A FLORIDA builder and financier, Robert L. Lambert, believes he has a new recipe for business success. First, buy two Cunard liners with help from investor syndicates. Next, hire as Washington counsel the son of the Speaker of the House. Then, persuade Congress to pass a private bill authorizing American-flag registration. And, finally, sign up droves of East Coast, Great Lakes and West Coast passengers for cruises between American ports such as New York and Charleston, S.C. Foreign-flag cruise ships are barred by law from these routes, which represent a new dimension to the cruise business, a growth industry.
Mr. Lambert, a resident of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said in a Washington interview that his company, Cruise America Line Inc., has an option to buy the Cunard Countess and the Cunard Princess if Congress authorizes American registration of the foreign-built vessels. Each ship is 536 feet long and carries 938 passengers.
Mr. Lambert, who refused to disclose the price of the ships, said the purchase would be financed by syndicates of private investors assembled by underwriters led by Merrill Lynch. According to London insurance people, each ship is worth roughly $50 million. ''I'll take all I can get at that price,'' Mr. Lambert said.
Cunard bought two older Norwegian liners last week for $73 million for its expanding cruise business. If the Lambert deal goes through, ''passengers and employees will be protected by alternate vessels,'' said Ralph Bahna, Cunard's representative in New York.
Mr. Lambert has hired Christopher (Kip) O'Neill as his Washington lawyer and lobbyist. Mr. O'Neill is a son of the Speaker of the House, Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. In 1977 the son served on the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee's merchant marine subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the bill Mr. Lambert seeks.
He and Mr. O'Neill have lined up as sponsors Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska and chairman of the subcommittee; Representative E. Clay Shaw Jr., Republican from Fort Lauderdale and a friend of Mr. Lambert's, and Representative Dennis M. Hertel, a Michigan Democrat who wants to promote Great Lakes commerce. Opposition is expected from other ship owners and possibly from some unions.
The proposal is supported by the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, a politically active union that expects to get the contract for putting officers on the ships.
Ed Kelly, a Washington representative of the union, said that if the ships flew the United States flag they could be mobilized in wartime as troop carriers or hospital ships. On that ground, Mr. Lambert has applied to the Secretary of Defense for a Jones Act waiver that would permit American-flag registration, but Congressional aides say the Pentagon is reluctant to honor such requests.
Mr. Lambert's son and business associate, Robert F. Lambert, was asked if Mr. O'Neill's political connections had anything to do with the decision to retain him. The reply: ''No.'' Bankruptcy Debate
As the House ponders a Senate-passed bill to make it more difficult for individuals to discharge debts through bankruptcy, opponents plan to release a 60-page study today. They say it will demonstrate that the bankruptcy laws are not being abused and should not be changed.
The survey of bankruptcy in eight states and the District of Columbia was made by Philip Shuchman, a Rutgers University professor of bankruptcy law. His study contradicts the charge by creditors that the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 has made it too easy for people to get out of paying their debts while living comfortably.
The study is to be released by Representative Don Edwards, a California Democrat and one of the authors of the 1978 law, and by consumer groups, civil rights groups and labor unions. Corporate Ethics
A survey of 64 retired middle management executives who worked for 50 major corporations finds that 57 percent think government regulation is needed to prevent illegal and unethical practices that affect workers, consumers and competitors. Industry cannot police itself, the retired executives said.
The 117-page study was conducted by Marshall B. Clinard, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Wisconsin. Strong support was found for the antitrust laws and for laws protecting the health and safety of workers and consumers. Yet fewer than 25 percent of the respondents thought price-fixing should be reported to the authorities. A majority opposed reporting illegal rebates and kickbacks.
About two-thirds of the retired executives regard the ethics of their own industries as ''good'' or ''very good.'' But more than half of them say top management is responsible for unethical corporate behavior when it occurs. ''They tell middle management to do certain unethical behavior or violations and keep their mouths shut,'' one former systems coordinator with an electronics company was quoted in the study.
Almost 70 percent of the retired executives think a corporate employee should tell government authorities about serious unsafe working conditions that go uncorrected.
The survey, titled ''Corporate Ethics, Illegal Behavior and Government Regulation: Views of Middle Management,'' was financed by a grant from the Justice Department's National Institute of Justice, which has not released the study. Instead, it was released without authorization by Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, after an affilated organization had obtained it from a Justice Department source. Briefcases
- Moving Up: Eric I. Garfinkel, who had been a senior staff member in the White House Office of Policy Development, has just been named Deputy Assistant Director for Commerce and Trade. The 28-year-old lawyer will be the key White House staff member on international trade issues.
- Changing Teams: James J. Tozzi, a 19-year veteran of the Office of Management and Budget who has been pruning executive branch regulations for the Reagan Administration, is leaving government to help business cope with Federal regulations and penetrate foreign markets. He has signed up two former O.M.B. directors, Bert Lance and Jim McIntyre, as directors of his new company, the Multinational Business Services Corporation.