Giving Voice to Values in the Legal Profession

Carolyn Plump is Professor of Business Law at La Salle University of Business, USA. Before joining La Salle University, she worked in private practice as a labor and employment attorney at several international and regional law firms. She also served as a Deputy District Attorney for the District Attorney's Office in California, and Assistant Chief Counsel for the United States Senate's Office of Chief Counsel for Employment.

"We all have faced times when doing the right thing was frightening and risky. To speak up and take action, we need moral courage. But to be effective, we also need sound strategies and skills. The author expertly shows how legal practitioners at all levels can use the powerful Giving Voice to Values strategies and tools to help make things right."Theodore G. Ryan, Consulting Professor of Ethics in Management, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, USA"In her cogent and accessible book, Giving Voice to Values in the Legal Profession, Professor Carolyn M. Plump has elucidated the concrete steps lawyers and business people can take to resolve moral and ethical dilemmas that often wreak havoc in the digitally-connected, global workplace of the 21st century. This book serves both as a training manual for students who crave applicable and real-world skills for future jobs, and as a resource book for lawyers and business people."M. Diana Helweg Newton, Senior Fellow, John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies, Southern Methodist University, USA"Pragmatic and provocative, Ms. Plump’s text presents concrete case studies that capture the ethical conundrums that many attorneys face on a daily basis, but, in practice, often dismiss or disregard. The problem solving methodology utilized in assessing these real world examples offers an effective framework for prospective practitioners to take to their jobs and hopefully employ in their profession."Anthony Stamato, Private company Chief Legal Officer and former partner at international law firm"Plump understands from experience the many types of values conflicts lawyers encounter in their work. Giving Voice to Values in the Legal Profession equips lawyers to constructively address such conflicts. The book is a wonderful toolkit for lawyers who want to ‘act ethically and thrive in the workplace.'"Vivien Holmes, Associate Professor and Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy, School of Legal Practice, Australian National University, Australia"Using examples gleaned from decades in legal practice, Carolyn provides readers with a journey into the perilous world of the contemporary legal industry, and provides a vibrant framework for addressing even the most difficult of internal rationalizations and values conflicts."Dr. Keith William Diener, Assistant Professor of Law, Stockton University, USA"Carolyn Plumb provides an excellent introduction to the methodology of Giving Voice to Values and its applicability to the legal profession. She explains the relevance and importance of moral empowerment and allows readers to practice using their moral voice through the legal scenarios she includes. Her book can serve as a guide for moral integrity to both student and professional alike." Ira Bedzow, Director of Medical Ethics and Humanities, New York Medical College, USA"Professor M. Carolyn Plump’s book Giving Voice to Values in the Legal Profession is the beautifully practical, pragmatic and contextual approach to teaching Legal Ethics to Law students that many Legal Ethics teachers have been searching for. Carolyn’s easy to read structured narrative style provides a highly accessible way of introducing students to how to navigate the highly nuanced ethical context of practice without losing sight of the values that they came to law school to promote. This book is an essential contribution to the field."Anneka Ferguson, Senior Lecturer, ANU School of Legal Practice, Australia

• INTRODUCTIONSECTION I: GVV FRAMEWORKChapter 1: ContextChapter 2: GVV TerminologyChapter 3: Framework for Legal ScenariosSECTION II: THE LEGAL INDUSTRYChapter 4: History of National Ethical StandardsChapter 5: Major Sources of Ethical StandardsChapter 6: Rule of Law Versus Spirit of the LawChapter 7: ExemplarsSECTION III: ETHICAL SCENARIOS IN THE LEGAL PROFESSIONLegal Scenario # 1: The Case of Inflated ExperienceLegal Scenario # 2: The Case of the Creative TimesheetLegal Scenario # 3: The Case of the Client RequestLegal Scenario # 4: The Case of the Missing DataLegal Scenario # 5: The Case of Predicting OutcomesLegal Scenario # 6: The Case of Combative Opposing CounselLegal Scenario # 7: The Case of the Questionable GiftLegal Scenario # 8: The Case of the Altered FileLegal Scenario # 9: The Case of the Helicopter BenefactorLegal Scenario # 10: The Case of Pressure from the BenchLegal Scenario # 11: The Case of a Colleague’s Unethical ConductLegal Scenario # 12: The Case of Pressure from the BoardCONCLUSION