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Preamble
1) All judgment recovery professionals assume an obligation of
self-discipline above and beyond the requirements of laws and
regulations.
2) These Principles of the Code of Ethics express the
profession's recognition of its responsibilities to the public,
to the legal system, and to colleagues.
They guide individuals in the performance of their professional
responsibilities and express the basic tenets of ethical and
professional conduct. The Principles call for an unswerving
commitment to honorable behavior, even at the sacrifice of
personal advantage.
Article I: Responsibilities
In carrying out their responsibilities as professionals,
individuals should
exercise sensitive professional and moral judgments in all their
activities.
Judgment recovery professionals perform an essential role in
society. Consistent with that role, they have responsibilities
to all those who utilize their services. Professionals also have
a continuing responsibility to cooperate with each other to
improve the business of judgment recovery, maintain the public's
confidence, and carry out the profession's special
responsibilities for self-governance. The collective efforts of
all professionals are required to maintain and enhance the
traditions of the profession.
Article II: The Public Interest
Judgment recovery professionals should accept the obligation
to perform in a way that will serve the public interest, honor
the public trust, and demonstrate commitment to professionalism.
1) A distinguishing mark of any profession is acceptance of its
responsibility to the public. The judgment recovery profession's
public consists of judgment creditors, judgment debtors, the
court system, the legal profession, and
others who rely on the objectivity and integrity of judgment
recovery professionals. This reliance imposes a public interest
responsibility on judgment recovery professionals. The public
interest is defined as the collective well-being of the
community of people and institutions the profession serves.
2)
In discharging their professional responsibilities, judgment
recovery professionals may encounter conflicting pressures from
among each of those groups. In resolving those conflicts, the
judgment recovery professional should act with integrity, guided
by the precept that when individuals fulfill their
responsibility to the public, everyone's interests are best
served.
3)
Those who rely on judgment recovery professionals expect them to
discharge their responsibilities with integrity, objectivity,
due professional care, and a genuine interest in serving the
public -- all in a manner that demonstrates a level of
professionalism consistent with these Principles of the Code of
Ethics.
4)
Judgment recovery professionals commit themselves to honor the
public trust. In return for the faith that the public reposes in
them, judgment recovery professionals should seek continually to
demonstrate their dedication to professional excellence.
Article III: Integrity
To maintain and broaden public confidence,
judgment recovery professionals should perform all
responsibilities with the highest sense of integrity.
1)
Integrity is an element of character fundamental to professional
recognition. It is the quality from which the public trust
derives and the benchmark against which a judgment recovery
professional must ultimately test all decisions.
2)
Integrity requires the individual to be, among other things,
honest and candid within the constraints of professional
confidentiality. Service and the public trust should not be
subordinated to personal gain and advantage. Integrity can
accommodate the inadvertent error and the honest difference of
opinion; it cannot accommodate deceit or subordination of
principle.
3)
Integrity is measured in terms of what is right and just. In the
absence of specific rules, standards, or guidance, or in the
face of conflicting opinions, the individual should test
decisions and deeds by asking: "Am I doing what a person of
integrity would do? Have I retained my integrity?" Integrity
requires the individual to observe both the form and the spirit
of technical and ethical standards; circumvention of those
standards constitutes subordination of judgment.
4)
Integrity also requires a judgment recovery professional to
observe the principles of objectivity and independence and of
due care.
Article IV: Due Care
A judgment recovery professional should observe the
profession's technical and ethical standards, strive continually
to improve competence and the quality of services, and discharge
professional responsibility to the best of his or her ability.
1)
The quest for excellence is the essence of due care. Due care
requires the judgment recovery professional to discharge
professional responsibilities with competence and diligence. It
imposes the obligation to perform professional services to the
best of the individual's ability with concern for the best
interest of those for whom the services are performed and
consistent with the profession's responsibility to the public.
2)
Competence is derived from a synthesis of education and
experience. It begins with a mastery of the common body of
knowledge required for designation as a judgment recovery
professional. The maintenance of competence requires a
commitment to learning and professional improvement that must
continue throughout the individual's professional life. It is a
judgment recovery professional's individual responsibility. In
all engagements and in all responsibilities, each individual
should undertake to achieve a level of competence that will
assure that the quality of their services meet the high level of
professionalism required by these Principles.
3)
Competence represents the attainment and maintenance of a level
of understanding and knowledge that enables the judgment
recovery professional to render services with facility and
acumen. It also establishes the limitations of the individual's
capabilities by dictating that consultation or referral may be
required when a professional engagement exceeds the personal
competence of the individual. Every judgment recovery
professional is responsible for assessing his or her own
competence - of evaluating whether education, experience, and
judgment are adequate for the responsibility to be assumed.
4)
Judgment recovery professionals should be diligent in
discharging responsibilities to the public. Diligence imposes
the responsibility to render services promptly and carefully, to
be thorough, and to observe applicable technical and ethical
standards.
5)
Due care requires the individual to plan and supervise
adequately any professional activity for which he or she is
responsible.
Article V: Scope and Nature of Services
A judgment recovery professional should observe the
Principles of the Code of Professional Ethics in determining the
scope and nature of services to be provided.
1)
The public interest aspect of the judgment recovery
professionals' services requires that such services be
consistent with acceptable professional behavior. Integrity
requires that service and the public trust not be subordinated
to personal gain and advantage. Objectivity and independence
require that the individual be free from conflicts of interest
in discharging professional responsibilities. Due care requires
that services be provided with competence and diligence.
2)
Each of these Principles should be considered by the judgment
recovery professional in determining whether or not to provide
specific services in individual circumstances. No hard-and-fast
rules can be developed to help the individual reach these
judgments, but the individual must be satisfied that they are
meeting the spirit of the Principles in this regard. In order to
accomplish this, judgment recovery professionals should assess,
in their individual judgments, whether an activity is consistent
with their role as professionals.
Article VI: Pledge
All judgment recovery professionals freely subscribe to the
following pledge without prejudice or reservation.
In
the execution of my professional responsibilities, I will:
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Conduct my business in a professional and ethical
manner.
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Comply with all city, county, state, and federal laws.
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Respond promptly to all correspondence from all parties
involved in my purchased judgments.
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Immediately return ownership of all judgments to the
original judgment creditor should I terminate my
business.
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Stay abreast of changes within the industry.
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Maintain confidentiality with respect to agreements with
the original judgment creditor.
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Continue to educate myself with respect to the legal processes involved in judgment recovery.
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Assist other judgment recovery professionals through the
sharing of my knowledge.
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Not use harassing tactics in the process of recovery of
any judgment.
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Not render legal advice in any
form or fashion, or give the appearance of rendering
legal advice.
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Not engage in unfair business practices in regard to the
public or other judgment recovery professionals.
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