Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Jay Finkelstein

J.D. Seminar 240 | 3 credit hours

This course is structured around a semester-long, simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent a US pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the students in a similar class at the University of Dundee in Scotland will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations will take place through written exchanges and through live negotiation via videoconference. Substantive law issues related to the transaction, as well as negotiations strategy and related issues, will be addressed in this class. The goals of this course are (i) to introduce students to transactional law, (ii) to provide negotiations training in the context of transactional practice, and (iii) to further practical legal skills. The focus is on having students apply their legal and non-legal knowledge in the context of serving as a lawyer negotiating an international business transaction within the controlled environment of the classroom. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as preparing for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. Grades will be based on participation in the exercises, students’ diaries, and a final paper.

Recommended: Corporations; basic negotiations class (or prior negotiations experience).

Students may not receive credit for this course and the International Negotiations Seminar in the graduate program (LAWJ-958 or LAWG-958) or the J.D. class International Negotiations Seminar.

NOTE: This class has five Saturday morning sessions as well as the Monday afternoon sessions. The Saturday sessions are devoted to the live negotiations with Dundee Scotland and will be held at the DC offices of DLA Piper (near Gallery Place Metro). Due to the Saturday sessions, the Monday sessions will end earlier in the semester. The seminar will meet on the following Saturdays, 8:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m.: 2/8/14, 2/15/14, 2/22/14, 3/1/14. The seminar will meet on Saturday, 3/22/14, 8:30 a.m-12:30 p.m. Since there is no Monday class on Presidents’ Day, a special class will be held following the 2/15 negotiations session from 12:30 to 2:30 so that this class remains in sync with the class in Dundee, Scotland.

NOTE: Due to the coordination with the class in Dundee, Scotland, this class does not cancel even if Georgetown Law is closed. In the event of a weather closing, this class will be held via conference call dial-in.