LAWS339-15SU1 (C) Summer Jan 2015 start

Negotiation and the Lawyer

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 5 January 2015
End Date: Sunday, 8 February 2015
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 9 January 2015
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 23 January 2015

Description

Theory and practice of negotiation, lawyers' roles and professional responsibility.

Negotiation is central to every lawyer’s practice, as well as to work in commerce, government and politics – indeed to everyday life.  Skill in negotiation can avoid unnecessary litigation and produce better settlements and deals more efficiently.  Negotiation skills increase effectiveness in client interviewing and in representing clients in mediation.  The last twenty years have seen both the courts in the High Court and District Court Rules and Parliament in over fifty statutes regard negotiation and mediation as the first port of call in dealing with disputes.

This summer school will involve four workshops running from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm on Tuesday 6 January, Saturday 10 January, Tuesday 13 January and Tuesday 20 January.  Each workshop will provide a mix of the conceptual and the practical, so that students will have a theoretical framework for preparing for, undertaking and reviewing their real world negotiations on a continuing basis.  The practical exercises offer an opportunity for students to apply and test the theory and research findings from their reading, to receive feedback, and to reflect on their personal strengths and areas for further skills development.

In addition, we shall explore specific challenges such as managing ethical dilemmas, managing information, coping with and using irrationality, addressing power imbalances, dealing with “difficult” negotiators and breaking deadlocks, and understanding the scope of scope of privilege in settlement negotiations.

This course is limited to 20 students, with preference given to final year students.  Students MUST complete the Application Form and return to Mrs Heather Couch, Academic Administrator, by 15 October 2014 and Apply to Enrol by 3 November 2014.  The Application Form can be obtained from Mrs Couch.

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of the course students will:
  •  Have a framework for preparing for, undertaking and reviewing their negotiations on a continuing basis;
  •  Understand the implications of different negotiation strategies and tactics for  effectiveness and efficiency;
  •  Be aware of the professional responsibility issues and value choices inherent in negotiation and mediation processes;
  •  Be more confident in managing ethical dilemmas, managing information, coping with irrationality, addressing power imbalances, dealing with “difficult” negotiators and breaking deadlocks; and
  •  Be aware of the scope and limits of privilege in settlement negotiations.

Prerequisites

(i) LAWS101; and (ii) LAWS110

Restrictions

LAWS369 (prior to 2006)

Co-requisites

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Jane Chart

Assessment

Students must complete two papers.  The first, worth 40%, will be due on 20 January 2015.  The second, worth 60% of the final grade, will be due on 3 February 2015.

Both papers will require an analysis of a negotiation undertaken in class so it is imperative that students attend all four workshops.  Students will be assessed on the basis of the extent to which their paper demonstrates their learning from both the practical exercises and the readings on negotiation theory and research; their ability to apply and critique the reading; and their understanding of the professional responsibility issues raised by each exercise.

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Mnookin, RH; Peppet, SR; and Tulumello, AS; Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in Deals and Disputes ; Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.

Students will need to purchase Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in Deals and Disputes by Robert H Mnookin, Scott R Peppet and Andrew S Tulumello (Belknap Press Harvard).  Additional material and online references will be provided.  Students will be expected to complete assigned reading before each workshop so that we can discuss the material in relation to the practical exercises on each day.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $737.00

International fee $3,450.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

Limited Entry Course

Maximum enrolment is 24

For further information see Faculty of Law .

All LAWS339 Occurrences

  • LAWS339-15SU1 (C) Summer Jan 2015 start