Truth is Stronger Than Fiction. Understanding how ethics can make or break your career.

This week in the Law School Insider we had the pleasure of interviewing Victoria Vuletich, who is a Professor at Cooley Law School. Victoria Vuletich is an expert on ethics and professional responsibility and she joins us today to talk about ethics and addresses the question of what should you do if you have an ethical dilemma in your law school journey or in your career (and you probably will!).

In speaking with Victoria Vuletich she informed us that ethics issues have compelling interests and in regards to this it is important to always:

1. Identify the compelling interests that are out there and figure out how you can balance them if you can.
2. Identify which is the compelling interests that you identify are more important than the others and which ones take precedent.
3. Examine whether there is another way to deal with the ethical issues that you are currently being faced with.
4. Figure out what the consequences are of the action that is made.

One question that you might be wondering is why there are so many ethical dilemmas in the profession? Victoria Vuletich mentioned that this happens because of a few different reasons including:

1. The fact that we're lawyers and that as lawyers you have an inordinate amount of power given to you.
2. As a lawyer you impact society to a great level.

One example that she gave was the prosecutor going to work and having to decide whether to prosecute or not. Thus, you can see that in your role as a lawyer you are given a large amount of power.

So what can you do to live in an ethical way? Victoria Vuletich says that as a lawyer you should:

1. React as a lawyer in all situations.
2. Find out how you can solve other people's problem.
3. Try to not take anything personally but instead try and find out why someone is acting and reacting the way they are and solve the situation accordingly.

As a lawyer you will be introduced to many ethical dilemmas in your career. Some of the main dilemmas that Victoria Vuletich saw in working with many lawyers in the past included issues such as:

1. How long does a lawyer have to keep their files.
2. Ad rules that lawyers have to comply with.
3. Co-Mingling personal and client funds.
4. A lack of communication between client and counsel.

As you are moving through your own law school experience, Victoria Vuletich explained that there are some main things that you can do today to start working towards an ethical life and an ethics-filled career. These included:

1. Understanding that your career starts when you step foot in law school.
2. That your path will cross with many people in your law school journey that you will cross again in your career and you need to build strong relationships with others as these relationships will be valuable in the future.
3. Get involved early in law school and be intentional in building strong relationships with others.

The primary reason Victoria Vuletich has found that lawyers are unhappy in their careers is that many lawyers end up in a practice area that they are not happy with. She mantioned that so many students take the first job that is offered to them so that they will have money to pay off their debts. Instead of taking the first job that is offered out of necessity, be intentional in your career planning and get to know yourself. By developing insight into yourself you will end up being a healthier and happier lawyer too. 

In the end Victoria Vuletich stated that "Truth is stronger than fiction" in all situations. This is definitely a quote to live by as a lawyer!

Did you like this interview? Do you have a question for Professor Vuletich? Leave a comment below to let me know!

Are you a practicing lawyer? A law student? Would you like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the Law School Insider? Send me an email at lawschoolinsider@cooley.edu