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Evaluating Blue Chips vs Bargaining Chips (Part One)

Evaluating Blue Chips vs Bargaining Chips (Part One)

“Pay extra attention to the minutiae and ensure you fully understand every term and condition,” this senior partner told me when I was a junior associate. “Some lawyers will try to bury critical provisions in the least obvious places. It’s your job to catch and...
Limited Authority Reponses

Limited Authority Reponses

“I would love to do the deal, but I just don’t have the authority.” I can’t count how many times I have heard this in a negotiation. It’s probably one of the most common statements in all negotiations. It’s also often a smart strategic move, especially if you...
Disadvantages of Taking a Break – Part Two

Disadvantages of Taking a Break – Part Two

The vote to depose Managing Partner Jessica Pearson of Pearson Hardman, the fictitious law firm in USA Network’s legal drama series Suits, was moments away. She was going to lose. But then star associate Mike Ross barged into the meeting, threw a folder onto the...
Advantages to Taking a Break – Part One

Advantages to Taking a Break – Part One

“I just bought us 48 hours,” star lawyer Harvey Specter told his understudy in the USA Network legal drama series Suits. He said this after getting his incarcerated client to hit him, a shocking move that gave them sufficient time to elicit a confession from the...
Ben Franklin’s Masterful Negotiations – Part Two

Ben Franklin’s Masterful Negotiations – Part Two

Founding Father George Washington has his famous cherry tree story about his honesty (which ironically was untrue). But Founding Father Benjamin Franklin has a real story about his very own mulberry tree behind his Philadelphia house – and it relates to his effective...
Learning from Negotiation Mistakes

Learning from Negotiation Mistakes

I have always been intensely competitive – in sports, business and in negotiations. It’s a strength and weakness. I remember losing a particular high school tennis match that really motivated me to hit the practice court even more. And to this day, I still feel...
How to Raise Your Rates

How to Raise Your Rates

When I practiced law in the mid-1990s, my law firm sent out its new fee rates every January. And our clients basically just said “ok.” Our rates would go up a bit each year, and it was generally viewed as no big deal. With the incredibly competitive marketplace these...
Negotiating with Monkeys

Negotiating with Monkeys

I am unaware of any research into the negotiating habits of monkeys. But the monkeys in Bali do negotiate – at least with humans – and apparently do it fairly well. This week’s column is based on BBC Planet Earth’s 3-minute video (here’s the LINK) entitled The...