NCJ Number
96281
Journal
Missouri Journal of Dispute Resolution Volume: 1984 Dated: (1984) Pages: 119-192
Date Published
1984
Length
74 pages
Annotation
This article explores the processes and dynamics of lawyer negotiation, so as to identify the skills required.
Abstract
The various subprocesses of negotiation, such as the reconciliation of the negotiator's goals and attitudes with the client's, are discussed, and the complexity and danger of the dilemma of trust are addressed. Four stages of legal negotiation are described: orientation and positioning, argumentation, emergence and crisis, and agreement or final breakdown. Attention is also given to the negotiating theory of the case which is, a loose set of generalizations pertaining to the lawyer's plan of action and the 'best face' perspective of the case. The lawyer's ability to order the facts and events in the process of problemsolving is identified as one of the most important operating skills. The lawyer's preparation for negotiation is chronicled: the approach to the facts is three pronged -- hypothecating facts, discovering facts, and presenting facts. The lawyer-negotiator's other responsibilities and skills are discussed: manipulating abstractions with the use and interpretation of language and using communication skills in persuasion and reasoned argument. The uses of language for learning, exchanging information, and questioning during negotiations are examined. Finally, issues in the ethics of negotiation are considered, and skills needed in the closure of the agreement are noted. Three figures and 220 references are included.