When a person is responsible for fulfilling two or more duties, and these duties are in conflict with one another, the person is said to be engaged in a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest is most commonly referred to in professional fields such as law, where it is understood that a judge, for example, shouldn't preside over a case involving one of her own relatives, or a company in which she is an investor. As with those in the legal profession, social justice advocates must be particularly sensitive to conflict of interest issues. For example, when animal advocacy groups accept conference sponsorship money from corporations that make millions of dollars of profits by selling animal products, their duty as animal advocates comes into conflict with their duty as fundraisers for their nonprofit organizations. Such conflicts of interest are to be avoided not only because they can result in compromise of the organization's mission or even outright corruption, but also because they erode public trust. Thus, even the appearance of conflict of interest is problematic, and should be avoided.
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