Postgraduate - UnitLAW5429 - Advanced commercial negotiation skills

This unit is designed for students with existing knowledge and experience of negotiation, although no specific units have been set as pre-requisites. It focuses specifically on commercial negotiations (understood broadly to encompass pre-contract and contract negotiations, management of issues in the life of a commercial relationship, and the negotiated resolution of commercial disputes), although many of the concepts and skills are also relevant to negotiation in other fields of practice.
Topics covered will include: the procedural challenges associated with specific types of negotiation; agency tensions for lawyers working in commercial contexts; whether "relationships" matter in a field focused strongly on financial interests; designing deals for maximum value; managing the negotiation process "at the table"; strategic preparation and moves "away from the table" to set up the best conditions for negotiation; cross-border negotiations; multiparty dynamics and other challenges arising from specific types of negotiation; ethics in commercial negotiations; and the impact of the legal system on commercial negotiation (and vice versa).
The unit will be delivered in a highly interactive fashion, and will explore issues and develop skills using negotiation role-plays, small group exercises and and full-class discussions, building on themes introduced through interactive lectures, guest lectures and audio-visual input.