4.2 Negotiation

Definition: communication between parties with mixed motives — some interests shared, some opposed — to reach agreement. Most legal disputes end in negotiation, not judgment; the advocate's first arena is the corridor, not the courtroom.The conceptual core (Fisher and Ury's principled negotiation — Getting to Yes):1. Positions vs interests — a position is what a party demands; an interest is why. Two sisters fighting one orange (positions: "the orange") discover interests (peel for zest vs juice for drink) and split the difference intelligently. Negotiate interests, not positions.2. BATNA — the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement: your walk-away option. Your power in negotiation is your BATNA (improve it before you bargain; never agree to less than it).3. ZOPA — the zone of possible agreement between the parties' reservation points; find it, enlarge it by creating value.4. The four rules: separate people from the problem; focus on interests; generate options for mutual gain; insist on objective criteria (market value, precedent, expert report — not arbitrary numbers).Styles:distributive (fixed pie — claiming value; anchoring, concession patterns) vs integrative (expanding the pie — creating value; trading across different valuations). Skilled negotiators do both.Negotiation language (the English of it): signalling flexibility ("subject to…" "in principle" "if you could see your way to…"); conditional offers ("If…, then would you…?"); testing ("What would you need in order…