Presenter: Bert Jennings

Overview

Engineers are expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life for all people. The services provided by engineers require honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. Engineers must perform under a standard of professional behavior that requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct.

Below are a few examples of unethical behavior:

Case 19-12: Misrepresentation—Claiming Credit for Work of Former Employer
Subjects: Conflict of InterestCredit for Engineering WorkFaithful Agents and TrusteesMisrepresentation/Omission of FactsProprietary Interests

Case 19-11: Signing and Sealing—Manufacturer’s Drawings
Subjects: CompetenceQualifications for WorkSigning Plans/Documents

Case 19-10: Public Health and Safety— Observed Structural Defects and Inspection by County Building Official
Subjects: CompetenceDuty to DiscloseDuty to the PublicQualifications for Work

Case 19-9: Objectivity and Truthfulness—Professional Reference Policy
Subjects: Misrepresentation/Omission of FactsProfessional Reports, Statements, TestimonyPublic Statements and CriticismUnethical Practice by Others

Case 19-8: Public Criticism—Parody
Subjects: Public Statements and Criticism Unethical Practice by Others

About The Presenter

Bert Jennings is Senior Counsel for IP Agreements at LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world.  His previous 20 years of experiences include: Senior IP Counsel, Bechtel Corporation; Private Practice with his own firm, Jennings Law Group, P.L.L.C.; Executive Director of Intellectual Property and Corporate Development with AT&T; Halliburton Company as IP Counsel of Digital Consulting and Software Licensing; Landmark Graphics Corporation as Chief IP Counsel; U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner; Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley, L.L.P. in Atlanta, Georgia, as an Associate; and International Business Machines /NASA Johnson Space Center as an applications/requirements analyst for the Space Shuttle software system.  Along with lecturing for various organizations, he is an author; past adjunct professor of Intellectual Property Law, Patent Law and Licensing, Thurgood Marshall School of Law; and past graduate professor of software applications and development at Clark-Atlanta University.

Mr. Jennings received a BA in Computer Science from Morehouse College; a MS in Computer Science from Clark-Atlanta University; a JD from Georgia State University, College of Law; and a Master of Law degree in Intellectual Property from Franklin Pierce Law Center, and MS in Human Resource Development from Texas A&M University.  Mr. Jennings further received a Certificate of Study from Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria, where he studied International/Comparative Commercial Arbitration/Mediation.  He is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, State Bar of Texas, the District of Columbia and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Jennings is active in the local bar community, where he is a Past President of the Houston Lawyers Association, a Fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation and a member of various other bar organizations.  He is active in the bar community state-wide, where he has served as Chairman of the African-American Lawyers Section for the State Bar of Texas, and Vice Chairman of the Council of Chairman for the State Bar of Texas, and is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.  He is also a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas and a Past Director on the Board of Directors for the State Bar of Texas.  Nationally, he is a member of various national bar organizations, including the National Bar Association, where he has served as Director, Region V (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the Canal Zone).

Mr. Jennings is civically involved with the community, as well.  He is currently Chairman Emeritus of the 100 Black Men of Metropolitan Houston and currently serves as National Board Member at Large for the 100 Black Men of America.  He is also an alumnus of Leadership Houston. He is a past member of IEEE and ACM, and plans to renew his membership soon!

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