In this week’s episode, Bryan Connerty, who is now serving as lead counsel for the US Attorney’s Office case against Axe Capital, faces some tough choices leading to an ethical dilemma. Spoilers AheadThe US Attorney’s mole inside Axe Capital, Donnie Caan, isn’t providing any useful information to Connerty. Rhodes immediately edges Connerty to take dramatic action. In response, Connerty instructs the FBI to break into the mole’s home in the middle of the night to arrest him so he can see what the consequences will feel like if he continues to not provide any useful information. Donnie takes heed of the extreme warning and agrees to get relevant information.Meanwhile we learn that the janitor for Axe Capital saw the FBI with an Axe Capital employee, and this information makes it way to Axe. Enraged, Axe vows to do anything and everything it takes to find the FBI’s mole informant. From Donnie’s wire, the US Attorney’s Office learns of Axe’s suspicion. To deflect attention away from Donnie, Rhoades suggests to Connerty that the best course of action is to frame a different, innocent Axe Capital employee so their mole is not discovered. After Axe is able to narrow down the mole to 3 employees (which includes Donnie), Connerty decides to do just that – he doctors a Wells Response Letter and implicates Butch Probert “The Pouch” as the mole. The story line closes with confirmation that Connerty threw his ethics to the wind and an innocent Axe Capital employee is fired.Attorneys are held to moral codes of conduct and ethical standards. In real life, it is our hope that this scenario would never occur. Similarly, in the financial industry, representatives are held to uphold and observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade. To that end, more and more firms are adopting not just codes of ethics, but ethical policies to guide employees and help them to adhere to fiduciary principals and make the prudent decisions. For more information or help on what an ethics policy should include, contact Jacko Law Group at 619.298.2880 or info@jackolg.com.
