Meaning, measuring, mattering
From lead counsel of Microsoft to President of the American Bar Association to managing partner of the San Francisco Giants, Bill Neukom has seen many things. But as of 2006, when he founded the World Justice Project (WJP), Bill has taken an active role in advancing justice around the globe.
The objective of WJP is to promote the “rule of law,” a system of governance that provides accountability under a fair set of rules. The WJP’s work is based on the understanding that the rule of law is the foundation for communities of peace, opportunity, and equity—underpinning development, accountable government, and respect for human rights.
While the goal sounds simple, the steps to achieving it are not.
Every country is unique in terms of development, each with its own culture, laws, status quos, justice systems, and red tape. But Bill says this is exactly why the rule of law is so essential regardless of the setting; it provides a universal foundation that can be built upon by local cultures anywhere for a better quality of life.
Having communities that operate under the tenets of the rule of law can help attract investment, improve health care, increase education levels, create jobs, and provide a check on governing bodies that will reduce corruption.
One challenge is developing a better understanding about the relationship between rule of law and concrete areas of development. To this end, Bill has reached out to academics to support research about the meaning and measurement of the rule of law, and how it matters for economic, social, and political development.
It is working, and people are reacting.
Under his leadership, WJP has spent the last 8 years creating a universal definition for the rule of law, based on internationally accepted standards, and developing the Rule of Law Index, which measures how over 99 countries around world experience the rule of law in everyday life. By drawing on surveys from over 100,000 households and experts, they have been able to track and analyze the biggest impediments to the rule of law by region—and being able to identify the problem is the very first step in coming up with a solution to solve it.
“Our mission is so big that we needed to have a crystal clear vision of where we wanted to go,” Bill said. “Measuring the rule of law was the biggest first step. Bill Gates always said ‘If you can’t measure something, you can’t change it.’ That’s especially true here. This data helps visualize the issues and not only helps us understand them, but it also gives hard facts for people to look at. People will support facts.”
Bill says everyone can benefit from strengthening the rule of law. While his first awareness of the foundational importance of the rule of law came from his experiences as a lawyer and community activist, his extensive travels with Microsoft gave him the opportunity to see its universal importance, especially in developing markets.
“Everywhere I went where I saw [the rule of law] lacking, it just kept coming back to the notion that disadvantage hurts potential,” he said. “In a lot of places, politics and governance that actually helps the people are at odds. That’s what this is designed to prevent. And it is emphatically not the Rule of Lawyers, or Rule of Judges. We need businesspeople, nonprofit workers, doctors, everyone to get involved. Because this is something that impacts everyone.”
WJP is not Bill’s first time effecting change on a global scale. He was instrumental in starting Microsoft’s Giving Campaign, which is now one of the company’s flagship programs and has donated a total of over $1 billion to charities around the world.
Just like he took corporate giving to a new level, Bill wants to take WJP even further. He said he may have spread himself too thin while he was ABA President and partner for the Giants, but now he is prepared to direct his focus primarily on extending the rule of law worldwide. All his years of experience point towards this being the best way to turn action into change, and he looks forward to working more deeply with the organization he started.
“When I was at Microsoft, commitment to mission was essential,” Bill said. “It’s the same way here at WJP. I’m committed, my team is committed, and it is gratifying to see the impact a small group of committed people can make.”