Negotiation Skills for Lawyers: Win Through Great Negotiation Preparation

Thumbnail for Negotiation Preparation

Negotiation Skills Rule 101: You don’t prepare, you don’t succeed.

When studying for your law degree, have you ever tried sitting for an exam without studying?

Even if it’s an open book exam, you won’t remember where the important cases are. Without notes to refer to, your arguments won’t be as strong as they could have been.

Similarly, in negotiations, preparation is considered to be 80% of your success. Yet so many people go into negotiations thinking they can just “wing it.”

This is how even younger negotiators can outperform more experienced negotiators: By realizing that experience doesn’t necessarily translate into expertise. And that smart negotiation preparation trumps them both.

Let’s dive into how to prepare based on the 6-step preparation worksheet we use in our courses (you can download it for free here)

Getting ready like a pro

I believe it was Muhammad Ali who said something along the lines of:

“I’ve never won a battle in the ring, always in training.“

In negotiation like in sports, most of your success gets determined by what you do before you even enter the ring, ahem, conference room.

But unlike professional sports, most “professional negotiators” have no idea about the preparation game that the more successful people around them are playing (and if they are really good, you will never know that they just got a much better deal than you ;))

 

Here is your 6-step game preparation plan

Interests, Goals and Priorities, Options that are aligned with interests info to share or not share, BATNA, Prices and ZOPA

1. Interests

Interests refer to ‘why’ a party wants what it wants. This is different from a position that is ‘what’ it wants.

When representing a client, you need to speak with them to find out not just their position but, more importantly, why they are asking you for a certain action and what it means for their business.

Similarly, researching your counterparty can give you an idea of what positions they are looking for and the underlying reasons.

The better you understand your clients’ and the other side’s interest, the better you are positioned to expand the pie by offering new options that meet everyone’s interests in a more optimal way.

 

2. Goals and Priorities

To optimize your interest focus, where to push, and where to value trade, you want to figure out what parts of your position are critical, ideal or can be traded off for concessions.

Separating your interests into an M.I.T. list helps you prioritize:

  • Must have issues are your 2-3 non-negotiable interest. If you don’t get those needs met, you will leave the table.
  • Ideal goals are your stretch goals. Another 7-10 issues that optimally you would love to achieve, but are not dealbreakers.
  • Tradeable are issues that you have identified of interest to you, but not at a high priority, and so you are willing to trade those away for matters of higher interest to you first.

Now, Step 2: What do you think are those on the other side?

Once you’ve listed them out, we can go to step 3.

 

3. Creating Options That Are Aligned with Interests

Now that we have an idea of what both sides want, we can create options that align with both sides. Options refer to potential outcomes that align with a specific interest. In a negotiation, different options can be mixed and matched into different offers.

All the work you’ve done in step 2 comes into play here, especially knowing what we must have, what the ideal outcome could look like, and what we could give away. When you compare the options, it’ll give you some idea on how to make them work for the options they want while you consider how to get to your own.

During the negotiation itself you’ll learn more information on their interests and desired options. You can then adjust your options lists and strategy accordingly, such as seeing if there is room to grow the pie further or to push for what we want. You can read more about interests here.

 

4. Information Gathering and Giving

Trust is created the fastest when information is shared. To build trust, you need to be ready to go first. Having prepared what you can share should help you get away from your natural default of not sharing (“this is ALL confidential!!”).

Of course, don’t give away everything at once, but start small and create reciprocity. If done right, this will open up communications with the other side to eventually find out their interests, prices, and other information you can use to get the outcome you want.

Reciprocity plays a big part in building rapport and eventually trust with your counterparty. Preparing what information you can share gets you there the fastest.

 

5. Negotiation Power

Power in negotiations comes from how much we need – or don’t need – the counterparty.

In negotiations, this power is denoted as the ‘Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement’ (BATNA) or a plan B.

To prepare and boost your bargaining power, you need to ask:

  • What options do we have if this negotiation fails?
  • How can we improve our BATNA?
  • What is their perception of our BATNA?

Similarly, if we can find out what our counterparty’s BATNA is, it can tell us how far we can push. To find that out, start with these questions:

  • What might they do if the negotiation fails?
  • Do we have information that influences their BATNA?

 

6. The Three Numbers

Knowing your target and limit prices and your counterparty’s limit prices will help you gauge how far you can push in your negotiations.

If you haven’t already, you can get our pdf version of the preparation sheet here.

The three numbers you need to prepare are:

 

There are many other elements that you can research and prepare for negotiations, but starting with these default elements like the underlying interests of both parties, goals and priorities, walkaway points, and bargaining power (BATNA) will significantly improve your chances of success.

To your negotiation success!

Dr. Claudia Winkler

 

If you enjoyed this content, join our free 10-week Email course on the fundamentals of Collaborative and Competitive Negotiation skills by clicking HERE.

Each week, you will get a bite-size email unpacking some of the most fundamental negotiation concepts that you can apply in your everyday negotiations, along with an insight video and book recommendation to go further in areas you want to learn more about.

Want to learn more about effective preparation and how you can beat even more senior negotiators? Joining one of our online courses or organizing a tailor-made live training session for your organization will put you en par with over 10,000 leading lawyers from Fortune 500 companies to Tier 1 law firms globally.

Just reach out to me at claudia@necademy.com to discuss!    

Give yourself negotiation power with an ambitious Goal & ZOPA – Part 2/3

Today you will learn: How to set a goal price in a negotiation – How researching and pushing the other side’s limit gets you the best deal – How analyzing the ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) helps you avoid losing millions over your career

In this three-part series, we focus on how you secure the biggest piece of the pie and share the three key numbers you need to prepare for any monetary negotiation.

In Part 1 you saw how you need to set your Limit Price with the help of your BATNA (see here if you missed it).

This week, let’s talk about the 2nd Number: the Goal Price

Your second number to prepare in distributive negotiation is your goal. This number should be higher than the limit (if you are the seller/claimant) or lower than your limit (if you are the buyer/defendant).

How do you set a goal?

Some basics: It should be optimistic, yet realistic, specific and well-researched but as high/low as you can possibly dream to get. Remember, in life and in negotiations, higher goals achieve objectively higher outcomes.

There are 2 ways to set your goal:

A. Use your best objective criteria to calculate what might be the best possible deal.

B. Or even better: Push to THEIR limit price. Even the best objective criteria vanish in comparison to a good “guesstimate” of what THEIR limit (i.e. alternative) is. Because it can help you grab the biggest part of the “ZOPA”

ZOPA – What is that?

ZOPA is the Zone of Possible Agreement. It is the overlap between the limit prices of both sides. Any rational deal MUST happen in this zone. Whoever manages to push the deal closer to the limit of the other side has taken the bigger piece of the pie.

Here is a graphic of the ZOPA between the buyer of a house who has set their limit to 580k (let’s say they have an alternative house to buy at that price) and the seller who has set their limit to 500k (let’s say they already have an offer for that).

ZOPA – Zone of Possible Agreement

The ZOPA is therefore between 500k – 580k.

All deals will happen in this zone. Whoever manages to push the deal closer to the limit of the other side has taken the bigger piece of the pie.

What does this mean for our goal-setting?

The best goal price is the one that is as close to their limit as possible.

Will we usually know the (exact) limit (i.e. alternative) of the other side? Unlikely.

But we can do our best to do as much research as possible to find out about it (see example of a salary negotiation below).

Since people don’t spend time doing that research they set suboptimal goals and therefore end up with suboptimal deals.

Watch this video for more details and an example of how to calculate the ZOPA:

 

BONUS EXAMPLE SALARY NEGOTIATION

Here is a practical example: A university professor came to me to help him prepare for a salary negotiation with the dean for a new position. The job post had stated 70,000 for the job (the minimum salary, as required to be publicised by law). To prepare for the negotiation I asked him to research the average salary for this position. He came back with 80-100k. So then we started thinking: “What do we think is the absolute maximum the dean could give? Where is his limit?”. We decided it would probably be 100k. So this is where he set his negotiation goal, at 100k. He started out asking for 120k and ended up with an offer for 96k.

Without this thought process, he may have set his goal at 90k.. Which is “already 20k more than the post”. He might have started with asking 90k. Which then would usually get him around 80-85k. 10-15k less a year (or more than half a million over his remaining career years.. Even without any other promotions or adjustments.

In short: Don’t use this framework and it can cost you millions over the course of your career.

Keep Negotiating! And have a goal when you do!

Dr. Claudia

Your Negotiation Whisperer

Next Topic: Part 3 – Your opening price. How to anchor in a negotiation to significantly sway the numbers your way.

If you enjoyed this content, feel free to sign up for our free 10-week Email course on the fundamentals of Collaborative and Competitive Negotiation skills by clicking HERE.
Each week, you will get a bite-size email unpacking some of the most fundamental negotiation concepts that you can apply in your everyday negotiations, along with an insight video and book recommendation to go further in areas you want to learn more about.

 

Give yourself negotiation power with Limit Price & BATNA – Part 1/3

A Bite-sized Negotiation Tactics List: From Basic to Advanced

Negotiation, a fundamental aspect of business interactions, demands skill and strategic insight. In business, negotiation tactics are used everywhere from closing multi-million dollar contracts and settling legal disputes all the way to negotiating a pay raise with your manager.

In this guide, we’ll provide you with a quick list of negotiation tactics both basic and advanced to help you succeed in business. If you’re new to negotiation, you should check out the introduction to legal negotiation for a quick primer!

Basic Negotiation Tactics 

Negotiation is an art form – one that requires finesse, strategy, and a keen understanding of human behavior.  The ability to effectively prepare, establish rapport with opposing parties, listen actively, and emphasise compliance with relevant laws sets apart those who excel in this field from those who falter.

Negotiation can be competitive or cooperative, and the tactics below can help you increase your chances of gaining favourable outcomes in both.

1. Preparation is Key

  • Conduct extensive research about the opposing party.
  • Understand the framework, industry standards, and precedents related to the negotiation.
  • Anticipating possible objections and preparing well-founded counterarguments is also a part of negotiation fundamentals.
  • Do as much homework on your counterparty as possible. This will give you a clue as to why they’ll want what they want (interests).
  • You can also check out our negotiation preparation list.

2. Building Rapport and Trust

  • Establish a professional and respectful rapport with the other party.
  • Find something about them that you can appreciate and find commonalities
  • Demonstrate integrity and authenticity to foster trust, which can facilitate smoother agreements
  • From your preparation, you can be the first to share information to get them to reciprocate and share more about what they want
  • You can also read more about building rapport here.
  • When you are soft and supportive of the person and hard on the problem – at the same time – it creates cognitive dissonance, which can help in your negotiations.

3. Know When to Focus on Interests and Not Positions

  • Positions focus on ‘What I want’ while interests focus on ‘Why I want that position’
  • Focusing on positions leads to bargaining, where it goes to ‘what I can win so he gets less’ while focusing on interests can find value to both sides and creates more flexible options.
  • While focusing on interests can make the pie bigger for all parties, it requires a level of rapport and trust first. If you’re not careful about when you start focusing on interests instead of positions, you could get taken advantage of.

4. Active Listening

  • Practice active listening to comprehend the other party’s concerns and priorities.
  • Respond thoughtfully to demonstrate understanding and build rapport.
  • Be aware of your own cognitive biases and take time to review what they’ve been saying. You might have missed key information that they are presenting.

5. Emphasize Legal Compliance

  • Ensure all proposed agreements adhere to legal regulations and industry standards.
  • Highlight compliance as a cornerstone of the negotiation, emphasizing the importance of legal integrity. This is important when signing off on the deal or contract.

Advanced Negotiation Tactics

Imagine that you’re surrounded by high-powered executives and sharp-witted lawyers engaged in a tense legal negotiation that could make or break your company’s future. How can you ensure that you have tried your best and emerge as the victor in this high-stakes game?

Remember that legal negotiations are not just about compromise; they are opportunities to assert your value proposition while staying within legal boundaries.

Here is an advanced list of negotiation tactics designed specifically for business settings.

1. Creating Leverage

It is essential to identify your strengths and leverage them during the process. Whether it’s offering unique services, high-quality products, or having a market reputation for excellence, highlighting these advantages can give you an edge at the negotiating table. By researching and citing relevant cases that support your position or argument, you can provide solid evidence to back up your claims.

Legal precedents carry weight and can be persuasive when presented in a negotiation setting. They demonstrate your knowledge of applicable laws and add credibility and legitimacy to your arguments. 

2. Use of BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)

It is crucial to have a strong BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) as a safety net. This refers to an alternative option or plan you can fall back on if the negotiations do not result in a satisfactory agreement. It provides you with leverage during the process.

By asserting your position without appearing aggressive, you can maintain a constructive and collaborative atmosphere, increasing the likelihood of reaching a mutually beneficial outcome.

You can read more about this in our post about limit prices and BATNAs.

3. Keep the ZOPA in Mind (Zone of Possible Agreement)

The Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA) is the range within which you and your counterparty can find common ground during negotiations. For sales negotiations or bargaining, the ZOPA exists between the buyer’s highest willingness to pay and the seller’s lowest acceptable price. If an overlap exists between these points, a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached.

Understanding and identifying the ZOPA can help you focus on realistic terms and avoid impasses. If there is no overlap, reaching an agreement may be impossible without adjusting expectations or terms.

You can find out more about this in our post about ZOPA.

3. Employing Silence as a Tactic

Silence can prove to be an incredibly effective weapon in negotiation. By strategically maintaining silence, one can prompt the other party to divulge additional information or potentially make further concessions.

The power lies in the discomfort that silence creates, as it compels individuals to fill the void with their own words. This often leads to unexpected revelations and insights, providing a significant advantage to those skilled at this technique. 

4. Conditional Offers and Contingencies

When negotiating, you can present conditional offers that link concessions to specific actions or reciprocations from the other party. This approach helps establish a sense of fairness and ensures that both sides contribute to the agreement. Additionally, utilising contingencies can be beneficial to safeguard against legal issues that affect negotiations. 

Ethical Considerations in Legal Negotiations

1. Transparency and Honesty

  • Maintain transparency throughout the process.
  • Avoid misleading statements or misrepresentations, which could lead to legal consequences. 

2. Avoiding Unethical Pressure Tactics

  • Refrain from undue pressure tactics or coercion, which can make agreements void.
  • Uphold ethical standards, even when negotiations become intense or competitive. 

Negotiation tactics in business and law are multifaceted, requiring a nuanced understanding of principles and human psychology. By integrating legal compliance, strategic preparation, and ethical considerations, negotiators can navigate the complexities of business negotiations with finesse and integrity. 

At The Negotiation Academy, our courses teach a list of negotiation tactics and instill a deep understanding of the nuances involved. Join our programs to master the art of negotiation while upholding legal and ethical standards.

Check out our online courses and customized live training and embark on your journey to becoming a skilled negotiator!

If you enjoyed this content, feel free to sign up for our free 10-week Email course on the fundamentals of Collaborative and Competitive Negotiation skills by clicking HERE.
Each week, you will get a bite-size email unpacking some of the most fundamental negotiation concepts that you can apply in your everyday negotiations, along with an insight video and book recommendation to go further in areas you want to learn more about.