The Master Negotiator Course

Legal Practice is undergoing significant change and the skills you need to succeed as a legal practitioner these days go far beyond the legal skills acquired at university. In this introduction to the future of your work and career we look at:

• what crucial role negotiation skills play in daily legal work
• how the landscape of lawyering is changing and how it changes the requirements for successful lawyers
• how today's Dispute Resolution Processes are all structured around negotiation skills
• what value negotiation savvy lawyers can add for their clients
• what it takes to become a top lawyer in our generation
• what major mindset shift and what skills this course will bring to you

We focus on how lawyers and anyone can use interest based negotiation to turn traditional, adversarial bargaining and lawyering into a negotiation style that increases the value and satisfaction for both sides.  Using examples and tips, you will explore:

• How to use a win-win strategy (the Harvard method)
• How to create value by focusing on interests rather than positions
• How to separate the people from the problems
• How to create multiple options for value-added negotiation outcomes
• How to use objective criteria for a more effective negotiation

  After this module, you will have the opportunity to perform a real-life contract negotiation exercise, negotiating an agreement as outside counsel for a pharmaceutical & a consumer product corporation.

There is no one right way to negotiate. What is the best approach for you depends on your personal style and the style of the other side. Are you a competitor or an avoider? Do you tend to create value or split it in half? We will find out with a negotiation style experiment and cover:

• What negotiation style makes the most effective negotiator
• How to  deal with the dynamics between the various negotiation styles you, your client and your partner bring to the table
• How to increase your repertoire of negotiation style to get the maximum out of every situation
• How to combine assertiveness and receptiveness in your style and – How that can give you the best negotiation outcomes

  You will have an opportunity to practice how to switch between the various styles, determine the style the other side is using and reacting to it, and using the style most effective for your negotiations.

After you have created value in your negotiation – how do you secure the biggest piece? In this module, you will learn the science behind getting a good deal for yourself including:

• What numbers you need to prepare
• Whether you should make the first offer
• How high you should start
• What is the best way to make concessions
• Where to set your price goal
• What it means to “anchor” the other side
• The difference between an optimistic v. an outrageous offer and how to react to it

You can then apply and practice these concepts in a negotiation case study in international investment law, real estate and commodity rights where a Mining Company buys land in an undeveloped area.

Effective communication is the basis for you to achieve any goals. And it entails much more than just your spoken words – listening, questioning, non-verbal and verbal communication all play together. In this module, you will test how good your listening skills actually are and then learn how to maximize your impact by:

• Speaking with a purpose
• Asking great questions to lead the conversation
• Using your non-verbal communication to support your goal
• Following the rules skilled negotiators use when it comes to listening actively and acquiring information

To test and implement your new skills you will negotiate an international arbitration settlement between a government and an investor country after an expropriation under a bilateral investment treaty (BIT). Video recording, debrief and partner feedback will help you to further improve your awareness and skill in your communication, listening and body language.

80% of your negotiation outcome is determined by your preparation – so we give you the full drill on how to be efficient in preparing and maximize your impact by the time you hit the table. With the help of the Negotiation Academy Prepsheet you will get a firm handle of how to

• Analyze your and their interests for 4x more effective negotiations
• Set and prioritize your goals
• Create multiple options for the best outcome
• Device what information you will share and plan to acquire from them
• Assess and improve your bargaining power
• Plan and structure your key figures

To put into practice the learning of this week you will practice the step by step preparation of one of your negotiation cases with the Negotiation Academy Preparation Sheet. Together, we will debrief how your preparation has been going.

Debunking the myth of the rational human being who makes decisions solely based on prudent analytics, this chapter will give you an overview of which psychological phenomena you need to take into account for your work with clients, other negotiators and, not least, for your own self. You will learn how:

• The perception of fairness influences the reaction of your negotiation partner
• Your ability to manage the satisfaction of your client or opponent matters more than the actual outcome & how to do it!
• Positive or negative framing will induce people to make completely opposite decision & how that can play out with your clients
• Cognitive barriers make coming to an agreement in a negotiation more difficult
• And, of course, how you can overcome and USE these psychological insights to improve your negotiation success and guard yourself against other people using them on you