Monday, November 30, 2009

More emails to Duke professors

From: RDShatt
To: james.sheldon@duke.edu, james.emery@duke.edu, james.anton@duke.edu
Sent: 11/30/2009 5:37:21 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Email to Professor McGovern about class action lawsuit

Dear Professors Sheldon, Emery, and Anton ,

I have previously emailed Professor Francis McGovern at the Duke law school and numerous other law and business professors at Duke, and you may wish not to read further in this email based on that information.

I am a citizen activist against class action lawsuits, and I emailed Professor McGovern because of his involvement as an expert in a class action lawsuit (presumably for a fee), of which lawsuit I had received notice that I was a member of the plaintiff class (and arguably a source for payment of Professor McGovern's fee). (My email to Professor McGovern is appended below.)

I believe that Professor McGovern and other professors ought to be willing to express, for the benefit of the public, their opinions about significant policy questions in the realm of their expertise, such as that which I have inquired about of Professor McGovern in my email to him. This is particularly true in a situation in which a professor has received a fee for providing expertise in a narrow way, and a citizen activist/paying party, such as myself, asks the professor to state his views about a bigger picture of that which the professor has chosen to participate in and provide support to by that participation.

I hope Professor McGovern replies to me. He may not feel he is in a position to reply because to reply may improperly undercut what he was paid to do in the case.

The reason I am emailing you is that your respective courses of Legal Environment of Business, Ethics in Management, and Managerial Economics are indicative of expertise that is relevant (my basic contentions being that class action lawsuits (i) undermine business ethics, (ii) result in a waste of limited corporate resources that could be better deployed in other ways to promote ethical corporate behavior, and (iii) improperly distort risk assessment and result in the adoption of costly and uneconomic "defensive" corporate practices (like the practice of "defensive" medicine which is currently in the national spotlight as a driver of escalating health care costs that the United States is trying to control), which contentions are explicated in part by this article of mine Does the Civil Liability System Undermine Business Ethics? ).

To solicit your views may smack of guilt by association. If it does, I hope that only registers how objectionable I find the exploitation of the public that I believe is going on.

Thanks very much if you have gotten up to here in this email.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck




From: RDShatt
To: McGovern@law.duke.edu
Sent: 11/21/2009 7:54:46 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Currency conversion fee litigation

Dear Professor McGovern,

Your faculty profile http://www.law.duke.edu/fac/mcgovern/ reveals very impressive work in the alternative dispute resolution arena, and you were retained as an expert in this currency conversion fee litigation http://www.ccfsettlement.com/, of which I received notice in 2007 that I was a member of the plaintiff class.

In 2007 I objected to the class action lawsuit in the form of this letter http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/2007/11/september-2007-credit-card-currency.html that I wrote to Judge Pauley.

I understand that the litigation is now on appeal to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

I continue very perturbed about this class action litigation.

I would like to ask you, if you would, to read my letter to Judge Pauley and to make comment to me as to whether I, more as a citizen than as a class member, have legitimate grounds for my objections, and the extent to which you agree or not with my objections.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

Saturday, November 28, 2009

ABA Justice Center follow up

From: RDShatt
To: koellinp@staff.abanet.org
Sent: 11/28/2009 8:12:35 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Follow up on prior requests to become involved

Dear Mr. Koelling,

Earlier this year I sent the below emails to Ms. Skrzekut. Her name no longer appears on the ABA Justice Center webpage, and you are currently shown as the Director.

I continue to desire to become an "involved citizen." Can you please provide me responses to my requests about becoming involved?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: skrzekua@staff.abanet.org
Sent: 5/1/2009 7:32:32 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: ABA Justice Center- request to become involved

Dear Ms. Skrzekut,

I have not heard from you in response to the below email.

If I may, I would be interested in establishing contact with other "involved citizens" who are involved with the Justice Center. Are there any names or email addresses you can furnish me? If you don't wish to give out that information, can you at least send an email to other "involved citizens" that provides my name and email address and indicates I would like to communicate with them and that they should email me if they are receptive to communication with me.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck




From: RDShatt
To: skrzekua@staff.abanet.org
Sent: 4/4/2009 9:18:52 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: ABA Justice Center- request to become involved

Dear Ms. Skrzekut,

Your website says the Justice Center seeks to accomplish justice system reform by "encouraging bench/bar/public collaboration" and that it "draws on the expertise of judges, bar leaders, law professors and deans, involved citizens, and others . . .."

I would like to participate as a member of the public. As to my qualifications as a citizen who wants to be involved and who is involved, I refer you to this "citizen's letter to judges" I am endeavoring to disseminate and other material that may be found at that link.

I look forward to hearing from you in response to this request.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Birmingham Business Alliance

From: RDShatt
To: dalton@birminghambusinessalliance.com
Sent: 11/26/2009 7:42:59 A.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: 2010 Attorney General election; AG's getting into bed with plaintiffs' lawyers

Dear Mr. Smith,

I consider an important public issue to be plaintiffs' lawyers and attorney generals getting into bed with them. I hope this will get publicized as an issue in the upcoming Alabama Attorney General election race.My views on the subject are laid out at this blog link of mine: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/E1.%20State%20attorney%20generals .

I hope The Birmingham Business Alliance will try to publicize this issue. If there is a way I can work with the Alliance on the matter, I would like to do that.

I hope I hear from you.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck
3812 Spring Valley Circle
Birmingham, AL 35223
(205) 967-5586

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Business Council of Alabama

From: RDShatt
To: quentinr@bcatoday.org, victorv@bcatoday.org, elawlor@bcatoday.org, claireh@bcatoday.org, brandonc@bcatoday.org
Sent: 11/26/2009 12:15:54 A.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: 2010 Attorney General election; AG's getting into bed with plaintiffs' lawyers

To BCA Governmental Affairs staff:

Dear Mr. Riggins, Mr. Vernon, Ms. Lawler, Ms. Haynes, and Mr. Colvin,

I consider an important public issue to be plaintiffs' lawyers and attorney generals getting into bed with plaintiffs' lawyers. I hope this will get publicized as an issue in the upcoming Alabama Attorney General election race.My views on the subject are laid out at this blog link of mine: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/E1.%20State%20attorney%20generals .

I hope the Business Council of Alabama will try to publicize this issue. If there is a way I can work with the BCA on the matter, I would like to do that.

I hope I hear from you.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck
3812 Spring Valley Circle
Birmingham, AL 35223
(205) 967-5586

Email to Keenan Institute of Ethics faculty

From: RDShatt
To: pickus@duke.edu, wayne.norman@duke.edu, dan.ariely@duke.edu, eballeis@duke.edu
Sent: 11/25/2009 5:44:43 A.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: Keenan Institute of Ethics, Professor McGovern, and currency conversion

Dear Professors Pickus, Norman, Ariely, and Balliesen,

I emailed Professor Francis McGovern and a few other Duke law faculty members regarding a class action lawsuit in which Professor McGovern was retained as an expert witness.

I am a citizen activist against class action lawsuits, which was the prompt for my emails to Professor McGovern and the other law professors. (My emails are appended below.)

The reason I am emailing you is that I believe there is an important business ethics component in my stance against class action lawsuits, to wit, that they undermine business ethics. This article of mine Does the Civil Liability System Undermine Business Ethics? explicates my contention.

Based on your faculty profiles on the KIE website I think my argumentation is worthy of (i) thinking about by Professor Norman in connection with his current work "on a conception of business ethics arising out of the economic and legal theory of the firm," (ii) investigation by a behavioral economist such as Professor Ariely, and (iii) being a basis for a possible recommendation for improvement by Professor Balleisen after he completes his "history of commercial fraud in the United States, and especially organizational fraud against consumers and investors."

I hope my sending this email to you triggers an interest on your part.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: ________
Sent: 11/2_/2009 _______. Central Standard Time
Subj: Email to Professor McGovern

Dear Professor ________,

I am sending you this email (which concerns the below email I have sent to Professor McGovern) for the following reasons:

I am a citizen activist regarding the subject matter of my email to Professor McGovern.

I believe that Professor McGovern and other professors ought to be willing to express, for the benefit of the public, their opinions about significant policy questions in the realm of their expertise, such as that which I have inquired about of Professor McGovern in my email to him.

I have experience with an unwillingness of professors to give the public (for free) the benefit of their views on significant policy questions. (For some excruciating, lengthy detail, see this link to my blog: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/D1.%20WSJ%20project . )

Professor McGovern and other professors receive fees for lending their expertise in narrow ways and, by so doing, should not object, if a citizen activist such as myself, asks if they would be willing to state their views about a bigger picture of that which they have chosen to participate in and to support by their participation. (In this case, I have alleged that reprehensible skimming is going on, and, if that is a fair characterization, Professor McGovern is getting a fee out of that skimming.)

I hope Professor McGovern replies to me. He may not feel he is in a position to reply because to reply may improperly undercut what he was paid to do in the case in question.

I am writing you because you are a professorial colleague of Professor McGovern at the Duke University Law School, and the matter in question comes within your same realm of expertise as Professor McGovern's or within a pertinent realm of expertise that you have relative to legal, social, economics and/or ethics policy questions that are raised by the subject matter at hand. As a result, I do not have a hesitation to ask you as well what your views are, in the chance that you are willing to express them to me (which I will likely want to post in my blog).

I hope I hear from you in reply.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck




From: RDShatt
To: McGovern@law.duke.edu
Sent: 11/21/2009 7:54:46 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Currency conversion fee litigation

Dear Professor McGovern,

Your faculty profile http://www.law.duke.edu/fac/mcgovern/ reveals very impressive work in the alternative dispute resolution arena, and you were retained as an expert in this currency conversion fee litigation http://www.ccfsettlement.com/, of which I received notice in 2007 that I was a member of the plaintiff class.

In 2007 I objected to the class action lawsuit in the form of this letter http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/2007/11/september-2007-credit-card-currency.html that I wrote to Judge Pauley.

I understand that the litigation is now on appeal to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

I continue very perturbed about this class action litigation.

I would like to ask you, if you would, to read my letter to Judge Pauley and to make comment to me as to whether I, more as a citizen than as a class member, have legitimate grounds for my objections, and the extent to which you agree or not with my objections.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

Email to other parties in litigation

From: RDShatt

To: lucretia_eldridge@yahoo.com, dsorensen@bm.net, russ@wildwoodlamps.com, kskoenig@hotmail.com, vrw@vrwalkerco.com, ibizar@ballonstoll.com, clasaxn@earthlink.net, CMTLAW, rsglaw@bellsouth.net, AltmanLaw, efsiegel@efs-law.com, edwardcochran@adelphia.net, chris@chrisgraeser.com, bjasinski@carolina.rr.com, bamford@oz.net, ourfreebies@comcast.net, onewaywon1@gmail.com, barrington1assoc@cox.net, Edward@hasbrouck.org, douglascoleesq@att.net, firm@bishoplegal.net, mbishop@drhrlaw.com, kennelson@mclaw.com, htomlinson@bellsouth.net, downeyjustice@gmail.com, pkamenar@wlf.org, Darrell.palmer@cox.net, bpatterson@wattslawfirm.com, jskess@charter.net, N.A.Bacharach@att.net, psr@rothsteinforjustice.com
Sent: 11/25/2009 4:52:11 A.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: Judge Pauley's stamp of approval on currency conversion shenanigans

To Whom It May Concern,

In 2007 I sent this letter to Judge Pauley: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/2007/11/september-2007-credit-card-currency.html

At the end of the letter I characterized the class action lawsuit as "skimming" by the attorneys and said this to Judge Pauley:

As I have indicated, the skimming that is going on by the attorneys here is at
least as reprehensible as the skimming that the creditcard companies and banks
are alleged to have perpetrated.

In short, Your Honor, I think you should be
ashamed to put your stamp of approval on these shenanigans.


Judge Pauley has put his stamp of approval on the shenanigans, and it is unlikely that the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals will overrule Judge Pauley.

Currently I do not intend to try to submit anything to the 2nd Circuit but if anyone submitting something to the 2nd Circuit would like to include a statement of objection from me, I would be pleased to provide it.

I have attempted and will continue to attempt to register, in ways outside the judicial proceedings, as strong an objection as I can to the shenanigans that Judge Pauley put his stamp of approval on. If you are interested, you can find my activities memorialized at this link on my blog: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/J0.%20Credit%20card%20currency%20conversion

For those persons who agree with my views, I hope you will try to find ways to continue to register your strong objection as well.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Email to other Duke law professors

[Email sent to Professors Thomas Metzloff, Ted Kaufman, Charles Becton, Donald Beskin, and William Mills ]


From: RDShatt
To: ___________
Sent: 11/__/2009 ___ P.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: Email to Professor McGovern

Dear Professor _______,

I am sending you this email (which concerns the below email I have sent to Professor McGovern) for the following reasons:

I am a citizen activist regarding the subject matter of my email to Professor McGovern.

I believe that Professor McGovern and other professors ought to be willing to express, for the benefit of the public, their opinions about significant policy questions in the realm of their expertise, such as that which I have inquired about of Professor McGovern in my email to him.

I have experience with an unwillingness of professors to give the public (for free) the benefit of their views on significant policy questions. (For some excruciating, lengthy detail, see this link to my blog: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/D1.%20WSJ%20project . )

Professor McGovern and other professors receive fees for lending their expertise in narrow ways and, by so doing, should not object, if a citizen activist such as myself, asks if they would be willing to state their views about a bigger picture of that which they have chosen to participate in and to support by their participation. (In this case, I have alleged that reprehensible skimming is going on, and, if that is a fair characterization, Professor McGovern is getting a fee out of that skimming.)

I hope Professor McGovern replies to me. He may not feel he is in a position to reply because to reply may improperly undercut what he was paid to do in the case in question.

I am writing you because you are a professorial colleague of Professor McGovern at the Duke University Law School, and the matter in question comes within your same realm of expertise as Professor McGovern's or within a pertinent realm of expertise that you have relative to legal, social, economics and/or ethics policy questions that are raised by the subject matter at hand. As a result, I do not have a hesitation to ask you as well what your views are, in the chance that you are willing to express them to me (which I will likely want to post in my blog).

I hope I hear from you in reply.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck



From: RDShatt
To: McGovern@law.duke.edu
Sent: 11/21/2009 7:54:46 A.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: Currency conversion fee litigation

Dear Professor McGovern,

Your faculty profile http://www.law.duke.edu/fac/mcgovern/ reveals very impressive work in the alternative dispute resolution arena, and you were retained as an expert in this currency conversion fee litigation http://www.ccfsettlement.com/, of which I received notice in 2007 that I was a member of the plaintiff class.

In 2007 I objected to the class action lawsuit in the form of this letter http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/2007/11/september-2007-credit-card-currency.html that I wrote to Judge Pauley.

I understand that the litigation is now on appeal to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

I continue very perturbed about this class action litigation.

I would like to ask you, if you would, to read my letter to Judge Pauley and to make comment to me as to whether I, more as a citizen than as a class member, have legitimate grounds for my objections, and the extent to which you agree or not with my objections.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

Monday, November 23, 2009

Online message sent to Troy King

Dear Attorney General King,

I consider an important public issue to be plaintiffs' lawyers and attorney generals getting into bed with plaintiffs' lawyers. I hope to publicize this issue in the upcoming Alabama Attorney General election race.

You may find my own views on this subject at this blog link of mine: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/E1.%20State%20attorney%20generals .

Also, you may follow my efforts to publicize the issue in the course of the election race at this link: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/E1a.%20Alabama%20AG%20election%202010 .

I look forward to learning about where you stand on the issue.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck
3812 Spring Valley Circle
Birmingham, AL 35223
(205) 967-5586

Email to Luther Strange

From: RDShatt
To: info@lutherstrange.com
Sent: 11/21/2009 5:57:34 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: I am possible volunteer re: your ethics campaign issue

Dear Mr. Strange,

I may like to volunteer as a campaign worker related to your campaign issue of ethics.

If you are interested, please go to this link: http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/E1.%20State%20attorney%20generals and read my blog posts there, which will indicate certain views I have about ethics, plaintiffs' lawyers, and attorneys general.

If, after you read the posts, you think there is some correspondence between your thinking and my thinking about these subjects, and that I might be of assistance to you in your campaigning related to the same, please let me hear from you.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Rob Shattuck
3812 Spring Valley Circle
Birmingham, AL 35223
(205) 967-5586

Email to Professor McGovern

From: RDShatt
To: McGovern@law.duke.edu
Sent: 11/21/2009 7:54:46 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Currency conversion fee litigation

Dear Professor McGovern,

Your faculty profile http://www.law.duke.edu/fac/mcgovern/ reveals very impressive work in the alternative dispute resolution arena, and you were retained as an expert in this currency conversion fee litigation http://www.ccfsettlement.com/, of which I received notice in 2007 that I was a member of the plaintiff class.

In 2007 I objected to the class action lawsuit in the form of this letter http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/2007/11/september-2007-credit-card-currency.html that I wrote to Judge Pauley.

I understand that the litigation is now on appeal to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

I continue very perturbed about this class action litigation.

I would like to ask you, if you would, to read my letter to Judge Pauley and to make comment to me as to whether I, more as a citizen than as a class member, have legitimate grounds for my objections, and the extent to which you agree or not with my objections.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Some dialogue on Expedia

From: Dawn@hbsslaw.com
To: neal.mccarthy@________, RDShatt@aol.com, Carla.walsh@mac.com
Sent: 11/20/2009 6:40:54 P.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: FW: In re Expedia (WA)

Attached please find all documents filed today in connection with Plainitffs' Motion for Final Approval of Settlement, etc.:
<<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>> <<11-20-09>>


From: neal.mccarthy@__________
To: Dawn@hbsslaw.com, RDShatt@aol.com, Carla.walsh@mac.com
Sent: 11/22/2009 8:11:47 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: RE: In re Expedia (WA)

Thanks Dawn
Your firm is a collection of blood sucking maggots -
Please let Mr Volk and your other partners know that class action suits like this are a tax upon the patience and virtue of the good people of our country
I suggest they find a more noble way of manipulating the legal system, such as chasing ambulances.
Regards

Neal McCarthy,
Managing Director


From: RDShatt
To: neal.mccarthy@_____________
CC: Dawn@hbsslaw.com, Carla.walsh@mac.com
Sent: 11/22/2009 8:22:40 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Re: In re Expedia (WA)

Way to go Neal!
I hope you are aware of my efforts to combat the maggots (see this link How To Combat Plaintiffs' Lawyers ), including trying to combat them on Expedia (see http://robertshattuck.blogspot.com/search/label/J8.%20Expedia).

Do you mind if I reproduce your email on my blog and make other use of it?

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck


From: neal.mccarthy@__________
To: RDShatt@aol.com
CC: Dawn@hbsslaw.com, Carla.walsh@mac.com
Sent: 11/22/2009 8:37:32 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: RE: In re Expedia (WA)

Happy to have you share my opinion and name, but please don’t provide my firm name, phone number or email – I have too many emails to answer every day.

I have been asked over the years to participate in numerous lawsuits like this and have steadfastly refused, and offered to assist the attorneys for the defendants, as I did in this case.

The silliest such suit which attempted to include me was a class action against the record company that produced albums for 80’s pop band “Milli Vanilli” – the class was suing on the basis that the music videos were done by actors/dancers who had not actually sung the songs. The settlement was a coupon for something like $1 off any album by the record company and the plaintiff’s counsel was pocketing millions for the “valuable aid to the victims of Milli Vanilli”.

This is the lowest and most coercive use of the legal process, and I have written Senators, Congressmen and the White house trying to put controls in place, but the plaintiff’s bar contributes heavily.

I was pleased to see the hypocrisy of this group exposed when John Edwards embarrassed himself and the Democratic party.

Neal McCarthy
Managing Director


From: RDShatt
To: Dawn@hbsslaw.com
CC: Carla.walsh@mac.com, neal.mccarthy@__________
Sent: 11/22/2009 9:03:03 A.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Fwd: In re Expedia (WA)

Dear Dawn,

I will be making use of Neal's views and opinions on my blog. If there is anything your firm would like to say in defense of itself and its work, I am likely to be willing to post your firm's statement on my blog. Just let me hear from you.

Thanks.
Rob Shattuck

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

SHRM regional teams and state councils

[form of email to SHRM Regional Teams]

From: RDShatt
To:
Sent: 10/26/2009 ______ A.M. Central Daylight Time

Subj: To SHRM Regional Teams- Re: Ethics and SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel

Dear ______,

Ethics is only one of numerous HR disciplines, and that there are other organizations, such as the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association, for which ethics is a more central and primary concern. Nonetheless, for reasons explicated below, I have taken the liberty of contacting the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel and the SHRM Board relative to the ethics concerns and considerations that are discussed in the below emails. I wish to pass this information to state and local SHRM chapters with a view to their members considering the same and perhaps further passing the information to their companys' ethics officers. Please let me know whether your Regional Team is in a position to convey this email to state councils in your region, or whether I should contact them directly.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: board@shrm.org
CC: ceo@shrm.org, cgorman@shrm.org, wmaroni@shrm.org, hhart@shrm.org, grubin@shrm.org
Sent: 10/19/2009 8:26:25 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel and ECOA ...

Dear SHRM Board,

For your information, below is a form of email I sent yesterday to members of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel.

I appreciate that ethics is only one of numerous HR disciplines that SHRM is occupied with, and that there are other organizations, such as the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association, for which ethics is a more central and primary concern. The ECOA, however, has been nonresponsive to me. I am sure there are reasons for this, but I am also sure that the issues I have presented are substantively significant and are meritorious of consideration by ethicists. I am open to argumentation to the contrary, but thus far the ECOA and other ethics organizations and professionals I have contacted have not undertaken any effort to make such contrary argumentation.

As a result of the foregoing, I have taken the liberty of contacting SHRM about the matter. I hope you can accept this explanation of why I am doing this.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: __________________
Sent: 10/18/2009 ____A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel and ECOA

Dear ________,

I am contacting you in your capacity as a member of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel.

The Ethics & Compliance Officer Association ("ECOA") recently had its 17th Annual Business Ethics and Compliance Conference in Chicago.

Prior to the conference, and based on the program brochure, I sent emails to a number of the ECOA speakers about their presentations. These emails had a commonality of being derived from my contentions that the United States civil law liability system (i) undermines business ethics, (ii) results in a waste of limited corporate resources that could be better deployed in other ways to promote ethical corporate behavior, and (iii) improperly distorts risk assessment and results in the adoption of costly and uneconomic "defensive" corporate practices (like the practice of "defensive" medicine which is currently in the national spotlight as a driver of escalating health care costs). I have a blog and you may read my emails here in the blog.

The issues I presented to the ECOA speakers (and conference attendees) relate to employee psychology, motivation, decisions and actions that affect whether corporate conduct is ethical or not. I believe this comes very much within the purview of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel.

I hope you as a member of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel will take the time to review the issues I presented to the ECOA conference. Further, I hope that you call the matter to the attention of corporate ethics and compliance officers whom you know, particularly at your own company.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck


[form of email to SHRM State Councils]

From: RDShatt
To:
Sent: 11/1/2009 12:20:05 P.M. Central Standard Time

Subj: To SHRM State Councils- Re: Ethics and SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel

Dear ______,

Ethics is only one of numerous HR disciplines, and that there are other organizations, such as the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association, for which ethics is a more central and primary concern. Nonetheless, for reasons explicated below, I have taken the liberty of contacting the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel and the SHRM Board relative to the ethics concerns and considerations that are discussed in the below emails. I wish to pass this information to state and local SHRM chapters with a view to their members considering the same and perhaps further passing the information to their companys' ethics officers. Please let me know whether your State Council is in a position to convey this email to local chapters, or whether I should contact them directly.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: board@shrm.org
CC: ceo@shrm.org, cgorman@shrm.org, wmaroni@shrm.org, hhart@shrm.org, grubin@shrm.org
Sent: 10/19/2009 8:26:25 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel and ECOA ...

Dear SHRM Board,

For your information, below is a form of email I sent yesterday to members of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel.

I appreciate that ethics is only one of numerous HR disciplines that SHRM is occupied with, and that there are other organizations, such as the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association, for which ethics is a more central and primary concern. The ECOA, however, has been nonresponsive to me. I am sure there are reasons for this, but I am also sure that the issues I have presented are substantively significant and are meritorious of consideration by ethicists. I am open to argumentation to the contrary, but thus far the ECOA and other ethics organizations and professionals I have contacted have not undertaken any effort to make such contrary argumentation.

As a result of the foregoing, I have taken the liberty of contacting SHRM about the matter. I hope you can accept this explanation of why I am doing this.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: __________________
Sent: 10/18/2009 ____A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel and ECOA

Dear ________,

I am contacting you in your capacity as a member of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel.

The Ethics & Compliance Officer Association ("ECOA") recently had its 17th Annual Business Ethics and Compliance Conference in Chicago.

Prior to the conference, and based on the program brochure, I sent emails to a number of the ECOA speakers about their presentations. These emails had a commonality of being derived from my contentions that the United States civil law liability system (i) undermines business ethics, (ii) results in a waste of limited corporate resources that could be better deployed in other ways to promote ethical corporate behavior, and (iii) improperly distorts risk assessment and results in the adoption of costly and uneconomic "defensive" corporate practices (like the practice of "defensive" medicine which is currently in the national spotlight as a driver of escalating health care costs). I have a blog and you may read my emails here in the blog.

The issues I presented to the ECOA speakers (and conference attendees) relate to employee psychology, motivation, decisions and actions that affect whether corporate conduct is ethical or not. I believe this comes very much within the purview of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel.

I hope you as a member of the SHRM Ethics Special Expertise Panel will take the time to review the issues I presented to the ECOA conference. Further, I hope that you call the matter to the attention of corporate ethics and compliance officers whom you know, particularly at your own company.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck