Inspiring people to do the right thing is the essence of principled performance. It is aboutinspired rather than required behavior—living principles beyond following rules. It is about doing the next right thing and not just the next thing right. Ultimately, principled performance leads to healthier, profitable organizations.

This year, we are celebrating our 25th anniversary. Dov Seidman, LRN’s Founder and CEO, founded the company with a powerful vision that the world would be a better place if more people did the right thing. From that basic notion, LRN has grown into a successful business that has helped to shape the way millions of employees behave and interact across the globe.

LRN’s overall approach recognizes the inherent limitations of rules and regulations in influencing behaviors. In our view, focusing on actions that help build and maintain a values-based culture will mean more compliance and reduced costs as a result of tangible and sustainable behavioral change.

We are not a business with a mission.
We are a mission with a business.

Seven years before Enron’s acts of fraud, LRN was founded on the belief that society is better off when legal & ethical knowledge is accessible to all. We are proud to have been helping corporations act responsibly long before “Corporate Social Responsibility” became fashionable.

1986

  • Due to eroded public confidence, leading defense contractors form the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct (DII). DII Principles become the basis for early corporate compliance programs.

1991

  • The first governmental expectations of “effective programs to prevent and detect criminal conduct.” In addition to unprecedentedly huge fines for offences, the FSGO created an incentive for companies: those with an established, effective compliance program at the time of the offense could be treated much more leniently.

1994

  • LRN, the Legal Research Network, opens for business in Los Angeles to provide shared-cost legal expertise for corporate legal departments.

1995

  • Trader Nick Leeson causes Barings Bank’s collapse after incurring $1.3 billion in losses.

1997

  • Delaware Chancery Court rules in Caremark case that corporate directors have compliance-program-related fiduciary duties to monitor compliance with the law.
  • A group of leading partners team up with LRN to create a charter group bringing together the latest thinking in legal research.

1999

  • LRN launches the Legal Compliance and Ethics Center (LCEC) to deliver learning through an online library and custom courses.

2001

  • Enron becomes largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at that time, leading to criminal investigation and conviction of senior executives for accounting fraud. Arthur Andersen convicted of obstruction of justice for destruction of evidence related to Enron, becoming first accounting firm ever to be convicted of a felony. The firm goes out of business.
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopts policy that provides (among other things) for giving credit in enforcement decisions to issuers with compliance programs.

2002

  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed.
  • WorldCom surpasses Enron to become biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history, after disclosing that it had improperly accounted for $3.8 billion of expenses.

2003

  • NYSE and NASDAQ listed companies required to adopt codes of ethics and conduct.

2004

  • FSGO introduces requirement of promoting a culture of compliance.
  • LRN develops 100th ethics & compliance training course.
  • LRN founder testifies before the U.S. Sentencing Commission on the importance of culture and values-based ethics programs.

2005

  • 100th partner joins LRN.

2007

  • LRN opens London office.

2008

  • Siemens pays fines totaling $1.6 billion, then the largest amount ever paid by a corporation, for systemic FCPA violations.
  • LRN launches Ethics & Compliance Alliance.
  • LRN enters into partnership with the Elie Weisel Foundation for Humanity, sponsoring annual prizes in ethics.

2009

  • LRN opens Mumbai office.
  • HOW translated in 32 languages.

2010

  • LRN joins United Nations Global Compact.
  • UK’s Bribery Act 2010 passed.
  • Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed.

2011

  • LRN moves into LEED-certified New York City headquarters.
  • LRN releases the HOW Report, a global, empirical research report with 2 million data points, analyzing how governance, culture and leadership impact the performance of organizations.

2012

  • U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC issue unprecedented joint guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

2013

  • The SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower awards its first bounty, and receives approximately 6,000 tips.
  • LRN’S 6th annual Ethics & Compliance Leadership Survey Report released.

2014

  • LRN ranks first in CEB’S training activities and training effectiveness survey.
  • New ethics & compliance courses win multiple training effectiveness awards.
  • The Freedom Report released at the World Economic Forum.

2015

  • FIFA embroiled in scandal as senior officials are indicted for bribery.
  • Volkswagen CEO resigns in wake of revelations that the company falsified emissions data on thousands of vehicles.
  • LRN releases industry’s first mobile Code of Conduct app.
  • Dov Seidman delivers keynote address to United Nations Global Compact gathering.
  • LRN reaches 100 million course completions.

2016

  • Change to LRN releases second edition of The HOW Report and the 2016 Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report.
  • Dov Seidman speaks at the Vatican for the Fortune + Time Global Forum.

2017

  • Dov Seidman’s Framework for Moral Leadership was featured in Fortune’s Change the World issue where he was referred to as “the corporate whisperer.”

2018

  • LRN releases The State of Moral Leadership.
  • LRN published the third edition of PEI Report and the first edition of the Board Report.
  • LRN and Leeds Equity Partners form strategic relationship to continue LRN’s mission.

THE PATH FORWARD

LRN’s internal drive to innovate and our industry expertise is bolstered by our mission to engage with the organizations we partner with to foster real change. LRN has invested heavily and consistently in our solutions since 1994. We constantly enhance and expand our core offerings. Our Partners enjoy a vast array of resources and we seek their feedback to inform our solution roadmaps. Our vision for the next 25 years is grounded in remaining true to our mission while continuing to expand and enhance our solutions and services for the betterment of every LRN Partner.

Contact us to hear about our vision for what’s next in ethics and compliance, and at LRN.

Contact Us