My meager knowledge of ethics is derived from experience, and on guidance I have received from my elders. If I ever had a question about ethics, I knew I could always ask Alaska Federal District Court Judge, and former Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, James J. Fitzgerald, one of the finest men I ever met.
Early in my legal career, one of the fundamental tenets of legal ethics was explained to me by a veteran of over 40 years of legal practice. This was the example he told me to study.
You and your client agree on a fee for legal services — $100. He mistakenly hands you two $100 bills, The ethical dilemma posed is this: do you tell your law partner?
reaganproject.com 