Opinion - Randy Cohen

I work as a consultant out of my home, doing a variety of research, writing and editing tasks for five or six clients at a time. Much of what I do for one client also helps me with others, since the topics are in the same domain. If I spend a day researching something for Client A and can use the same information for Client B, may I charge both of them the consulting fee? -- Nancy V. Yinger, Oakton, Va.

I produced a recording for a singing student's application to a college's professional music program. Her singing was passable but not great. Her mother asked, "Is there anything you can do with your equipment to make her voice better?" Computer technology enables me to make even the worst singer sound professional, but if I employ it, do I defraud the college? -- S.H., Connecticut

I am a gardener who purchased a Wollemi pine tree (considered "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature) from the National Geographic Society. I'm told it is illegal to propagate and sell this tree because the NGS has exclusive rights to it in the United States, but would I be unethical to do so? -- Nelson Ryland, Brooklyn, N.Y.

My ex-husband is job hunting. I was contacted for a reference/background check. (I'm told ex-spouses are often a source of damning information.) If I answer fully, I suspect he will not be offered the job. But everyone has the right to make a living, and perhaps he's changed his ways. Do I answer all questions truthfully? Only those which won't hurt his chances? Refuse to participate? -- Name Withheld, Seattle