77745 Negotiation
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): ((22 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C07122 Graduate Diploma Legal Studies OR 22 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04264 Master of Legal Studies)) OR 79771c Dispute Resolution OR ((94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04236 Juris Doctor OR 142 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04250 Juris Doctor Master of Business Administration OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04363 Juris Doctor Master of Intellectual Property OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04364 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Trade Mark Law and Practice) AND 70106c Principles of Public International Law AND 70107c Principles of Company Law) OR (94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04320 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Professional Legal Practice AND 70106 Principles of Public International Law) OR (70108c Public International Law AND 70417c Corporate Law)
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 78175 Negotiation
Description
Negotiation is an essential subject for law students. It is arguable that lawyers spend more time negotiating than they do anything else. Lawyers negotiate with clients and for clients, with their employers and employees, colleagues, with lawyers for the other side (and their support staff), with the court system, with the judicial officer and with their families. Understanding how to negotiate fairly and effectively is likely to be more important to the future life and career of a legal professional than any other skill.
This subject brings together current theories and practice in negotiation skills and analysis with an emphasis on identifying effective negotiation strategies. It is taught in a three-day intensive block which is designed to provide a participatory and engaging workshop-based approach to learning and applying negotiation theory and skills followed by a single day assessment seminar. Many diverse approaches to negotiation are covered, with a primary focus on 'principled negotiation' as taught by the Harvard Law School's Project on Negotiation.
Students practise and develop their negotiation skills and understanding through simulated role-plays and exercises focused around distributive and integrative bargaining, principled negotiation theory and practice and the challenges of complex multi-party and multi-disciplinary negotiations and e-negotiations. Negotiation practice is further cultivated through a student-developed scenario and evaluation checklist to measure the effectiveness of a simulated negotiation process and its outcomes. Through role-plays and debriefs, students have continuous opportunities to receive feedback from peers and teaching staff. Finally, students demonstrate effective and appropriate written communication and the ability to analyse, research, and persuade in a research essay.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Investigate, analyse, evaluate and apply negotiation processes and bargaining styles, including integrative and distributive bargaining; |
|---|---|
| 2. | Differentiate Principled Negotiation from other techniques and negotiation approaches and apply the cognitive, technical and creative skills of Principled Negotiation at practical and theoretical levels; |
| 3. | Prepare, manage, design and execute a formal negotiation by applying Principled Negotiation techniques and evaluate and review a completed negotiation; |
| 4. | Critically analyse, distinguish and communicate the major theoretical propositions, methodologies, and professional issues in negotiation literature including power, coalition building, persuasion, trust and ethical issues; |
| 5. | Implement self-directed work and development including preparing for and applying feedback on negotiation tasks, managing individual contribution to group work and employing reflective practices to evaluate their personal contribution when working with others. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes which reflect the course intended learning outcomes:
- Legal Knowledge
An advanced and integrated understanding of a complex body of legal knowledge including:
a. The Australian colonial and post-colonial legal system, international and comparative contexts, theoretical and technical knowledge;
b. The broader contexts within which legal issues arise and the law operates including cultural awareness, social justice and policy;
c. The principles and values of justice and ethical practices in lawyers' roles;
d. The impact of Anglo-Australian laws on Indigenous peoples, including their historical origins in the process of colonisation and ongoing impact; and
e. Contemporary developments in law and its professional practice. (1.1) - Critical Analysis and Evaluation
A capacity to think critically, strategically and creatively, including an ability to:
a. Identify and articulate complex legal issues in context, including the skill of critical reading and writing;
b. Apply reasoning and research to generate appropriate theoretical and practical responses; and
c. Demonstrate sophisticated cognitive and creative skills in approaching complex legal issues and generating appropriate responses. (3.1) - Self-management
A high level of autonomy, accountability and professionalism and the ability to implement appropriate self-management and life-long learning strategies including:
a. An ability to initiate self-directed work and learning;
b. Well-developed judgment and responsibility;
c. The ability to support personal and professional development by:
- (i) Self-assessing skills and personal wellbeing; and
- (ii) Making appropriate use of feedback;
Teaching and learning strategies
Strategy 1
Independent and self-managed Learning
Pre-program readings will be available on CANVAS. Reading these materials enables students to clarify concepts and terminology and to familiarise themselves with necessary content and skills prior to attending the intensive block. Students continue preparing independently for each day of the intensive by reflecting overnight upon the day’s learning. Days 2 and 3 of the intensive block begin with a review where students share their questions and observations from the previous day. During the intensive, students proactively manage their time when participating in group exercises and role-play opportunities. There is ongoing encouragement for students to learn from each other and responsibly practise new skills by experimenting with ideas in the roleplays, as well as reflect on their experiences through class discussion and group reporting. This requirement for self-directed learning and time-management mirrors the requirements of professional practice. Self-management strategies and independent learning are crucial to continuing development as legal professionals and dispute resolution practitioners.
Strategy 2
Engaging in Lectures and Seminars
Intensive block days involve a combination of lectures and interactive workshop sessions. In the lectures, students develop a thorough understanding of negotiation concepts and methods. This prepares them to experiment with practical implementation of the theory in real-world scenarios through the role-play exercises. The lectures provide students with an in-depth understanding of various negotiation techniques and methodologies, as well as ethical issues that can arise in relation to different techniques and consideration of factors such as cultural background and emotional state in negotiation. Students are encouraged to ask questions, clarify theoretical issues, explore new ideas and practise critiquing theories and literature during participatory lectures, class discussion and debriefing sessions. Students are also challenged to reflect on their own learned negotiation behaviours in the light of their new theoretical understanding.
Strategy 3
Role-plays, Exercises and Debriefs
Throughout the intensive block, students experience the practical aspects of negotiation in simulated role-plays and other negotiation exercises. Students build on the theoretical knowledge acquired through the subject materials, lectures and discussions to develop effective and appropriate communication skills. Splitting into groups at various stages throughout the intensive block, students are given outlines of a dispute to negotiate. They take on a role and attempt to negotiate a positive outcome for their character. This allows students to gain a hands-on appreciation of the techniques, emotions and difficulties that can arise in a negotiation in a supportive, non-threatening environment. At the end of the workshop, students share and explore their experiences, gaining insight into the perspectives of those on the other side of the negotiation table. This encourages greater awareness of the factors that can impact negotiation, provides them with feedback on their personal negotiation style and exposes them to the differing negotiation styles of other students. Over the three days of the intensive, students are introduced to increasingly complex and challenging negotiation processes finishing with a significant group negotiation. Students are also required to engage in reflective self-evaluation of their performance, enhancing their understanding of group dynamics between professionals in a collaborative environment.
Strategy 4
Feedback
Individual and group feedback is provided to students during and after completion of each role-play throughout the intensive block. Students receive on the spot instruction and support from teaching staff as well as having many opportunities to discuss their experiences with their peers and engage in individual self-evaluation. Students incrementally develop and increase their negotiation skills through exploring various roleplay characters, receiving feedback and adjusting their approaches in the next negotiation. Each negotiation exercise provides students with an opportunity for reflective practice which is relevant to Assessment Task 1. The formal debrief which follows each negotiation exercise also ensures that students integrate practice with theory and reflect on their improvement as the subject progresses.
Additionally, these feedback and debrief periods after each role-play provide students with the opportunity to critically engage in testing and adapting evaluative techniques and approaches. As students become more familiar with evaluative perspectives, they become better prepared for the evaluation in Assessment Task 2. Written feedback is provided for the assessment tasks.
Subject Delivery
There is a requirement in this subject to attend at least 80% of the timetabled classes and seminar workshop. If you are unable to attend due to circumstances beyond your control, you may apply for special consideration. Special consideration applications will be assessed by student administration according to UTS special consideration rules and procedures.
Content (topics)
- Distributive and Integrative Bargaining
- Principled negotiation theory and practice
- Pre-negotiation analysis, preparation and participation
- The challenges of complex negotiations, including agency and team issues
- Collaborative Law as a multi-disciplinary negotiation process
- Negotiation behaviours and communication issues
- Coalition dynamics
- Risk analysis
- Trust issues
- Good faith, persuasion and deception
- Power
- Gender in negotiation
- Cultural issues
- E-negotiation
- Evaluation and review of a completed negotiation to enhance future performance.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Presentation
| Intent: | This task assesses the ability of students to prepare and articulate to a group the principles underpinning a negotiation framework or |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1.1, 3.1 and 8.1 |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | Notional 1,500 words (max) |
| Criteria: |
|
Assessment task 2: A critique of a theory or theories explored during the program
| Intent: | This task assesses the ability of students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the main concepts of a negotiation theory and to explore its usefulness or impact in the dispute resolution field. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 4 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1.1, 3.1 and 8.1 |
| Weight: | 60% |
| Length: | 3,000 words |
| Criteria: |
|
Required texts
Roy J Lewicki, Bruce Barry, and David Saunders, Essentials of Negotiation (McGraw Hill, 8th ed, 2024)
Recommended texts
Roy Lewicki, Bruce Barry, and David Saunders, Negotiation, (McGraw Hill, 9th ed, 2024)
Michael Watkins, Breakthrough Business Negotiations (Jossey Bass, 2002)
Other resources
Books
Nadja Alexander, Jill Howieson and Kenneth Fox, Negotiation: Strategy, Style, Skills (Lexis Nexis, 3rd ed, 2015)
Michael Benoliel, Negotiation Excellence: Successful Deal Making (World Scientific, 2011)
Roger Fisher, E Lopelman and A Schneider, Beyond Machiavelli: Tools for Coping with Conflict (Harvard University Press, 1994)
Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro, Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate (Penguin Books, 2005)
Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton, Getting to Yes: Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In (Random House, 2nd ed, 1999) – or any later edition.
Deborah Kolb and Judith William, The Shadow Negotiation: How Women Can Master the Hidden Agenda that Determine Bargaining Success (Simon and Schuster, 2000)
Roderick M Kramer and David Messick, eds, Negotiation as a Social Process (Sage Publications,1995))
Christopher Moore & Peter Woodrow, Handbook of Global and Multicultural Negotiation (Jossey-Bass 2010)
Barry Nalebuff, Split the Pie – A Radical New Way to Negotiate, (Harper Collins, 2022)
Howard Raiffa, John Richardson, and David Metcalfe, Negotiation Analysis: The Science and Art of Collaborative Decision Making (Harvard University Press, 2002)
Robert H Mnookin, Scott R Peppet, and Andrew S Tulumello, Beyond Winning: Negotiation to Create Value in Deals and Disputes (Harvard University Press, 2000)
Robert H Mnookin and Lawrence E Susskind, eds, Negotiating on Behalf of Others: Advice to Lawyers, Business Executives, Sports Agents, Diplomats, Politicians and Everybody Else (Sage Publications,1999)
Lawrence Susskind, Good for You, Great for Me (Public Affairs, 2014)
Ray Fells and Noa Sheer, Effective Negotiation: From Research to Results (Cambridge University Press, 4th Ed, 2019)
Journals
Negotiation Journal
International Negotiation
Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal
Bond Law Review
Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution
Harvard Law Review