Adopt an Outsider's View of Negotiations

"Just as intuition biases your vision, it can sabotage your negotiations without your awareness. This article [from HBS Working Knowledge] explores why we often think irrationally—and why, even when the stakes are high and mistakes are costly, we sometimes are unable to overcome our psychological biases..."

The article stresses the advisability, particularly in complex and emotionally charged situations, of resisting "System 1" thinking and employing "System 2" thought.

"System 1 thought describes our intuition: quick, automatic, effortless, and influenced by emotion. By comparison, System 2 thought is slower, more conscious, effortful, and logical."

The authors offer four strategies "to help you guard against falling back on your intuition during times of stress and indecision in negotiation.

Strategy 1: Make a System 2 list...identify situations that call for extra vigilance...

Strategy 2: Don't let time pressure affect your decisions...

Strategy 3: Partition the negotiation across multiple sessions...

Strategy 4: Adopt an outsider lens...the outsider uses rational, System 2 thinking...

Ask yourself this simple question: If someone I cared about asked me for my opinion in a negotiation such as this, what advice would I give?"

Avoiding Litigation Means Sometimes Having to Say You're Sorry

"Doctors' apologies for medical mistakes may not be a cure-all for litigation, but explaining unforeseen outcomes and making early settlement offers have proven effective, say lawyers who have participated in the process in the last decade.

The concept is called "full disclosure/early offer," and it's spreading...

Plaintiffs attorneys and defense attorneys agree that the program -- often referred to as Sorry Works! from The Sorry Works! Coalition, a Glen Carbon, Ill., advocacy group -- is a sound strategy miscast in the public perception as a touchy-feely ritual.

Sorry Works! founder Doug Wojcieszak said that health care providers "willing to admit when they have made an error and quickly get on top of it ... cut down on the anger that leads to litigation."

Read more in this Law.com article found via this Death and Taxes - The Blog post

International Negotiation Tips

"Just as in domestic negotiations, for international negotiations it is important to:

* Take time to learn the local customs and culture
* Know foreign expectations
* Have a well developed Negotiation Plan
* Take time to socialize before working
* Make sure opening demands are not too modest
* Provide enough time so as to not have to settle too quickly
* Avoid the attitude of “America’s way is best way”
* Not be afraid of silence
* Not disclose too much too soon
* Negotiate face to face
* Use win-win tactics"

Read more in this article from nextlevel purchasing.

Fear No Mediation

In a PLI All-Star Briefing, Judge Howard A. Tescher (17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County) examines why lawyers are suspicious of mediation and argues that they should not be, stating:

"Mediation offers the opportunity to explore the strengths and weaknesses of a given case or dispute with a neutral 'expert' trained to see if the matter can be resolved on terms that each party can accept, given the uncertainties of the arbitration or litigation process.

If you accept that mediation is a natural part of the dispute resolution process, as opposed to an alternative dispute resolution process, you will initiate discussions with opposing counsel about scheduling a mediation conference in the same manner that you would normally discuss setting discovery deadlines and final hearing or trial dates."

Global Dispute Resolution Resource

Baker & McKenzie has launched Dispute Resolution Around the World, an on-line global dispute resolution information resource. The site contains information on the legal systems of more than forty (40) countries, as far apart as Belarusse and Venezuela. The site "includes details of:

* the structure and authority of the various courts
* the organization and practice requirements of the legal profession
* essentials of litigation, from commencement of proceedings to allocation of costs through appeals
* enforcement of judgements, including recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements
* arbitration law and options for alternative dispute resolution."

From this LawFuel .com post.

Technorati Tags: mediation, adr, negotiation, disputeresolution, alternativedisputeresolution

International Commercial Arbitration Offers Advantages

"International arbitration has two major advantages over litigation in national courts.

First, international arbitral awards are far more readily enforceable worldwide. More than 130 countries are signatories to the New York Convention 1958, which facilitates the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award within each signatory country, notwithstanding that the award was rendered in a foreign jurisdiction.

Court judgments, on the other hand, are simply bare judgments which are unsupported by a multilateral enforcement treaty. By way of example, the United States is not a party to any treaty providing for the enforcement of its courts' judgments abroad.

The second major advantage of international arbitration is neutrality. Most corporations do not want to submit their disputes to a foreign court, and they certainly do not want to submit their dispute to the courts of their counterparty and thereby give away "home advantage."

International arbitration allows the parties to refer their dispute to a neutral forum which is acceptable to both parties, even if they are from entirely distinct legal and cultural backgrounds."

Read more in thisarticle from law.com that provides a practical guide to international commercial arbitration from the inception of the arbitration to the enforcement of a final award.

Found via this InhouseBlog post

The XYZs of Negotiating Tactics

"If you want to win at the game of negotiations, then you need to know the ploys, tactics and gambits that will give you an advantage over your opponents." So starts “The ABC of Negotiation Ploys and Tactics” by Eric Garner that explains the following useful negotiating concepts, ploys and tactics:

A is for Aristotle’s Appeals
B is for BATNA
C is for the Coquette Principle
D is for Dumb Is Smart
E is for Emotional Ambush
F is for Fait Accompli
G is for Gallipoli
H is for Hot Potato
I is for the Iroquois Preparation Method
J is for Just See If I Don’t…
K is for Knowing Your Opponents
L is for Later
M is for Modest Diffidence
N is for Needs Not Positions
O is for Obligation
P is for Power Ploys
Q is for Questions
R is for Reluctant Player
S is for Salami
T is for Tentative Overtures
U is for Uncertainty
V is for Variables
W is for Writing the Agreement
X is for Xchanging Concessions
Y is for Yikes, You’ve Got To Be Kidding
Z is for Zipped, or Keeping Your Mouth Zipped

Technorati Tags: mediation, adr, negotiation, disputeresolution, alternativedisputeresolution