Fee Earner Training

1 - 2 PQE

Negotiating Skills

Why is it important to train on the fundamentals of negotiating?

We negotiate all the time. We negotiate the terms of our employment. We negotiate when we will complete a piece of work. We negotiate whether we will do this piece of work first or that piece of work. We negotiate how we will complete a piece of work. We negotiate how we will work together on a project.

Negotiating skills are fundamental to fee earners.

The fundamentals of negotiating workshop gives lawyers an introduction on how to plan and manage negotiations.

Negotiating Skills

In covering the fundamentals of negotiating there are a range of topics which can be included:

• Listening skills
• Analysing the situation to define the critical issues
• Brainstorming possible lateral aspects to a negotiation
• Analysing tradeable factors
• Understanding the personalities involved
• Assessing the boundaries

CASE STUDY

A law firm contacted us to design negotiating skills training for lawyers from newly qualified to 2 years PQE, so these lawyers had some experience of negotiations, but were likely to be getting more involved over the next year or two.

We discussed the needs with the training people and then met a few of the lawyers we would be training as well as senior lawyers in their practice areas.

Negotiating can be very different from one practice are to another, but the firm wanted to send lawyers from any practice group to the training. We designed a workshop which included a major role play scenarios with aspects from every practice area. This meant that not only did every lawyer find an aspect from their area involved but also that they had to collaborate in the negotiation across their team.

The workshops were a mixture of introducing the fundamentals and applying these in practice sessions. The result was very lively sessions with fascinating outcomes.

For an initial discussion on negotiating skills training at your firm please email us at info@itd.com or call 0870 777 6734