Corporate Counsel and Business Ethics: A Personal Review

From time to time divergences between the goals of the individuals and the best interests of the corporation, as the lawyer sees the situation, can give rise to career threatening tensions, if not ethical and legal issues. This is particularly the case with regard to corporate programs to ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements. It is these problems of practicing in a corporate law department that I would like to discuss this afternoon. For me, these tensions and the ethical and legal challenges of carrying out compliance functions became clear early on in my career as a corporate lawyer