ABSTRACT
Widely shared values are honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness and compassion. “Values” should be distinguished from two other guiding principles: “ethics” and “business.” Together these three factors form the basis for decision making for a lawyer. “Character” is the quality of recognizing and setting the frame of an individual’s values on the decision process. “Integrity” is the state of being whole and undivided. Ethics in the professional context refers to various external frameworks that can help discipline our thinking about various ethical choices and dilemmas. In particular, discussions of ethical reasoning often focus on scenarios where various models will lead us to different, conflicting decisions about what ‘is right,’ and what follows may be a discussion of how we might try to resolve those tensions. There will always be a balance of values, ethics and business in law practice. Recognizing that values conflicts are a constant allows for awareness and anticipation.
