A lawyer cannot accept employment from a client when there is a conflict of interest. Furthermore, a lawyer is to refrain from acquiring a financial interest (other than legal fees) in the cases. Additionally, a lawyer should generally refrain from entering into business agreements with a client if those business interests differ. Competence
Is it a legal responsibility? If an ethical issue involves a legal responsibility, you must obey the law. The Suspected Child Abuse case in Chapter 4 and the Ineffective Child Protective Services Agency case in Chapter 7, both of which involved suspected child abuse, illustrate examples of legal responsibilities. Is it an ethical responsibility ...
That includes a responsibility to maintain an expected level of competence and be up-to-date on current knowledge, technology, and standards of the profession. Professional responsibility includes knowing or learning enough about the application ďŹeld to do a good job. Responsibility for a noncomputer professional using a sophisticated computer
These levels include all of the following, except: A) Societal B) Institutional ... Legal responsibilities D) Ethical responsibilities E) Philanthropic responsibilities ... Those in opposition of the basic principles of corporate social responsibility argue that it is the government, and not the corporations, which holds jurisdiction over ...
When you seek advice from an attorney about a legal matter, your private communications with your lawyer are protected by the attorney-client privilege. This means that your lawyer cannot reveal any information that you disclose to him or her in confidence, unless you give your express permission.
Each state has its own ethical rules for lawyers, called the rules of professional conduct. When lawyers fail to live up to this code of conduct, the state disciplinary board can take action against themâfrom a simple warning to disbarment (losing the license to practice law forever).
If you signed a retainer agreement when your hired your lawyer, it may include specific duties that you owe your lawyer. Because the retainer agreement is a contract, you are legally bound by its terms. In general, clients have the following duties: 1 Be truthful with your lawyer. 2 Cooperate with your lawyer and respond to requests for information in a timely manner. 3 Attend meetings and legal proceedings, such as a deposition or mediation. 4 Be courteous to your lawyer and his or her team. 5 Donât ask your lawyer to do anything illegal or unethical. 6 Pay your legal bills in a timely manner.
If your lawyer violates these rules, he or she can be disciplined or even face a legal malpractice suit.
In general, clients have the following duties: Be truthful with your lawyer. Cooperate with your lawyer and respond to requests for information in a timely manner. Attend meetings and legal proceedings, such as a deposition or mediation.
Be courteous to your lawyer and his or her team. Donât ask your lawyer to do anything illegal or unethical. Pay your legal bills in a timely manner. These duties are often implied as part of the attorney-client relationship, even if you didnât expressly agree to them in a retainer agreement.
This is called the âcrime-fraud exception.â. For example, if you tell your lawyer that you plan on murdering someone tomorrow, your lawyer can alert the authorities. However, the rule generally does not apply to discussions of past criminal acts, unless the purpose is to cover up the crime.
Acting ethically in business means more than simply obeying applicable laws and regulations: It also means being honest, doing no harm to others, competing fairly, and declining to put your own interests above those of your company, its owners, and its workers.
The Idea of Business Ethics. Itâs in the best interest of a company to operate ethically. Trustworthy companies are better at attracting and keeping customers, talented employees, and capital. Those tainted by questionable ethics suffer from dwindling customer bases, employee turnover, and investor mistrust.
The one question Betty Vinson would have preferred to avoid is âMommy, why do you have to go to jail?â [1] Vinson graduated with an accounting degree from Mississippi State and married her college sweetheart. After a series of jobs at small banks, she landed a mid-level accounting job at WorldCom, at the time still a small long-distance provider. Sparked by the telecom boom, however, WorldCom soon became a darling of Wall Street, and its stock price soared. Now working for a wildly successful company, Vinson rounded out her life by reading legal thrillers and watching her daughter play soccer.
Corporate social responsibility refers to the approach that an organization takes in balancing its responsibilities toward different stakeholders when making legal, economic, ethical, and social decisions.
As a business student, one of your key tasks is learning how to recognize and deal with the ethical challenges that will confront you. Asked what he looked for in a new hire, Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the worldâs most successful investor, replied: âI look for three things.
Ethical issues are the difficult social questions that involve some level of controversy over what is the right thing to do. Environmental protection is an example of a commonly discussed ethical issue, because there can be trade offs between environmental and economic factors.
Managers have what is known as a fiduciary responsibility to owners: theyâre responsible for safeguarding the companyâs assets and handling its funds in a trustworthy manner. Yet managers experience what is called the agency problem; a situation in which their best interests do not align with those of the owners who employ them. To enforce managersâ fiduciary responsibilities for a firmâs financial statements and accounting records, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires CEOs and CFOs to attest to their accuracy. The law also imposes penalties on corporate officers, auditors, board members, and any others who commit fraud. Youâll learn more about this law in your accounting and business law courses.
According to Aristotle, moral responsibility was viewed as originating with the moral agent as decision-maker, and grew out of an ability to reason, an awareness of action and consequences, and a willingness to act free from external compulsion. Accountability is the readiness or preparedness to give an explanation or justification ...
Responsibility in a business context refers to âa sphere of duty or obligation assigned to a person by the nature of that personâs position, function or work.â. The roles taken on by decision-makers imply a responsibility to perform certain functions associated with those roles. To be more specific, responsibility refers to more than just ...
It is associated with responsiveness to the views of all stakeholders , which includes a willingness to explain, defend, and justify actions.
While responsibility is defined as a bundle of obligations associated with a role, accountability could be defined as âblaming or crediting someone for an actionâ ânormally associated with a recognized responsibility.
Accountability is the readiness or preparedness to give an explanation or justification to stakeholders for oneâs judgments, intentions and actions. âIt is a readiness to have oneâs actions judged by others and, where appropriate, accept responsibility for errors, misjudgments and negligence and recognition for competence, conscientiousness, ...
Responsibility is an ethical concept that refers to the fact that individuals and groups have morally based obligations and duties to others and to larger ethical and moral codes, standards and traditions.
In the professional context, accountability is about answering to clients, colleagues and other relevant professionals. The demand to give an account of oneâs judgments, acts and omissions arises from the nature of the professional-client and the professional-professional relationships.
The expression " basic ethical principles " refers to those general judgments that serve as a justification for particular ethical prescriptions and evaluations of human actions.
1. Respect for Persons. -- Respect for persons incorporates at least two ethical convictions: first, that individuals should be treated as autonomous agents, and second, that persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection.
The judgment that any individual lacks autonomy should be periodically reevaluated and will vary in different situations. 2. Beneficence. -- Persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecting their decisions and protecting them from harm, but also by making efforts to secure their well-being.
To respect autonomy is to give weight to autonomous persons' considered opinions and choices while refraining from obstructing their actions unless they are clearly detrimental to others.
Respect for the immature and the incapacitated may require protecting them as they mature or while they are incapacitated. Some persons are in need of extensive protection. The extent of protection afforded should depend upon the risk of harm and the likelihood of benefit.