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Both social workers and attorneys have ethics to follow related to their own professional practice and discipline, but what happens when those practices and disciplines intersect? How does a social worker's ethical standard comport with an attorney's ethical standard in criminal defense? This session will explore the ethics involved in criminal defense from the view of the social worker and from the attorney. The NASW social worker Code of Ethics and attorney Rules of Professional Conduct will be examined. For social workers, Ethical Responsibilities to Clients, Disputes Involving Colleagues, Consultation, Ethical Responsibilities in Practice Settings, and core values from the preamble and ethical principles will be discussed. Learners will become knowledgeable of and develop comprehension around the ethical requirement of working as a social worker within a public defense system (working within a different discipline where other codes of ethics exist) and learn about interdisciplinary collaboration as informed by the National Association of Social Workers. Learners will synthesize and learn to implement ethical decision making as part of work in a public defender system. Learners will discuss their approach to ethical decision making in various hypothetical situations.
This session will 1) provide an understanding of the intersection of social work and the law – forensic social work – in the criminal defense setting, 2) introduce and analyze the NASW Code of Ethics and guidance from NASW on interdisciplinary collaboration as these apply to interdisciplinary work, 3) provide conceptual understanding of potential ethical dilemmas that may arise in a criminal defense setting, particularly when different codes of ethics are operational in the workplace, and 4) propose strategies for addressing ethical dilemmas through discussion of the current literature, legal opinions, and practice situations.
Thursday October 8, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT Auditorium
