DP3

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP3

Should Engineer A proactively disclose to Attorney Z, before allowing the engagement to be terminated, that his findings are adverse to the plaintiff and discuss the ethical implications of that situation — including the risk of subsequent defense retention — or may he allow the engagement to dissolve passively without that discussion?

Before his engagement with Attorney Z was terminated, Engineer A had determined that his analysis pointed to plaintiff fault and that he could not produce a report favorable to the plaintiff. Rather than proactively disclosing this finding and discussing the ethical implications with Attorney Z — including the risk that termination would make him available to opposing counsel — Engineer A allowed the engagement to dissolve passively. This pre-termination omission left Attorney Z and the plaintiff without the opportunity to invoke consent mechanisms, assert confidentiality protections, or otherwise respond to the emerging conflict before it crystallized.

Before allowing the engagement to be terminated, proactively inform Attorney Z that the analysis points to plaintiff fault, explain the ethical dilemma this creates — including the risk that termination could make Engineer A available to opposing counsel — and give Attorney Z the opportunity to respond, invoke confidentiality protections, or address the conflict.

Decline to produce the plaintiff-favorable report and allow Attorney Z to terminate the engagement without proactively raising the adverse findings or the ethical implications of termination, on the basis that the decision to terminate belongs to the client and that Engineer A's duty of honesty is satisfied by refusing to produce a false report.

Communicate the adverse findings to Attorney Z in a formal written withdrawal letter that documents the scope of analysis conducted and the basis for Engineer A's inability to continue, without explicitly raising the risk of subsequent defense retention, thereby creating a record of the findings while leaving the ethical implications of termination for Attorney Z to assess independently.

Engineer A