The Red Velvet Lawyer

Culture  and the  Length of the Negotiation Dance Culture can dictate the length of the negotiation dance by determining the number of rounds of concessions and the amount of each expected concession. In cultures in which the parties expect more haggling, parties will make 12-15 offers/counter-offers.  A clip from   Montey Python's Life of Brian , starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, illustrates haggling in a way we'd expect from this group. Brian Cohen, played by Chapman, is trying to escape the pursuit of Roman Centurions by buying a beard as a disguise.  The frightened consumer, however, cannot buy it at the sticker price.  He is forced to haggle.   In sharp contrast , a U.S. consumer has a low tolerance for the negotiation dance.  He or she t ypically will make only 2 or 3 rounds of offers.   As a result, U.S. negotiators: Avoid negotiation, in general, by paying posted prices

In Nearly ALL Situations, Don't Accept the First Offer. Duh! Defending Your Life focuses on a transition stage in which recently dead folks must show to a panel of after-life judges that they have lived full and fearless lives.  If they fail at this proof, they must return to earth and try again. Meryl Streep appears with Albert Brooks who wrote, directed, and starred in the film. I use a clip that shows Daniel Miller, played by Brooks, negotiating for his salary at a new job.  He has died suddenly when his car hits a bus head-on. Examples from his life, including the salary negotiation, increasingly show his fear.  In this clip, he begs his wife to practice with him the night before the salary negotiation, and then, he abandons the approach he had practiced. The clip allows me to discuss the gravitational pull of opening offers, who should open first, appropriate concession patterns, and leverage derived from your BATNA.   

The Pace of the Negotiation "Dance"  and  the "Nibble" Technique Fargo , a Joel and Ethan Coen creation, follows the escalating chaos set in play by Jerry Lundergaard's effort to extort money from his father-in-law through the planned kidnapping of Lundergaard's hapless wife. Lundergaard, a car salesman at his father-in-law's dealership, has been making ends meet by falsifying records to inflate his car sales.  Now, he plans to close the financial gap by getting money out of his bullying father-in-law.   William H. Macy plays Lundergaard.  Francis McDormand plays the pregnant sheriff in pursuit of the bungling kidnapper, played by Steve Buscemi.   Close to the time the Coen's show us Lundergaard's mounting financial problems, Lundergaard completes the sale of a car to a couple caught in a negotiation they thought had ended long before they returned to Lundergaard's office for the keys to their new

From the February 21, 2014 ABA online newsletter: Question of the Week We want to hear from you. Have you ever had a law prof use TV or film to illustrate a concept? Image from  Shutterstock . On a recent snowy  Friday  when only five students could make it to class, Appalachian School of Law professor Paula Marie Young decided that she would screen a long excerpt from the the film  The Negotiator . "It illustrates so many concepts I discuss in my courses," Young wrote at her blog,  The Red Velvet Lawyer . Young teaches certified civil mediation and dispute resolution. There's also a TV series Young likes for this purpose: "I could create an entire course based on the negotiation tactics Francis Underwood uses in House of Cards ," she wrote in a short subsequent post. "My idea. Don't steal it, please." Using a fictional dramas to teach law students isn't unheard of: A William & Mary law professor created a textbook and

The Francis University of Negotiation Skills and Tactics I could create an entire course based on the negotiation tactics Francis Underwood uses in House of Cards . I could call it "Francis University" and give each graduate a pair of cuff links bearing the initials for the name of course.  My idea.  Don't steal it, please. 

It is Always More Fun to Negotiate with Someone who Knows What He or She is Doing! So, you know I'm a big fan of Kevin Spacey .  Add to the list: Sam Jackson and Denzel Washington. Students who have taken my courses know that these actors appear in a number of the film clips I use to illustrate negotiation and mediation concepts and skills. Friday, I held a make-up class one day after a snow storm dumped 8 to 10 inches of snow on Buchanan County.  Up in the "hollers," the snow coverage could have been much deeper.  Our road crews do an amazing job of keeping our roads passable, but it takes time to clear all those roads at higher altitudes. Not surprisingly, only five of eighteen students made it to class. One had to walk. So, I decided that we would watch a long excerpt from the the film, The Negotiator , starring Sam Jackson, as Danny Roman, and Kevin Spacey, as Chris Sabian. They are both experienced, successful Chicago police department host

Survey Says . . . . We're Pretty Fabulous! Ninety-one percent of ASL alumni would recommend the law school to potential students, potential employers, or colleagues. That's what the responses to a survey we distributed to alumni reveals.  Ninety-three percent of our responding alumni had a positive impression of the law school.   Slightly more than half of the survey respondents chose ASL for its location. They identified the law school's experienced faculty (by a large margin) as the top strength of ASL.  Two hundred and one alumni responded to the survey distributed in the Fall 2013,  making the response rate 16.75 percent.  External surveys typically get 10 to 15 percent response rates.  Thanks alums for your support. We love you!