Ethics

In this presentation, Brett Stewart of AXA XL explores various ethical pitfalls that engineers are likely to encounter in their daily work. Topics include how to identify and address issues concerning public safety, how far the obligation to maintain client confidences can extend, and strategies for recognizing and avoiding acts of perceived impropriety from solicitations to providing gifts to clients and public officials.

This presentation analyzes conduct against the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code of Ethics and provides real world examples of how the Board of Ethical Review has decided similar cases. At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will have a better understanding of ethical “gray areas” and will be able to develop contractual and behavioral safeguards to better manage client expectations and support the engineer’s ethical decision-making process.

Brett Stewart
AXA XL

Brett Stewart is Manager of the Loss Prevention and Education department for the Design Professional unit of AXA XL. He is responsible for leading the effort to develop risk management and educational materials for AXA XL's design professional insureds to help firms manage their liability and business risks.

Stewart interfaces directly with architects and engineers, brokers and various industry organizations to promote issues that are relevant to the design community. Prior to his current role, he served the Design Professional group as Risk Manager for nine years and Senior Claims Examiner handling design professional claims for seven years. He is a licensed California attorney and was a litigator at two San Francisco law firms for eight years.