The Case against Treating Evaluative Mediation as the Practice of Law - Chapter 67 - AAA Handbook on Mediation - 2nd Edition

I. Introduction

A supplement to the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules) on the role of a lawyer as a neutral, and a resolution adopted by the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution on mediation and the unauthorized practice of law, should bring to a close the debate3 on whether mediation constitutes the practice of law. There remains, however, some confusion over whether the practice of evaluative mediation can constitute the practice of law. This chapter attempts to shed light on this issue.