Friday, November 21, 2014

Proposed ABA Code of Ethics


Members of the IEEE (Engineers) are ethically required to correct errors.  The IEEE Code of Ethics is available at http://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/p7-8.html  .  The major change in adapting it for lawyers was removing the decision making responsibility which was mentioned as the first part of #1.

We, the members of the ABA, in recognition of the importance of our laws and regulations in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:

 

1.    to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;

2.    to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;

3.    to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;  

4.    to reject bribery in all its forms;  

5.    to improve the understanding of law; its appropriate application, and potential consequences;  

6.    to maintain and improve our legal competence and to undertake legal tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;  

7.    to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;  

8.    to treat fairly all persons and to not engage in acts of discrimination based on race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;

9.    to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action;  

10.  to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics.

 

Engineers are not particularly appreciative of having (not so technical) errors pointed out to them but learn to tolerate it gracefully.

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