State Chart of Relevant Rules or Provisions Governing Mediator Provision of Legal Advice

Eleanor Crosby Lanier, Managing Attorney for the Mediation Practicum at the University of Georgia School of Law, has compiled a useful resource entitled “State Chart of Relevant Rules or Provisions Governing Mediator Provision of Legal Advice,” University of Georgia School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-37.  The chart offers information regarding various state laws and professional rules related to whether mediators may provide legal advice or information to clients.

Here is the abstract:

This chart addresses provisions related to mediator provision of legal advice in the fifty states. It includes a cite to any relevant State or Model Rule of Professional Conduct for lawyers who serve as third-party neutrals , and draws upon information from the different entities that regulate mediator conduct in states to identify any specific circumstances under which the provision of legal advice by a lawyer mediator is permitted, whether there is a specific prohibition against this practice, whether there is explicit language permitting the provision of legal information or a mediator defining legal issues for parties, and whether there were no relevant rules identified to address this behavior.

This chart is part of a broader research project that includes a state by state analysis of mediator ethics opinions and case law related to mediator provision of legal advice, as well as the entities that regulate mediator conduct in each state and will post this information soon.

This and other resources written by Ms. Lanier may be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network.

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