Negotiation Skills (LAWS70468)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | February February May |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
Irrespective of their speciality, lawyers must negotiate. Litigators resolve far more disputes through negotiation than by trial. Business lawyers in every domain negotiate on behalf of their clients. Public interest lawyers, in-house counsel, government lawyers, criminal lawyers, tort lawyers and commercial litigators all share the need to be effective negotiators. However few lawyers have any systematic understanding of why negotiations often fail or have suboptimal results, the dilemmas inherent in negotiations, or the characteristics of effective negotiators.
By combining theory and practice, this subject should improve students’ understanding of negotiation and effectiveness as negotiators. This subject should improve their ability to prepare for a negotiation, to engage others in joint problem-solving, and to select appropriate strategies when negotiations don’t go well. Above all, this subject will equip students to continue refining their skills as they gain more experience.
Florrie Darwin has taught negotiation skills to students, as well as a broad range of professionals, around the world.
Principal topics include:
- Introduction to negotiation principles
- Basic framework for preparing, conducting and reviewing a negotiation
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Creating value in negotiations
- The challenge of distribution
- Effective listening and assertion
- Negotiating via email
- Effective responses to difficult negotiation tactics
- Dealing with structural complexity in negotiation/multi-party negotiations.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of the complexity of negotiation and the principles relevant to effective negotiation;
- Be able to critically examine, analyse and interpret the behaviour of parties to a negotiation;
- Have significantly enhanced his or her negotiation skills and developed a broader and more sophisticated repertoire of negotiation strategies;
- Have an expanded capacity to deal efficiently with differences and conflicts that arise in the context of negotiation;
- Have significantly improved his or her ability to develop and maintain working relationships with others, particularly in relation to interpersonal, communication and feedback skills;
- Have a set of tools with which to make better deals and agreements;
- Have an advanced capacity to learn effectively from his or her own negotiation experience; and
- Be able demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment and responsibility as a practitioner and learner in relation to negotiation.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
Students who have completed any of the below subjects are not permitted to take LAWS70468 Negotiation Skills:
| Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAWS90062 | Business Negotiations and Deal-Making | August (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| LAWS50131 | Negotiations |
July (On Campus - Parkville)
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Additional details
- Class participation (40%)
- Written assignments, including an analytical journal (25%)
- February classes: 1 May
- May class: 19 July
- 3,000 word research paper (35%) on a topic approved by the subject coordinator:
- February classes: 1 May
- May class: 19 July
100% attendance is a hurdle requirement.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- February
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 23 January 2017 Teaching period 20 February 2017 to 24 February 2017 Last self-enrol date 17 October 2016 Census date 20 February 2017 Last date to withdraw without fail 31 March 2017 Assessment period ends 1 May 2017 - February
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 30 January 2017 Teaching period 27 February 2017 to 3 March 2017 Last self-enrol date 17 October 2016 Census date 27 February 2017 Last date to withdraw without fail 31 March 2017 Assessment period ends 1 May 2017 - May
Time commitment details
136-150 hours Classes will not be held on Wednesday, however students will be assigned work on an email negotiation and preparation of cases for the final two days of classes. The pre-teaching period commences four weeks before the subject commencement date. From this time, students are expected to access and review the Reading Guide that will be available from the LMS subject page and the subject materials provided by the subject coordinator, which will be available from Melbourne Law School. Refer to the Reading Guide for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 24 students per offering. Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
Last updated: 3 November 2022