Posted: Friday, 4 January 2019 @ 13:43
Having negotiated many disputes here is my take on common lawyer failings with respect to negotiating:
1 Tendency to Over-Trash the Opposition - It is one thing to support your client but this has the impact of often inflaming the opposing side and making you less likely to settle.
2 Failure To Identify Precisely What the Client Wants - You would think that every lawyer takes the time to get full instructions. Think again, more often than not it does not fully happen.
3 Failure to Listen To the Other Side - As the negotiations continue is your lawyer appraising how things are going?
4 Failure To Identify the Best Case Scenario - You need to hold on to what you can get from the other side Is your lawyer doing it? Sometimes it is easy to fall short.
5 Neglecting to Deal with the Detail At The End of The Agreement - It is critical that your lawyer keeps working even if the key shape of the deal has been reached. At this level small details do matter.