William S. Laufer Faculty Profile

William S. Laufer
Julian Aresty Professor; Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, Sociology, and Criminology
Director, Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research 
Chairperson, Department of Criminology, School of Arts and Sciences

PhD, Rutgers University, 1987; JD, Northeastern University School of Law, 1983; BA, The Johns Hopkins University, 1979

Research Areas
Corporate criminal law; corporate ethics; law and psychology; criminology

Current Projects
Exploring a theoretical foundation for the corporate criminal law and corporate social control.

Academic Positions Held
Wharton: 1989-present (named Julian Aresty Professor, 2007; Director, Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research, 2000-present; Anheuser-Busch Term Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, 1989-95; Associate Director, Sellin Center for Studies in Criminology and Criminal Law, 1989-90). Visiting appointment: New York University (School of Law)

Career and Recent Professional Awards; Teaching Awards
Miller-Sherrerd MBA Core Teaching Award, 2000-2003; David W. Hauck Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Undergraduate Division, 1991, 1997 (first recipient non-tenured faculty member, 1991; first recipient of award for non-tenured and tenured faculty, 1997); Excellence in Teaching Award (Undergraduate Division) (1990-1993, 1996-2001; 2004-2006); Marc & Sheri Rapaport Undergraduate Core Teaching Award, 2002; Graduate Division Excellence in Teaching Award, 2001, 2002

Professional Leadership 2003-2007
Board Member, International Society of Social Defense and Humane Criminal Policy, Economic and Social Council, United Nations, 2004-present; Member, United Nations Global Compact Academic Advisory Team, 2006- present; Advisory Board Member, Business Contributions to the Millennium Development Goals, United Nations Development Programme, 2006-present; Member, International Advisory Board, Program on Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Competitiveness, World Bank Institute, 2005-present; Member, Academic Council, Hills Program Governance, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C., 2002- present

Representative Publications
Corporate Bodies and Guilty Minds: The Failure of Corporate Criminal Liability. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

(with A. Strudler)
"Corporate Crime and Making Amends." American Criminal Law Review (forthcoming).

“Illusions of Compliance and Governance.” Corporate Governance 6 (3), 239-249 (2006).

"Corporate Liability, Risk Shifting, and the Paradox of Compliance." Vanderbilt Law Review 54, 1343 (1999).

"Corporate Bodies and Guilty Minds." Emory Law Journal 79, 649-732, (1994).