What do you do if a client wants you to alter your investigative findings? I’m sad to say that this has come up. And this is sad, right? This is a lack of ethics. They hired you to be a neutral, independent third-party investigator. And then they try to control the findings for their own benefit, which is not the point. It doesn’t do anybody any good. And I won’t do it. I’ve never had a client that was worth ruining my reputation or my career. So I won’t do it.
I do want to make the distinction that I’ve had clients challenge my investigative findings, and I appreciate that. I have some really smart and witty and interesting clients, and I don’t mind being challenged. But if you have a client that asks you to amend your findings, I just won’t do it. You can have my interview notes, those are yours. You can have my draft report that you don’t like, that’s yours. You bought all that stuff. You need to pay my bill, but I’m not changing my ethics for you.
