When working as a conflict resolution neutral, each side, perhaps unwittingly, attempts to sway the professional to their perspective regarding the conflict. But it is the essence of being neutral that we work to understand each party’s point of view. And unlike a judge, a neutral’s take on the substance of the conflict is of little import. The work, instead, is to bring each voice into the room and to help the parties see the conflict as if stepping into the other’s shoes, in order to arrive at a compromise solution.
Therefore, as a baseline, we do not hold confidences of one party from another. There is no upside to mediators having information that one of the parties does not; Neutrals have no decision-making power in the room. Nonetheless, it is exceedingly common for parties to wish a separate meeting with the neutral, and within the mediation community it is common practice to work in a caucus model. Which leads us to question: In what circumstances and in what types of mediations is caucus productive (or counterproductive), and why?
