“I dislike negotiating and the inherent conflict in it. It really bothers me and causes a significant amount of frustration and stress. Yet I realize that much of life involves some level of conflict and negotiation – even within the family. What should I do?”...
We got married on March 16, and we just returned from our honeymoon. Now, I’m told, a whole new type of negotiations will begin. Spousal negotiations. In a few years, another new type of negotiation also may start: negotiating with kids. Family negotiations, without a...
I just returned from vacation with my wife and kids and it reminded me that we apply our negotiation skills with family members every day. While we don’t consider these formal “negotiations” like in business, many experts – including myself – view the...
Several months ago I did a 30-minute presentation before a very intimidating group – my son’s 4th grade class. My goal? Help them learn one or two crucial negotiation concepts and make my son proud (or at least not embarrassed). While negotiation is a fundamental...
Twenty years ago, when I was asked to teach negotiation at the Arizona State University College of Law, my predecessor suggested my students negotiate an exercise involving a neighbor who consistently blared loud music at night. It sounds like an easy negotiation –...
As my law school colleague Barack Obama enters the final few months of his presidency, I’ve been thinking about legacies. As a father, I’ve crafted a short list of negotiation tips, with the hope that my kids might benefit from the most crucial lessons I...
“Rejected,” read the e-mail response John received from his counterpart half a world away. It was a one-word reply to John’s initial request (also by e-mail) that his counterpart evaluate in detail the concerns John had expressed to their contract....
The mediation process encompasses a series of negotiations. Parties negotiate with each other. Counsel negotiate with parties and other counsel. And everyone negotiates with the mediator. An attorney participating in a mediation should remember that dealings wit the...
A friend recently expressed a great deal of frustration to me, saying he had already spent thousands of dollars on legal fees in a messy divorce with no end in sight. Given that few civil litigation cases go to trial — the vast majority end in negotiated...
