Business Conflict Blog

A sobering — even frightening — panel at the IBA’s Vancouver conference addressed negotiation in volatile, politically charged and dangerous circumstances — pushing the boundaries of mediation past the purely commercial, into a world where lives may depend on the skill and success of the negotiator or mediator.

Maritime pirates off Somalia, for example, do not rationally seek and underlying political or even monetary interests, and their behavior is not deliberative.  Charles Crawford CMG reflected on his years of service in the UK Foreign Office and concluded that, in Somalia and in the Balkans, a terrorist’s irrationality is his strength.  It’s like a bankrupt buying a suite at the Plaza, or a dog chasing a car: the pirate, the kidnapper and the terrorist seek to introduce chaos into order. 

What are the principles of negotiation when the counterparty does not have an identifiable and rational underlying interest, and when the thing being negotiated is a human life? Read more »

Tags: Negotiation

The annual Conference of the International Bar Association in Vancouver presented several panels of unusual distinction and interest.  This first report covers a group of speakers posing the questions: “What does it take to persuade?  How does a lawyer cause an arbitrator, judge, businessperson or other lawyer, to willingly reach the desired conclusion?”  Read more »

Tags: Negotiation, Teaching

“You’d better be careful — you’re about to negotiate with the King!”

We’ve all heard this at some point in our careers.  Our counterparty is well-connected with the judge.  He’s an influential member of the local bar.  He has fifty years’ worth of hard-earned reputation as the lion of the district.  He’s the man with the power.

A panel comprising mediator Elizabeth Bader of San Francisco, insurance counsel Steven Joseph (of Western Word Insurance in New Jersey) and Gerald Strachan (of Chartis Insurance in Philadelphia) and plaintiff attorney Jacqueline Tessendorf (of Columbus, Nebraska) shared perceptive and subtle views on how to get what you need from the King, across the negotiating table. Read more »

Tags: Negotiation

Many parties in mediation — and many of their counsel — consider that a “win” is a deal that gets them the number they asked for, or close to it.  In fact that’s not so, and a mediator provides important value to disputants by assisting them to determine, in a claim that will go to trial in two years and subsequent appeal,  what the “right” number is today.

Here are three easy steps towards assisting parties to value their claims.

Read more »

Tags: Add new tag, Negotiation