In today's world traditional boundaries between professional disciplines are breaking down.  My diverse experience enables global perspectives to understand the interconnections and overlap between multiple areas of law and governance.

Biography

Thomas F. McInerney is an international lawyer and strategist with a background in international and corporate law, global governance, regulation, development, and strategy.  He is experienced in managing legal affairs and compliance for international organizations, companies, and NGOs operating in multiple jurisdictions and designing, implementing, and improving multilateral treaties and regulatory systems.  From 2020 to 2024 he was Executive Director of the Rule of Law for Development Program (PROLAW) at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he has taught foundational rule of law courses involving international law, global governance, development finance, and institutional reform.  

He has led numerous innovative initiatives to improve international law and advance global development.  In his book, Strategic Treaty Management:  Practice and Implications (Cambridge University Press 2015), he developed an original framework for devising strategies, managing, and solving global problems through international law and institutions.

McInerney's legal experience spans anti-corruption, corporate finance, environmental law and policy, food and agriculture, gender, human rights, international organizations, international investment, labor, land and natural resources, organizational compliance and ethics, public international law, and securities.

He has advised international organizations and governments, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Environment (UNE), Bioversity International, and the World Health Organization (WHO), on developing and implementing innovative strategies and solutions to enhance the performance of global regulatory systems.

From 2009 to 2012 he served as Director of Research, Policy, and Strategic Initiatives for the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) in Rome.  In this capacity he launched the research function, developed and managed eight international research projects, drafted and secured unanimous member state approval for IDLO’s first strategic plan as part of an organizational change process, and was responsible for creating partnerships with with UN agencies and providing knowledge inputs to UN processes. 

From 2002 to 2009 he served as General Counsel and Secretary for IDLO where he managed global legal affairs and compliance for the organization.

From 1999 to 2002, as Program Manager with Social Accountability International, he conducted research, drafting, and fundraising for the Business Principles for Countering Bribery, a leading corporate anti-corruption management system and predecessor to the World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and the ISO 37001 Anti-Corruption Management System.

Prior to joining Social Accountability International, he practiced corporate and securities law with Dorsey & Whitney LLP and Ross & Hardies in New York.

He has trained and worked with hundreds of public officials, regulators, lawyers, and judges throughout the world on corporate governance, anti-corruption, private sector regulation, international law, and rule of law development.

He regularly writes and speaks on topics including international law, global governance, regulation, sustainability, and international development. He holds a PhD in development studies from the Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex, a JD from DePaul University College of Law, and MA in philosophy, and a BA in government from William & Mary.

Based in Bangkok, Thailand, he is admitted to practice in the State of New York in the United States.  He serves on the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Law, Ethics, and Governance subgroup and Data Working Group.