Ethical Issues of Erin Brockovich Movie

Categories: Ethics Movie Review

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"Erin Brockovich", which is based on a true story, made me look at the real world differently and how ethics has a huge role. From PG&E to Erin both roles showed me how ethics can make or break a relationship. This movie showed me two different sides of Erin and how she managed to win a $333 million settlement in the case where she worked hard as a "legal researcher" and fought her way up to the top along with Ed Masry.

In the movie, there were many ethical issues that came up.

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Erin's first business encounter was not very ethical. She threatens Mr. Masry to give her a job. This is extortion because she is threatening Ed for something she wants. Another example is after she gets the job Erin asks to solve the case about PG&E. This is an unethical business practice because she is not even supposed to be working there due to proper training but now she wants to solve a case.

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The next situation where Erin's business practice was unethical was the way she treated her coworkers especially Mr. Masry's assistant. Erin was being very rude to her and cursing her any chance she got. This created a bad environment in the firm because it would get awkward and Erin is forced to cool down. Not only did she disrespect the assistant but she disrespected the entire office which made the women hate her and didn't bring her on lunch dates etc. Erin's dress code is also unethical and not appropriate for the environment that she's in.

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She dresses fancy but in a business environment, it's not appropriate. She gets called out for it a few times by Ed but chooses to ignore his statement. She chose to dress like that but she didn't think about how her co-workers and boss would think. Another situation where her investigation tactics were unethical was when she went to get the paper about the water statistics. She used her body to mesmerize the boy that was working thereby making him think that she was going to sleep with him and he fell for it and gave her the authority to go and scan the papers. This situation was something that I was not able to fully break down because when I compare this to our everyday lives, sometimes we do this as well to get something we want.

It was a lot of money that was won. I feel that the lawyers representing the group deserved it because of the hard work they do. While doing some research online I found out that Ed Masry was rewarded about $133 million which he deserves because of how he handled every situation. He had to deal with Erin at the beginning which was a very difficult task because of how tough and rough Erin was behaving towards him. He gave her a job and worked with her on the PG&E case. He always gave Erin a second chance multiple times and at the end gave her a new car. The remaining $200 million which was sorted out with the rest of the firm was deserved because this case was not easy to deal with because PG&E was sending people to go to the firm and talk the law firm out of taking serious actions on the case. This also didn't just affect the people living near the PG&E plant it was all Hinkley. Lastly, the lawyers deserve this because being a lawyer isn't an easy task, dealing with difficult cases and tough clients are not easy. But these lawyers worked hard and dealt with their clients and that is why they deserve the $333 million.

Erin Brockovich deserves her $2 million and much more. She fought for Hinkley and most importantly fought for herself. She could manage her three children as a single parent and after getting into a serious accident, got herself a job at a law firm as a "legal researcher" and worked hard to win the case. Although she wasn't a certified lawyer or had any credentials to be a lawyer she went out of her way and visited the Hinkley residents and tried to make everything right. She did so much investigation and yes sometimes she did make unethical choices but she worked hard. Her personality was rough but it got the job done. Erin's mental toughness was something that many people can look up to. Erin showed us both sides of life. She displayed how her life was when she had nothing and everything was going wrong in her life to being able to step out of that mindset and work hard and do something that many people thought could never happen.

In conclusion, "Erin Brockovich" was a movie that I will remember and will watch again in the future. Not only is it an interesting movie, with all the great Hollywood actors but it shows how Justice is served through the eyes of Erin Brockovich. It showed me many ethical and unethical issues that I didn't know really existed in the workplace. After watching this movie, I realized that many of us are little Erin Brockovich's. Our lives may not be as difficult as hers, or it could be exactly like hers but at the end of the day, she works hard and shows that with hard work you can accomplish anything. The way she got her job to get a $333 million lawsuit shows that she was truly dedicated. Although she wasn't a lawyer or had any experience she worked hard and got it done.