1. It helps in a herc, for some of the overhead switches are a bit out of reach for a person in the pilot or copliot seat, but is doable. As for 727 only need pilot and copilot seats occupied, but I think it mainly comes down to company proceedures.
2. LAME is a Lisenced aircraft maintenace engineer. He/she is the only person authorized to clear a tech log snag, and release a/c for service.