2011)
Read the Article

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Memorial Day
The Atlantic (May 30, 2011)
Read the Article

Sex Between Superiors and Subordinates: What are the Rules?
The Atlantic (May 19, 2011)
Read the Article

A Free Pass for Warren Buffet? Berkshire Audit Committee's Mistake
The Atlantic (April 28, 2011)
Read the Article

Will Obama Throw a Grenade to Blow-Up Hidden Campaign Donations?
The Atlantic (April 25, 2011)
Read the Article

Is the French Veil Ban 'Unconstitutional'?
washingtonpost.com (April 13, 2011)
Read the Post

Sokol Acted Unethically, Warren, Just Say It
Harvard Business Review (April 6, 2011)
Read the Article

Can Women be a Catalyst for Japan's Renewal?
The Atlantic (April 5, 2011)
Read the Article

The Inside Story of Ferraro's 1984 Debate Prep
The Atlantic (March 27, 2011)
Read the Article

Crisis Management Failures in Japan's Reactors and the PB Spill
Harvard Business Review (March 17, 2011)
Read the Article

Japan: Future Risk, Present Devastation
The Atlantic (March 15, 2011)
With Cristine Russell
Read the Article

Egypt's Quest for Economic (Not Just Political) Legitimacy
The Atlantic (February 28, 2011)
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The Portrait and the Nazis
The Atlantic (February 14, 2011)
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Fear and the Internet
washingtonpost.com (February 8, 2011)
Read the Article

The Future of Egypt and the Riddles of History
The Atlantic (February 2, 2011)
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FCIC: The Private Sector Failed
The Atlantic (January 31, 2011)
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Disclosure About Steve Jobs's Illness: Round Two
The Atlantic (January 21, 2011)
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Disclosure About Steve Jobs's Illness: Apple Should Provide It, the SEC Should Require It
The Atlantic (January 17, 2011)
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How the BP Commission Dropped the Ball
Harvard Business Review (January 17, 2011)
Read the Article

The Very Real Danger Beyond Cyberhackers: Inside Leaks
The Atlantic (January 10, 2011)
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The Supreme Court: 'Originalism's' Theory and the Federalist Papers' Reality
The Atlantic (January 11, 2011)
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Don't Divorce the GC and Compliance Officer: Independence Won't Guarantee Ethical Behavior. Good Culture Will
Corporate Counsel (January 2011)
Read the Article

In Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Implementation Matters
The Atlantic (December 17, 2010)
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One Strike and You're Out
(on Auburn's Cam Newton and the Heisman Trophy)
washingtonpost.com (December 17, 2010)
Read the Post

The Afghan Strategic Review: Speak the Truth About Corruption
The Atlantic (December 4, 2010)
Read the Article

Rereading 'Ulysses' by James Joyce: The Best Novel Since 1900
The Atlantic (November 29, 2010)
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Armistice Day: The Forgotten Fields of Flanders
he Atlantic (November 11, 2010)
Read the Article

It's A Problem of Peer Judgement
(on Nancy Pelosi's decision to continue as Minority Leader)
washingtonpost.com (November 9, 2010)
Read the Post

Management as a Profession: A Business Lawyer's Critique
arvard Business School (November 2, 2010)
Read the Article

The Afghan Black Hole: Governance and Corruption
The Atlantic (October 24, 2010)
Read the Article

Truth and the Art of 'The Social Network
Atlantic (October 18, 2010)
Read the Article

European Rejection of Attorney-Client Privilege for Inside Lawyers
HLS Corporate Governance Blog (October 2, 2010)
Read the Post

Deciding in a State of Ignorance
washingtonpost.com (September 29, 2010)
Read the Article

No Cure for the Cancer of Health Costs
The Atlantic (September 16, 2010)
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BP's Accident Report: Look at the Recommendations for the Future
The Atlantic (September 10, 2010)
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Voluntary Standards not the Same as Mandatory Law
washingtonpost.com (September 7, 2010)
Read the Article

Earl, We Hardly Knew Ye: A Martha's Vineyard Update
The Atlantic (September 4, 2010)
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Waiting for Earl: A Report from Martha's Vineyard
The Atlantic (September 3, 2010)
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HP's CEO, Mark Hurd: How Could He Do Something So Stupid?
The Atlantic (August 7, 2010)
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Let the Revels Begin
Atlantic (July 28, 2010)
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BP's Board Has Questions to Answer, Too
Business Week (July 27, 2010)
Read the Article

Where Big Doesn't Have to Mean Bad
washingtonpost.com (July 20, 2010)
Read the Post

Hidden Election Expenditures After Citizens United
The Atlantic (July 14, 2010)
Read the Article

The General Counsel as Lawyer-Statesman
PLP Blue Paper Series (July, 2010)
Read the Blue Paper

When the Reason Trumps the Result
washingtonpost.com (June 24, 2010)
Read the Post

Who's-on-first in the Gulf
washingtonpost.com (June 15, 2010)
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The Safety Calculus after BP
Harvard Business Review (June 4, 2010)
Read the Article

Blumenthal: Lie or Mistake?
The Atlantic (May 24, 2100)
Read the Post

The Gulf Spill: Who Should Investigate?
Atlantic (May 17, 2010)
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In Praise of Legal Diversity
washingtonpost.com (May 11, 2010)
Read the Article

Is it Too Late for Goldman Sachs to Play Offense?
Harvard Business Review (May 3, 2010)
Read the Post

Noblesse Oblige
(calling for paradigm shift in law firm leadership)
The American Lawyer (May, 2010), with William F. Lee
Read the Article

Valuing Safety is Good for Companies' Bottom Line
Atlantic (April 19, 2010)
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Alan Greenspan, Regulator?
The Atlantic (April 8, 2010)
Read the Post

Being 'legal' doesn't make it 'right'
(on Goldman Sachs)
washingtonpost.com (April, 2010)
Read the Article

Obama's Afghanistan Dilemma: Managing Hamid Karzai
Harvard Business Review (March 31, 2010)
Read the Post

Google and Global Ethics
washingtonpost.com (March 25, 2010)
Read the Post

Flunking Crisis Management 101
washingtonpost.com (February 11, 2010)
Read the Post

Where are the Global Anti-Corruption Leaders?
The Atlantic (February 10, 2010)
Read the Article

All in the Implementation
washingtonpost.com (February 4, 2010)
Read the Post

POLICY BRIEF : Restoring Trust in Corporate Governance: The Six Essential Tasks of Boards of Directors and Business Leaders
presented by the Policy and Impact Committee of the Committee for Economic Development (January, 2010)
Read the Brief

The Supreme Paradox: When the Court Overrides Congress
washingtonpost.com (January 24, 2010)
Read the Post

A Stewardship Code for Institutional Investors
BusinessWeek (January 19, 2010)
Read the Article

A "Stewardship Code" for Institutional Investors
Harvard Business (January 18, 2010)
Read the Article

The Google Case: When Law and Ethics Collide
The Atlantic (January 13, 2010)
Read the Article

No Double Standard
washingtonpost.com (January 11, 2010)
Read the Post

Judging Joe
washingtonpost.com (December 21, 2009)
Read the Post

Blanche Lincoln and the Democratic Dilemma
The Atlantic (December 8, 2009)
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Paradise Lost
washingtonpost.com (December 7, 2009)
Read the Article

18-Month Miracle
washingtonpost.com (November 30, 2009)
Read the Post

Defining Corporate Citizenship
washingtonpost.com (November 17, 2009)
Read the Post

In Praise of the Virtual Fundraiser
The Atlantic (November 13, 2009)
Read the Post

The Ugly End-Game
washingtonpost.com (November 10, 2009)
Read the Post

Petraeus, not Westmoreland
washingtonpost.com (November 2, 2009)
Read the Post

Shareholders: Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?
The Atlantic (October 28, 2009)
Read the Article

In Praise of Meetings
washingtonpost.com (October 6, 2009)
Read the Post

Corruption: The Afghan Wild Card
The Atlantic (October 2, 2009)
Read the Article

A Budapest B-School Teaches Leadership at the Crossroads
HBR Now (September 29, 2009)
Read the Post

In Search of Charlie Chaplin
The Atlantic, with Cristine Russell, (September 14, 2009)
Read the Post

Channeling the 'Animal Spirit'
on building better Wall Street leaders
washingtonpost.com (September 14, 2009)
Read the Post

Getting Your Fix: Two veteran lawyers say that now is the time for fixed fees
Corporate Counsel (September, 2009)
Read the Article

Power Outage
washingtonpost.com (August 31, 2009)
Read the Post

My Quiet Neighbor (The President)
The Atlantic (August 28, 2009)
Read the Article

Nation-Building Dreams
washingtonpost.com (August 24, 2009)
Read the Post

Beware the Idolatry of Numbers
The Atlantic (August 11, 2009)
Read the Article

The Power of a Personal Story
washingtonpost.com (August 3, 2009)
Read the Post

Executive Compensation: Let's Look at Fund Managers' Pay, Too
HBR Now (July 30, 2009)
Read the Article

A Due Process Teaching Moment - Wasted
The Atlantic (July 25, 2009)
Read the Article

The Talented Mr. Blankfein
washingtonpost.com (July 20, 2009)
Read the Post

Bipartisan Commission Mandate
washingtonpost.com (July 13, 2009)
Read the Post

Anti-Corruption Rhetoric - and Reality
The Atlantic (June 22, 2009)
Read the Article

HBR Discussion on Executive Pay:

How to Fix Executive Pay, harvardbusiness.org (June 9, 2009) Read the Post
Good CEOs Are Underpaid, harvardbusiness.org (June 17, 2009) Read the Post
"How" Not "How Much," harvardbusiness.org (June 24, 2009) Read the Post
or read the entire discussion here

Going Beyond MBA Oaths
HBR Now Blog (June 9, 2009)
Read the Post

We've Lost Authenticity
washingtonpost.com (June 8, 2009)
Read the Post

Stop Bribery Everywhere
Corporate Counsel (June, 2009)
Read the Article

The Junior Justice
washingtonpost.com (May 18, 2009)
Read the Post

The Long Goodbye
washingtonpost.com (May 11, 2009)
Read the Post

Function, Not Form, Matters Most in Board's Non-executive Leader
harvardbusiness.org (May 5, 2009)
Read the Post

How to Prevent Panic?
washingtonpost.com (April 27, 2009)
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Redefining the CEO Role
businessweek.com (April 16, 2009)
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It's About Accountability, Stupid
washingtonpost.com (March 30, 2009)
Read the Post

Pitchfork Populism
washingtonpost.com (March 22, 2009)
Read the Post

AIG's Bonuses: A Dangerous Failure of Leadership
harvardbusiness.org Confersation Starter blog (March 19, 2009)
Read the Post

Dangerous Obfuscation of Facts
washingtonpost.com (March 18, 2009)
Read the Post

Google's Bad Options
harvardbusiness.org Conversation Starter blog (March 10, 2009)
Read the Post

Executive Compensation: What Obama's Plan Means
Business Week (February 7, 2009)
Read the Article

Is Google doing the right thing?
FT.com [Financial Times] (February 3, 2009)
Read the Article

A Tale of Two Cities
washingtonpost.com (February 2, 2009)
Read the Post

Principles for Reforming Executive Pay
Businessweek (January 6, 2009)
Read the Article

Archive (Pre-2009)