Movie Project

BAD 2853 BUSINESS ETHICS ONLINE

The Firm Movie Review

Student’s Name

Date and Semester

An ethical review of the movie The Firm and the dilemma of Whistleblowing.

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The Firm 1993 Paramount Studios produced by Sydney Pollack

The Firm is a 1993 Paramount Studios film produced by Sydney Pollack. In the

movie The Firm, Tom Cruise plays Mitch McDeere. Mitch McDeere is a young

college graduate with a promising future in law. A recent Harvard Law Honor

student, Mitch has a hard time juggling his idea of being successful as he is

overwhelmed with cut throat offers from law firms all over the country.

He is quickly won over by Bendini, Lambert, & Locke, a smaller firm

from Memphis who exploited his need for family by offering him a higher salary,

fully furnished home and car and a family first environment. Mitch was devastated

when his father died at an early age. Mitch is extremely devoted to his wife, Abby,

played by Jeanne Tripplehorn. Mitch denies association with his mother, and seeks to

distance himself from a brother who was incarcerated. Avery Tolar, played by Gene

Hackman, is Mitch’s mentor at the firm who firmly inserts himself as the father figure

Mitch had been missing. While basking in his success, McDeere is oblivious to subtle

underside of the Firm. Mitch is approached by FBI Agent Wayne Terrance, played by

Ed Harris, who had been investigating the firms’ ties to the Chicago Mob.

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Abby quickly becomes uneasy when she realizes the Firm takes unusual interest in

their employees’ lives. The McDeere’s do not know that their home and cars have been

bugged by the firm. After two associates are murdered, Mitch and Abby become aware that

life is not what it seems. Mitch becomes uneasy while on a business trip to the Cayman

Islands with Avery and begins to suspect the firm may not be as cut and dry as they

proclaimed to be. Mitch enlists the help of an ex-con private investigator named Eddie

Lomax to look into the lawyers’ deaths and to find out what he was up against. While waiting

to hear from Lomax, Mitch was approached by an angry client than learned he was being

over billed. Mitch learns that 4 lawyers who were attempting to “blow the whistle” met with

death. After being rocked by the news of Lomax's murder , Mitch learns from Agent

Terrance that the firm only has 30% legitimate business clients, the majority of its revenue

stemmed from shell corporations set up to launder money and drugs for Chicago Mob. Mitch

reluctantly agrees to aid the FBI in their investigation when he realizes the firm has bugged

his home and car and ultimately was responsible for the death of Eddie Lomax.

Mitch comes up with a plan to play both sides by a scheme to feed the firm false

information while trying to figure out how to make it out alive. Mitch uses the information

from his client to go after the firms’ illegal billing and mail fraud. Mitch was able to get the

FBI to agree to a money transfer and the release of his brother from prison in exchange for

information and immunity. After a tense moment with Abby, Mitch reveals that his plan is to

copy files to turn over to the FBI. When faced with the fact that the copier were set up with a

special billing code, Mitch enlists the help of Lomax’s former secretary to secure the files he

needs. After taking his oath, Mitch approaches the Mob to assure them he was not going to

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expose their criminal actions, he just wanted to be able to give the FBI enough information to

get them off of his back. He secures the Mobs signature on an affidavit; legally binding

himself as their lawyer to win their trust. In the end, Mitch was able to give the FBI enough

information to secure an indictment, while keeping the Mob satisfied that he was legally

bound by the confidentially agreement. The movie ends with the secretary and her beau

sailing off on a ship while Mitch and Abby load their car up and head back to Boston and

their humble beginnings to begin their new life at his private firm.

This movie touched on a variety of ethical issues almost from the beginning. The

business ethics breached by the firm include: bribery of a court clerk to learn what Mitch had

been offered by another law firm, racketeering, false billing, wiretapping, blackmail, murder,

and tax evasion. The Firm willingly was corrupt and in their greed felt no remorse. The

Chicago Mob was unethically by the very nature of their business recklessly endangering

lives in their pursuit of power and money. Mitch’s moral ethics were dishonesty to the firm

about his background, adultery, fraud, greed, and ultimately manipulation of the law when he

schemed against the firm and the government. Mitch, feeling like his actions was the best

course for his family, as can be described as deontology. The FBI breached ethics by

blackmailing Mitch to co-operate by threatening him with criminal charges, disbarment, and

bodily harm. The FBI further endangered Mitch’s life when they faxed the firm a copy of

Mitch’s brothers’ release from jail. Agent Terrance felt his actions were for the better good,

therefore taking the utilitarian approach.

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Since the movie was released, the standards of Whistle Blowing have changed

significantly. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act enhanced the standards for business practices and

bringing both civil and criminal actions to light. The Whistleblower’s Act (Exchange)

enables both internal and external sources to report illegal activity. This allows the person

filing the report autonomy and in many cases financial benefits depending on the situation.

Recently a lawyer was disbarred by the phone call of a single client citing him with Medicare

fraud. After investigation by the Virginia Bar Association it was found that the lawyer,

Steven Helm, had defrauded 22 of his clients over $130,000 in funds he used for personal

pleasure. Helm currently faces up to 23 years in federal prison. (Leamon)

My personal view on “whistleblowing” is that regardless of possible benefit, society in

whole would be better by just doing the right thing. Although I didn’t agree with Mitch’s

actions, I could understand his need to protect his family and his fear of harm. I feel like the

Sarbanes-Oxley Act has laid the foundation to better business practices and the stakeholders

benefit from the higher standards set forth in this act. It is my person opinion that The

Whistleblower’s Act over time should be standardized in its benefits so that greedy

individuals can’t gain monetary gain by manipulation of facts and law. I believe that with

these Acts society as a whole gains morally.

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Works Cited

Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility,

by Hartman and Desjardins, McGraw-Hill/Irwin 1st Edition/2008, ISBN: 0-07-

313686-8

Hausman, M., Doran, L., & Pollack, S. (Producers), Rabe, D., Towne, R., & Rayfiel, D.

(Writers), & Pollack, S. (Director). (1993). The Firm [Motion picture]. United States:

Paramount Pictures.

Exchange, U Exchange, US Secretary of. www.sec.gov. n.d.

S Secretary of. www.sec.gov. n.d.

Leamon, Scott. www.wsls10.com. 12 December 2011.

www.whistleblowers.org

**** Other sources were uploaded as attachments******

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Leamon, Scott. www.wsls10.com. 12 December 2011.

Court records point to whistle blower exposing former Salem

attorney, Helm

Court records point to whistle blower exposing former Salem... (Added: December 22, 2011)

Federal court records show disbarred Salem personal injury lawyer Steven Helm faces the possibility of 27 to 33 months in prison.

Federal court records claim a single phone call brought down former Salem personal injury

attorney Steven Helm, his career, and his law practice.

The call came from a former Helm client in December 2009, according to court papers.

The former client called Helm wondering why Helm hadn't paid a Medicare reimbursement

that was three years old.

Since Helm never "directly addressed the situation" the document read, the former client

filed a complaint with the Virginia State Bar.

The court records claim Helm tried to cover his tracks by sending Medicare three payments

between the late winter and early spring of 2010, but by that time, Virginia State Bar

investigators were on to Steven Helm.

Investigators found Helm's whistle blowing former client was far from the only person the

lawyer fleeced.

Court documents outline claims that investigators found Helm used more than $130,000 of

his clients' money to take vacations, pay for the school tuition of his child, and bankroll some

improvement projects for a few of his properties.

Helm was disbarred last spring.

A state judge appointed Roanoke attorney Tommy Joe Williams to oversee the closure of

Helm's practice.

Williams said he found 22 former clients of the Helm law firm that were owed money.

Williams said he recovered enough of Helm's cash to pay back 20 of those former clients in

full.

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Williams said there was not enough money to pay back Helm's other creditors.

While Helm faces the possibility of 23 years in federal prison after his pair of guilty pleas,

court records show federal guidelines call for a sentence of between 27 to 33 months.

On line court records show Helm's sentencing date has not been set.

Helm's attorney, David Walker, said he may ask the judge for Helm to simply serve

probation, pointing out that almost all of Helm's former clients have been paid monies owed.

Walker also said Helm has enough money to pay legal fees owed to Tommy Joe Williams.

Walker said Helm suffered a "life changing event" which, once he worked through, tried to

set right all the wrongs.