TTU School of Law Board of Barristers
October 15, 2015

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To understand the nature of the negotiation competition.
To understand the scoring criteria.

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Constitution and Bylaws
Contact Information
List of BoB Members
Also, attend the Advanced Negotiation
Competition Final Round 10/30 at 7:00 p.m. in the Lanier Auditorium.

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Negotiation Problems
Check-in, etc.
Time/Break
Self-Analysis
Critique
Advancing
Professional Attire

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Get a copy
Read it
Use it in your strategy
Availability after the rounds

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BoB cannot interpret ambiguities in the problem for you.
Do not ask anyone except your partner how to interpret problem, e.g., you cannot ask your mom or a professor.
Problems are often vague for a reason.
Do not go outside the problem.
Can ask your coaching panel general negotiation questions, but not substantive questions about the problems.

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Competitors must maintain confidentiality to maintain fairness in the competition.
Do not discuss the problem in common areas.
Do not leave copies in your carrel.
Suspect your roommate.
A breach of confidentiality may result in an
Honor Code violation.

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Grievances are a serious matter!
Must be submitted in writing by 9:00 a.m. the day following the round or occurrence.
Refer to the BoB Constitution for additional information.

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10 points for competing
5 points for each time you advance
1 point for each prelim round won

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Withdrawal at any time AFTER 24 hours before the first Preliminary Round results in an automatic forfeiture of 15 BoB competition points or 25% of your total points, whichever is greater.
Contact Vice-Chair Jarrett Stone, jarrett.stone
@ttu.edu
as soon as possible when a conflict arises.

You will know who your judge will be when you check in.
Let a board member know immediately if you have a “conflict” with a judge.
Read the Constitution and Bylaws for the definition of “conflict.”

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Two teams (each comprised of two law students) will negotiate with each other.
Both teams will receive some general facts for each negotiation round.
You will also receive some confidential facts for your client. These will set out your client’s interests/goals and your authority.
Rounds – 50 minutes; Self-Analysis – 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes (for each team) to present its self-analysis. Brief commenting session after the round.
Prelims next week and advanced rounds the week of
Oct. 26 th . Final round on Oct. 30 th .

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Knowledge of the negotiation problem, in general.
Factual knowledge, which includes knowing the basic facts, your client’s interests, and your authority (read very carefully!).
Knowledge of legal issue(s).
Use of agenda. (Cannot hand out any prepared materials.)
Opening offer.
Questions at the beginning to gather information. (Quality v. Quantity)
“Package” any negotiation issues?

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What does your client really want? The facts usually explain your client’s priorities.
Pay close attention to the language.
“Mr. Smith must have an apology” vs. “Mr. Smith would also like an apology.”
“Mr. Smith prefers to pay no more than
$50,000.” vs. “Mr. Smith refuses to pay more than $50,000 under any circumstance.”
Watch for contingencies, e.g., “Mr. Smith will pay
$50,000, but only if Mrs. Smith agrees to give him Fluffy the poodle.”

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Effective “agenda setting” can demonstrate negotiation planning.
Do not need to jump right into the agenda.
Before setting the agenda, each side should set the tone of the negotiation, e.g., who is your client? Positive relationship?
“Taking the table” does not matter (talking first does not equate to effective control).
If you set out the issues to discuss, you can ask the other side if they have any issues to add.
No need to get into an “agenda war.”

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Figure out your authority for each issue. (Do not ask the other side, “Is that your bottom line?” And, do not misrepresent your authority.)
Decide on a “credible” first offer that will provide you with some room to move.
Do you want to make the first offer or do you want opposing counsel to make the first offer?
Concessions are normally larger at the beginning of the negotiation.
Have justifications for your offers because the other side may ask you how you can justify your offers.
Do not “double bid.” Get the other side to make a counter-offer.
If you do not have authority, simply tell the other side.
You can always “take it back” to your client.

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Adapt to the other side’s agenda, if necessary.
How do you react to new/unforeseen information?
How do you react to the other team’s unexpected strategy? Example: Lump sum compensation vs. itemized compensation.
Should you take a break? Allowed one 5-minute break that counts toward your total time.
Saying “flexible” in a round does not equate to actually being flexible.

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Based on the negotiation and the self analysis.
Most negotiations involve multiple issues; parties do not have to come to an agreement on all issues.
Consider the progress you make during the negotiation
(time management is important!).
When assessing outcome, you must take into account your client’s interests and goals.
Think about how concessions contributed (or not) to the outcome.
Do you know the actual outcome?
Summarize throughout the round and at the end of the round to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
Who is drafting the agreement? Any issues that you need to take back to your client? Do you need to meet again to wrap up any other issues?

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Consider the following:
May have defined roles, but it’s the overall teamwork that matters.
Balance between the partners.
Partners do not interrupt each other.
Do the partners back each other up?
They should not contradict each other.

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Did the team have an appropriate strategy to help the teams have a good relationship?
Talking more does not equate to control or power. . .
Was a team member hostile, sarcastic, etc.?
Did the team ignore one of the other team members?
Was the team overly difficult?
If the other team was hostile, sarcastic, or difficult in general, did the team react appropriately in order to get the relationship back on track?
Will there be a future relationship between the parties?

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Teams cannot (1) misrepresent material facts, (2) exceed settlement authority, or (3) invent self-serving material facts.
Also, a team should not breach their ethical obligations of non-disclosure.
If a team does, then was the ethical violation a severe violation?
Severe violation may result in disqualification.

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Teams may sit or stand.
Teams should have some structure to the self analysis – they must answer the two questions so it’s best for them to state the two questions.
Balanced presentation?
Should not criticize the other team.
Should be reflective (substance should not be canned).
Use the self analysis to help the judges understand the round, e.g., why you started with a certain offer, why you made a big concession, etc.