Reflections on Ethics, Morality, and Codes of Personal Conduct

Retired Judge Michael S. Jordan, Mediation & Arbitration Services, Glenview, Illinois.

I was reading the reflections of my son, Jeff Jordan, regarding ethics and having a moral compass which is essential for every lawyer, judge, or other person in a position of trust. I obtained my son’s permission to share his thoughts with all of you and hope this article brings each of us insights into the path we each choose to take.

Jeff Jordan is a public arbitrator hearing securities and employment matters and has also been on the staff of Mediation & Arbitration Services, which is my arbitration and mediation company. 

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My personal code of ethics is extraordinarily important to me as a salient grounding force, an indispensable polestar by which I navigate the blizzard of daily life and a means to effectively resolve cranial conflict when external factors are diametrically opposed or otherwise violate that which I think is righteous and honorable. I believe that an individual's personal code of ethics and associated perception of morality has components that are developed both intrinsically as well as via external forces including parenting, education, role-modeling, peers, social cuing, unique interpersonal or transactional interactions in addition to philosophical introspection mediated by both direct and indirect catalysts.

My career as an arbitrator mandates that I pay particular deference to social responsibility by way of adhering to externally prescribed codes of ethical conduct in conjunction with the global positioning system of moral imperatives that remain steadfastly cemented deep within the recesses of my cerebral cortex. As I will contemplate below, I hold nomoral attributes in higher esteem than the eminent concepts of integrity and empathy; I believe this moral tandem represents the umbrella under which all other moral components dynamically cascade and interact amidst a perennial onslaught of situational responsibilities that require ethical decisions.

I resolutely believe that my personal, ethical disposition was primarily influenced by the curiosities and peculiar whims of genetic happenstance and — far more notably — exceptional, outstanding parents who journeyed to the farthest reaches of the universe in order to teach me about the importance of treating everyone with as much courtesy, dignity and respect as possible. Moreover, my parents concurrently instilled the significance of habitually applying integrity, honesty and responsible deliberation to all personal and professional aspects of my daily interaction with individuals and entities.

For your edification I must preface the following statements by informing you that I was adopted at birth. My parents’ delightful fiftieth anniversary celebration occurred two years ago and in their honor I crafted a two-sentence statement on a commemoration card that encapsulated my profound appreciation of their ceaseless efforts that continue to this day to foster and continuously emphasize behavior that is consistent with integrity; the words I chose prompted my mom and dad to emote tears of joy: “If I could have hand selected my parents I would have chosen both of you. How fortunate for me that you chose to adopt me.”

My dad is a retired circuit court judge who enthusiastically continues to work full-time as a mediator and arbitrator, my mom is a retired Chicago Public School System teacher who passionately continues to serve as a social worker, my older sister is an incredibly gifted special needs educator who taught me how to read when I was four years old, my younger sister is an exemplary office manager and master multitasker and my younger brother is a courageous and noble firefighter.

Perhaps, given the constitutionally unwavering ethical pedigree I was colossally fortunate to internalize, incorporate and subsequently employ, I have absolutely no tolerance for ethical predilections that transgress integrity in any perpendicular manner. Therefore, I stand tall for tolerance, kindness, inclusion, acceptance, respectfully articulated alternative viewpoints and, regally perched atop the zenith of ethical conduct, empathy. Conversely, I place no worth or practical social value of any kind on either actions or inactions involving corruption, fraud, dishonesty, manipulation, duplicity, abdication of responsibility or any behavior that knowingly and nefariously takes advantage of other human beings, animals or Earth.

The ethical framework I espouse for making decisions is an amalgamation of the aforementioned reciprocity of nature and nurture in addition to a kinetic, fluid journey of introspection, refinement and administration of my personal, ethical code that continues to bloom and bear fruit to this very moment in time; I expect such beneficial augmentation to persist until the frequently discombobulating roller coaster of life arrives at its final destination. With respect to the manner in which my ethical architecture informs my decisions, I find myself judiciously, contemplatively and vigilantly considering whether or not a particular course of action I ultimately select would make my parents, sisters and brother proud.

If I encounter so much as a gossamer, Lilliputian inkling of moral friction, which typically manifests itself as visceral, internal disharmony, I tenaciously reassess, reevaluate and reapply principled mathematics until Goldilocks locates the appropriate port of call. Although some situations are by nature fraught with tangential complexities or ride the inevitable social lightning of endgame uncertainty, I annex and embrace immense pleasure in my ability to sleep peacefully knowing that my circumspect, deliberated perception of virtue and subsequent implementation of actions consistent with integrity and empathy will, to the consummate vertex of my capability and in honor of my family, remain indispensable, imperative and inviolable.