Mapping the moral compass of in-house lawyers

Speakers

Paul Gilbert (LBC Wise Counsel)
– will introduce the Ethical Leadership Initiative
Professor Richard Moorhead (UCL Laws and Centre for Ethics & Law)
– will outline the research findings

Chair 

Professor Stephen Mayson (Centre for Ethics & Law)
– will Chair a discussion with participants from the floor

About the talk

This event will launch the results of a major survey from the Centre for Ethics and Law mapping in-house lawyers role, professional orientations, team cultures, organisational pressures, ethical infrastructure and ethical inclination.

This report provides a unique profile of differences within the in-house community: in business, in government and in the third sector. We examine individual and team orientations to the in-house role; the invocation of professional principles; ethical infrastructure, ethical pressure and relationships with the employer; and, we relate these to externally validated indicators of ethical inclination. It is as close to a comprehensive picture of what it means to be an ethical in-house lawyer as has ever been attempted.

Through this research we profile the characteristics of individuals, teams and environments most associated with a stronger or weaker propensity to behave ethically. Come and hear how this mapping of the ‘moral compass’ suggests that ethical in-house practice is about individual understandings of the role; it is about the approach of teams and the organisations those teams work in; it is about understanding and drawing on professionalism; and, it is about building an infrastructure to manage the tensions within the role.

This event is aimed at in-house lawyers, executive and non-executive directors and others interested in the in-house role. We want to encourage a constructive conversation about evolving ethical leadership in-house.

About the Speakers

Paul Gilbert is the former GC for Cheltenham and Gloucester and founder of LBC Wise Counsel.

Professor Richard Moorhead is a Professor of Law and Professional Ethics at University College London and the Director or the Centre for Ethics and Law. His work focuses on lawyers’ ethics, professional competence, the regulation of legal services and access to justice. Often employing empirical methods, he has conducted a wide range of studies, including for the Ministry of Justice, Legal Services Board, Civil Justice Council, and the Law Society.

Professor Stephen Mayson was the former head of the University of Law’s Legal Services Institute and is an Honorary Professor in Law at University Law of London. He contributes to the Centre for Ethics & Law through engagement with the professions, policy makers, and academics around ethics and professional regulation through its regular seminars and think tanks, as well as through papers and research.