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CochranProfessionals and Moral Responsibility

Robert F. Cochran, Jr.
Pepperdine University

Wednesday, September 28, 2005
12:50 to 1:40 p.m.
Hulston Hall, Room 7 (School of Law)

Robert F. Cochran, Jr., is the Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law and Director of the Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics at Pepperdine University. Professor Cochran is the co-author of Lawyers, Clients, and Moral Responsibility; Cases and Materials on the Rules of the Legal Profession; The Counselor-at-Law: A Collaborative Approach to Client Interviewing and Counseling; Christian Perspectives on Legal Thought; and Law and Community: The Case of Torts.

Lecture Abstract

Almost all professionals, including medical personnel, clergy, lawyers, psychologists, and corporate executives face a common problem. They come to their work with their own moral values, but they work for other people who may have different moral values. Should a counselee divorce her spouse? Should a corporation consider the effects of its actions on the environment? Should a patient have cosmetic surgery that carries with it a risk of death? Should a client sue his brother alleging a breach of trust?

Many of our students, along with their future patients, shareholders, and clients will face questions like this. Learning how to address such questions should be a significant part of the moral education of anyone who is going to enter a profession. Two questions typically define the moral relationship of the professional and the person for whom she works:

  1. In making decisions, are the interests of other people considered?
  2. Who controls the decision?

Some professionals are authoritarian, telling their clients, patients, etc. what to do. Other professionals are deferential, having no input in decisions and working under a sort of vicarious morality. Another option, which may be available in some relationships, is communitarian—the professional and client decide together what course to take.

Everyone is invited to attend this distinguished public lecture.

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