Heroes or Despicable Scoundrels?

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Tyler Short, at the suggestion of his father, arranges an appointment with 92-year-old Counselor at Law, Thornton Howard III to seek out his wisdom. Being frustrated with what he feels is the lack of growth potential in his career working for a large life insurance company, Tyler considers jumping ship to join a company that buys and sells at a discount life insurance policies from those on their death-bed in hospice care. Tyler is mostly concerned about the financial risks of changing jobs. His father is concerned about the ethics of this company. Tyler meets with Thornton who educates him via story telling in order to help him make a decision.
Thornton uses stories of others also faced with ethical predicaments by illustrating the experiences of U. S. Justice Department Attorney Steven Lancaster— including his prosecution of criminals, ethical dilemmas, observations about cutting edge legal business ideas and theories, hypocrisies, and the unscrupulous characters, such as drug dealers, psychotherapists, philosophers, and even mediators—in which everyone concerned is trying to justify their approach to everyday life. Should young Tyler solicit sick people on their deathbed, seeking to buy from them their life insurance polices? The answer may not be as obvious as one might think.
In one of Thornton’s stories, a Workers Compensation Doctor, who grew up poor, justifies his unique and controversial business model. The Doctor meets with the young attorney Lancaster just starting his own law practice. Lancaster becomes conflicted by the huge amounts of money he can make with what he also sees as questionable business ethics. The young attorney, like Tyler, struggles to make the right decisions.
Randall Tucker, a naval veteran and truck transportation manager, feels that life is rigged life for the average worker. Corporations and the government all cheat the little guy. He comes up with a very interesting idea that he seeks to carry out. Are his actions justified? Lancaster ultimately meets with Tucker and is conflicted with how to deal with him.
There is a bankruptcy lawyer who justifies helping debtors commit fraud against banks as payback to what the banks did to his mother during the housing crisis. His method is quite interesting.
Several former felons use a technicality in the law to keep 95% of charitable fundraising proceeds they collect donors for their personal pockets. Is this ethical? A class –action lawyer sees their questionable fundraising practices as unscrupulous behavior and comes up with a different theory to sue and put them out of business. The felons who believe what they do is legal and justified are outraged by what they see is a shake down against them. Is using a technicality in the law to go after another technicality right?
Lancaster, later in his legal career, reaches his own boiling point of anxiety, guilt, and depression, and seeks out the counsel of a unique and out of the box psychotherapist William Wiedemann. The therapist, using spiritual exercises, psychotherapy, along with teachings of unique ideas, helps to transform Lancaster into a new way of living.
As part of an investigation of a crime, Lancaster meets a Buddy Wilson, who leads groups of people on nature solos or Vision Quests. Buddy’s teachings compliment much of Wiedemanns’ work, setting the stage for a completely different perspective on life.
These and other interrelated stories in Heroes or Despicable Scoundrels? will capture the imagination of both Tyler Short and you the reader, while providing a page turning, fun, and gripping experience.
If you think ethics, values, and the law are merely black and white concepts that are easy to discern, then this book is for you. The lesson just may be that everything in life is not so clear, until we truly get in touch with our own essence.