Negotiations: Interest versus Positions

Law school (and different practice areas) focus on identifying the right and wrong positions in the law and defending such positions in the best interest of the client. This course focuses on identifying that various positions can all be valid, recognizing that individuals have reasons behind the positions they hold, and distilling commonalities in positions from which to build a business relationship.

This course provides a discussion of the differences between collaborative and competitive negotiation from a transactional perspective. It focuses on discussing the differences between interests and positions, identifying various interests behind positions, and effectively applying those interests in a collaborative setting. The program goes beyond the typical “I’m right, you’re wrong, and here’s why” format often stressed in many law schools, focusing instead on using negotiation to build relationships between and among counterparties. It will discuss when such situations are appropriate and the benefits of such an approach.

Mr. Sedlak designed this seminar for new attorneys, attorneys interested in exploring collaborative negotiation, attorneys transitioning from a more competitive practice to a more collaborative one, and attorneys seeking to develop skills in identifying the underlying interests behind different positionalities. It is designed at an introductory level to introduce these concepts, allowing individuals to begin the process of recognizing and applying collaborative negotiation techniques.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the difference between collaborative and competitive negotiations.
2. Examine the reasons why, and the benefits of when, a more collaborative approach to a negotiation is more beneficial to the attorney and their client(s).
3. Recognize the four points of the Fisher/Ury method – separate the people from the problem, focus on interests not positions, invent options for mutual gain, and insist on using objective criteria – and how these points can be effectively used in a collaborative negotiation.
4. Evaluate the fundamental difference between a position and an interest.
5. Utilize techniques to distill interests from stated positions.
6. Identify common interests in competing positions and develop solutions that integrate diverse interests into a collaborative approach.