At a recent PLI conference, the formal general counsel of Tyco International, Bill Lytton, spoke about corporate compliance and an “ethic of integrity.” He suggested that law departments that are of some size allow everyone in the department to complete an assessment of the ethics of their superiors.
This 180-degree data helps to educate those who complete the assessment, helps to inspire more ethical practices or at least open up discussion of ethical decisions, and signals to the leadership whether their behavior is a role model of ethical beliefs and behaviors (See my post of May 3, 2006 on the law department as an “ethical beacon.”).