Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Stephen Altman

J.D. Seminar 317 | 3 credit hours

This seminar is an interactive workshop designed to teach the practice and principles of joint problem-solving and to improve students' negotiating skills. Students will be expected to read, write, discuss, critique, and participate in simulated disputes, both in and outside of class. The simulations are designed to familiarize students with the negotiating process, to plan and prepare for negotiations, to identify and experiment with individual negotiating styles and to raise ethical and practical questions. Simulations are taken from a variety of practice areas, including community, commercial, environmental, interpersonal, litigation, and transactional disputes. The effect of gender, culture, power, politics, impasse, and attitude toward conflict will also be explored.

Students learn to negotiate by participating in simulations, studying and discussing negotiation theory and principles, analyzing negotiation exercises, and being critiqued. They will analyze their own negotiations by maintaining a weekly journal throughout the seminar.

The class meets once a week for three hours; attendance is required to fulfill class commitment and students must attend the first class to be enrolled. Grades will be based on class participation, development and application of negotiation skills, the quality of the student's journal (including analysis, application of theory and principles, self-reflection, creativity, style, and organization), and the quality of and result of simulated negotiations.

Prerequisite: Completion of all first year courses, except Property and Criminal Justice (or the equivalent Democracy and Coercion), or Criminal Procedure, is required.

Students may not receive credit for both this seminar and the Negotiations and Mediation Seminar; or Negotiations and Mediation in a Public Interest Setting, or Contracts: Structure and Negotiations or Negotiations and Drafting Seminar.

Attendance at all class sessions is required and all enrolled and waitlisted students must attend first class to be enrolled.