Reasons to Come Clean

This article, Tiffed by Staff, John Gibeaut (ABA e-Report 12/16/05) shows the benefits of coming clean when you’ve committed an ethical infraction – or even think that you might have committed one.  The article describes the case of a Delaware solo real estate lawyer who recently received a public reprimand for mishandling client funds.  The lawyer  himself hadn’t taken the money, rather, he learned in November 2001 that his paralegal had stolen $94,000 from the escrow account.  Eventually, the lawyer took out a second mortgage on his  home to replace the stolen money.  Yet he still couldn’t avoid a reprimand because he’d waited three years before replacing the money or contacting the authorities.

So the next time you think that you may have done something wrong, make amends as soon as you can and turn yourself in.  It may not be pleasant in the short run, but you’ll avoid unnecessary disciplinary action in the long run.