DP6

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP6

Should Engineer A accept the forensic expert engagement for Attorney X given that Engineer B — the opposing expert — is a member of a subcommittee under Engineer A's institutional supervisory authority as committee chair, or does the structural power asymmetry counsel declining the engagement and recommending a conflict-free alternative?

Engineer A's threshold decision on whether to accept the forensic engagement at all: given the pre-existing institutional supervisory relationship between Engineer A as committee chair and Engineer B as subcommittee member, Engineer A must determine whether the Volunteer Standards Role Non-Preclusion principle permits him to proceed with the forensic engagement or whether the structural conflict — even if not 'clear or apparent' under the Board's standard — counsels declining the retention in favor of a conflict-free alternative expert.

Accept the forensic engagement, disclose the committee chairmanship and Engineer B's subcommittee membership to Attorney X immediately upon discovery, implement communication restraint with Engineer B, and voluntarily recuse from committee oversight of Engineer B's subcommittee for the duration of the litigation

Decline the forensic engagement on the grounds that the structural supervisory relationship over the opposing expert creates an appearance of impropriety that disclosure and behavioral restraint cannot adequately neutralize, and recommend to Attorney X that a qualified forensic expert without committee ties to Engineer B be retained instead

Accept the forensic engagement conditionally, disclosing the committee relationship to Attorney X and to the engineering society's governance body, and make continued participation contingent on the engineering society's affirmative determination that the dual role does not violate its own conflict-of-interest policies — withdrawing if the society finds the arrangement problematic

Engineer