How am I taking money that belongs to somebody else if it’s my own money I’m keeping?
It’s a classic ethical dilemma. Consider this anecdote:
A older lady decided to make a change to her will. So she went down to Main Street and saw a storefront with the sign “Smith & Jones, Attorneys at Law, LLP”. She sits down with Mr. Jones and they review her changes, modify the document, sign and date it. The lady then asks “How much?” and Mr. Jones replies it will be $200. She opens her purse, takes out two crisp $100 bills, hands them to the lawyer, and leaves.
After the lady left, Mr. Jones observes that the bills are so new and crisp, the lady must have just gotten them from the bank across the street. In fact, they are so crisp that when he thumbs one of the bills, it starts to separate into TWO bills! The lady had inadvertantly paid $300 thinking it was $200 because she didn’t notice that that there were two bills stuck together. Mr. Jones walks to the door that his customer just walked out and sees her heading back towards her car. He is now clearly faced with an ethical dilemma.
The dilemma is: Must he tell his partner about the extra $100?