P.S. to S.M.E.

A while back I posted on the thorny debate around mediators and subject matter expertise.

Lela Love of the Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution at Benjamin N. Cardozo of Law in New York City and co-author of the "Intersection of Evaluation by Mediators and Informed Consent: Warning the Unwary" investigates the popular notion in some quarters that a mediator must have expertise in the subject of the debate.

'This article will explore principles to guide mediators in responsibly performing their duty of ensuring that parties give their informed consent prior to a mediator jumping into a requested evaluative or decisional role. In articulating principles and guidelines, we will have to answer: What should be said to parties? When should it be said? How can consent be given?'

And this is the kicker - should a mediator providing legal analysis be held to the same standard of care as a lawyer providing legal advice to a client?... depends, but generally, damn straight they should.

While we are on the subject of SME, those of us mediating IT disputes may find some take-away mediator questions in this July 06 article 'What to Do When an IT Contract Hits Your Desk –20 Key Questions'