
There Has to Be a Better Way?
A Ropes & Gray (RopesTalk) podcast series from the R&G Insights Lab that is a curiosity-driven hunt for good ideas and better ways to tackle organizational challenges.
Latest episodes

Jun 14, 2023 • 42min
Miracle on the Hill: How to Build Consensus and Achieve Results in Divided Organizations
During some of the most divisive times in U.S. history, a small group of Democrats and Republicans defied all odds and learned to work together to get things done. It’s an inspiring story of success that you almost never hear about in Congress. On this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, co-hosts Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen talk with Dr. Marian Currinder, a political scientist and former professional staffer to a bipartisan congressional committee during an extremely partisan time, to learn about how a committee that seemed set up to fail thwarted expectations to pass more than 200 recommendations in four years.

May 31, 2023 • 34min
GE’s Global Investigations Chief Counsel Katy Choo Discusses the Art of Investigations
Co-hosts Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen speak with Katy Choo, VP and chief counsel of global investigations at General Electric. Katy is one of the most highly respected figures in corporate internal investigations, and has led a multitude of investigations both as a prosecutor and in-house at GE. On this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, Katy shares her “humanizing” approach to investigations and compliance, and the many questions she asks in her search for answers.

May 17, 2023 • 41min
Compliance Leader and Ex-Marine Patrick McGowan Digs Into the Predictive Power of Data Analytics
On this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, co-hosts Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen talk to Patrick McGowan, senior director for global compliance auditing and monitoring at industrial tech innovator Fortive. With a JD, MBA and background in forensic accounting, Patrick discusses how using quantitative methods to analyze seemingly small compliance issues can lead to big human insights.

May 3, 2023 • 30min
Part II: Award-Winning Author Benjamin van Rooij Offers a Practical Framework for How Organizations and Lawmakers Can Improve Human Conduct
On this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, the second in a two-part series, co-hosts Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen return to their conversation with author and researcher Benjamin van Rooij about the six questions in the book he co-authored with Adam Fine, The Behavioral Code, which can guide organizations and lawmakers in creating a better compliance culture. They also discuss how an organization’s toxic culture can be changed and interrogate the oft-cited argument that compliant companies cannot be innovative.

Apr 19, 2023 • 35min
Part I: Award-Winning Author Benjamin van Rooij Explains Why Understanding Human Behavior is Essential to Law and Compliance
On this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, the first in a two-part series, co-hosts Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen talk to author and researcher Benjamin van Rooij about why it’s dangerous for lawmakers and compliance professionals to rely on their “own intuitions about human misbehavior” when designing laws, rules and compliance programs. They also examine the challenges organizations face when trying to promote ethical behavior. Stay tuned for part two of our conversation, where Professor van Rooij dives into lessons from his award-winning popular book The Behavioral Code, co-authored with Adam Fine.

Apr 5, 2023 • 40min
Not All Messaging Apps Are Ephemeral
In this final part of a special podcast series unpacking recent DOJ policy updates, There Has to Be a Better Way? hosts Hui Chen and Zach Coseglia check in with Ropes & Gray’s global head of e-discovery, Shannon Kirk, to better understand how companies should think about non-email electronic communications. Shannon explains why using more precise language when talking about different forms of communication is important in order to manage them appropriately, and offers some options for meeting DOJ’s expectations for preserving data.

Mar 29, 2023 • 36min
Skin in the Game? Dr. Caitlin Handron Discusses How Compliance Incentives Might Work in Practice
In this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, the second in a three-part podcast series on the DOJ’s recent policy announcements, Hui Chen and Zach Coseglia speak with cultural psychologist Dr. Caitlin Handron about both personal experiences and academic research around behavioral incentives. They discuss the complexity in both human and organization behaviors, and advocate for companies to take a nuanced look at their cultures and gather data to find creative ways to incentivize compliance without unintended consequences.

Mar 22, 2023 • 38min
Assumptions v. Research: Unpacking Recent DOJ Policy Initiatives
In this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, the first in a special series of three episodes, Hui Chen and Zach Coseglia discuss the recent policy changes announced by the Department of Justice related to compliance incentives, clawbacks and messaging apps. Hui recounts the origins of the Fraud Section’s “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” and she and Zach question some of the assumptions baked into these policy updates.

Mar 15, 2023 • 30min
Award-Winning Data Journalist David Yanofsky Explains How to Tell Stories from Data and Why Precision Matters
In this episode of There Has to Be a Better Way?, co-hosts Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen interview their colleague David Yanofsky, a former award-winning data journalist who joined R&G Insights Lab as manager of data visualization. David shares how he finds stories in data and uses them to help companies achieve their goals and live up to their ideals.

Mar 1, 2023 • 29min
Attorney-Turned-Journalist Megan Zwiebel Talks About the Power of Stories and the Art of Persuasion
Co-hosts Zach Coseglia and Hui Chen explore the power of storytelling with Megan Zwiebel, the “untangler of knots” and director of operations and delivery at R&G Insights Lab, who went from working as a litigation attorney to anti-corruption journalist, and now as the person who makes the trains run on time at the Insights Lab. Along the way, she shares insights about uncovering juicy fact patterns in corruption cases, the need for organizations to take narrative control of their identities, and the human beings who read legal briefs.