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...
“It came down to $10,000, and this was a small amount relative to the size of the deal. But there was some ego involved, and we both wanted it,” this client told me. “What did you do?” I asked. “We flipped a coin, with the winner taking the $10,000.” Was this a good...
“What should I do differently when negotiating with someone in Japan or from another culture,” I’m often asked. “Should I still use the strategies you recommend in your book and your seminars?” Absolutely. And yet, cross-cultural...
I recently attended a program on the intercultural dynamic affecting many negotiations these days, and it highlighted for me three elements we must understand in these environments. Much of this analysis derives from the work of Professor Jeswald Salacuse of the...
I just returned from teaching some executive-MBA students in Singapore and it highlighted some important negotiation lessons we can all incorporate. • Parties frame issues differently. Back in law school, I remember a conversation with a first-year student who knew...
I recently returned from teaching a weeklong negotiation course to a multicultural group of executives in Singapore and it reminded me of some core personal attributes that apply in negotiations across all cultures. 1. Credibility and Integrity Matter On the...
