Business Law Ethics
Special Directions for Cases 1 -- 5: The following cases have been carefully chosen to represent several of the most pressing ethical dilemmas facing American business today. When answering the questions at the end of each case, consider the ethical character trait or traits that would guide your decision-making. Avoid the theory of subjective ethics. Be less concerned with the "right" answer and more concerned with applying the ethical decision-making process properly.
Howard Wieder, an attorney, asked the members of the law firm for which he was employed, to assign one of their number to act as his representative in negotiating the purchase of an apartment in a condominium. An attorney in the firm, L.L., was designated to handle Wieder's negotiations. Unfortunately, L.L. did everything but handle Wieder's condominium negotiations. In fact, he not only neglected the negotiations, but also made many "false and misleading representations," carefully calculated to cover up that neglect. As soon as Wieder figured out that L.L. was lying to him, he reported the misconduct to two senior attorneys in the law firm. Each of these senior attorneys admitted that L.L.'s misconduct did not surprise them. Moreover, they revealed that they knew "(t) hat [L.L.] was a pathological...
Wieder v. Skala, 609 N.E.2d 105 (NY).
For evils to occur, sometimes all that is necessary is for good people to stand aside and do nothing -- as clearly has been the case at this particular firm. However, not only do the attorneys have a moral obligation to the truth. As attorneys they have an ethical obligation to ensure that
justice is done according to the standards of the American Bar Association so that the
legal profession is not besmirched, and that their clients are not injured. The 'PLUS' system of
ethical decision making, is often defined as "Step 1: Define the problem Step 2: Identify alternatives Step 3: Evaluate the alternatives Step 4: Make the decision Step 5: Implement the decision Step 6: Evaluate the decision" (Ethics Toolkit, 2004) However, the problem is not simply regarding Wieder's clients whom have been harmed, but the fact that the firm's other attorneys owe an obligation to the clients who may be harmed by the offending attorney's incompetence and lies. Also the firm may be harmed, including its reputation built up by other attorneys then themselves.
The ethical character trait of greatest consideration is professional obligation and ethics. This is why New York State has laws…
