From Publishers Weekly
Observing that today's tough, adversarial legal negotiations preempt mutually beneficial problem solving between parties, Mnookin (director of the Harvard Negotiation Research Project and a professor at Harvard Law School) and his coauthors urge lawyers to adopt a proactive, optimistic and realistic mindset to transform their practices. Though they are careful to acknowledge the difficulty of changing from the standard gladiatorial stance, Mnookin, Peppet and Tulumello present compelling examples of the advantages that such a change can bring in divorce cases, sales of existing companies, real estate deals and contract negotiations. Their comparison of litigation-gone-bad (e.g., the Buchwald v. Paramount Pictures lawsuit that benefited neither party) with more positive approaches (e.g., the problem-solving mode used in the once-nasty Digital Equipment Corp. patent infringement dispute with Intel) argues for serious consideration of their techniques. For those still resistant to giving up their Road Warrior ways, the authors provide tables of strategies with "Limiting Assumptions" contrasted with "More Helpful Assumptions" that dare even the most pigheaded to ignore common sense. Although Mnookin, Peppet and Tulumello have consciously aimed the book at attorneys who want to serve clients' broader needs better as well as to protect their interests, the authors' practical, straightforward and jargon-free style makes this a valuable resource for anybody who is about to hire an attorney, file a lawsuit or sign a contract. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Booklist
Mnookin heads the Harvard Negotiation Research Project; both of his coauthors have been project research fellows. Conventional negotiating strategy often requires adversarial positions, but the authors propose viewing negotiating as a problem-solving task. They target lawyers (and, by extension, those who hire lawyers) who "feel sickened by the trench warfare and exhausted by cases that drag on" when opposing battle lines are drawn. They explain that creating value is the key to successful negotiating. The goal should not be to win the biggest piece of the pie but to make the pie bigger! The authors show how negotiation requires balancing three sets of tensions: those between winning and "making the pie bigger," between empathy and assertiveness, and between principals and agents. They suggest that lawyers are uniquely positioned to create value when resolving disputes and making deals. A major portion of the book is devoted to illustrating concrete problem-solving techniques, and the authors conclude with a consideration of the professional and ethical dilemmas posed by legal negotiations. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
