Archived Newsletter: Volume V - Issue I

Director’s Letter

Fall 2011 Projects

ABB (Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.)

ABB is a global provider of power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. Engineering companies like ABB often deliver technically complex products, systems and services to its customers.  Claims by or against either party are common for such complicated transactions. HNMCP students analyzed ABB’s approach to claims resolution, with a view to reducing friction and increasing future business without taking on significantly more risk in practice.  Students evaluated ABB’s existing practices, researched industry norms and analyzed typical contract claims in order to predict future trends and make recommendations on how to avoid, mitigate or resolve claims in a more effective way.  In January 2012, the HNMCP team presented its findings to ABB executives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

The central mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans. The CFPB will be supervising financial institutions to help ensure that consumer financial products, services, and practices conform to federal consumer financial protection legal requirements. At times disputes will emerge as financial institutions will wish to appeal the findings of the supervision process. The CFPB is staffed with employees who have transferred from a number of different agencies with different appeals processes; implementing a specific process will require a persuasive proposal backed by extensive research. The HNMCP team researched various appeals models and surveyed stakeholders on current practices with the aim of designing a dispute resolution appeals process to be implemented by the CFPB.  The team presented its findings to key members of the CFPB at a December 2011 meeting of the bureau in Washington, D.C.

Cornerstone Village Cohousing

Cornerstone Village Cohousing is an intentional residential community of 32 households in North Cambridge in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhood. With the acknowledgement that conflict is an inevitable part of working and living together, a plan for a conflict resolution committee was written into the bylaws, but it was disbanded many years ago and since then, Cornerstone has been without any formal means of dispute resolution. The HNMCP team analyzed conflict at Cornerstone and worked with Cornerstone to co-design a dispute resolution process to address structural conflict, inter-household conflict, conflict in committees, and situations where one of the parties refuses to engage in conflict resolution. In December 2011, the HNMCP team presented its findings and recommendations to the Cornerstone community.

Dirección de Gestión y Modernización de la Justicia,  Ministerio de Justicia, Chile (DGM)

The Dirección de Gestión y Modernización de la Justicia (DGM) evaluates, coordinates, implements and monitors reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Justice in Chile. DGM will implement a pilot project focused on providing access to a multi-door model of dispute resolution for underserved constituents, which includes (1) a collaborative option (mediation and conciliation), (2) an adjudicative option (arbitration and referral to the local judge in charge of community disputes), (3) and a social services option. The HNMCP student team evaluated this program, made recommendations for improvement, and provided a suggested methodology for evaluating the pilot program at the conclusion of year 1 operations.  The HNMCP team spent two weeks in Chile in January meeting with key stakeholders, conducting research, and presenting its recommendations.

Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)

The Office of Government Information Services’ (OGIS) mission is to improve the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process and resolve disputes between federal agencies and FOIA requesters. OGIS reviews policies and procedures of administrative agencies, reviews compliance, and recommends policy changes to Congress and the President to improve the administration of FOIA. OGIS will offer mediation services to resolve disputes around FOIA, and sought out HNMCP to help design this mediation program. Students identified key interests and goals of OGIS’s mediation program; interviewed stakeholders for information and to obtain buy-in for using OGIS mediation services; identified types of conflicts appropriate for mediation; and identified alternative dispute resolution processes that will be useful to resolve FOIA disputes.

Seeds of Peace

Seeds of Peace (SoP) is a non-profit dedicated to the pursuit of lasting peace in regions of conflict. Their mission is to help young people develop the relationships, understanding, courage, and leadership skills necessary to advance reconciliation and coexistence.  Their current Junior Leadership Program equips high potential youth in conflict regions with the assets and abilities required for effective leadership in peace-building. SoP plans to offer basic training in mediation and negotiation to its “Peer Leaders” group and contracted HNMCP to develop and deliver this training.  In January, the HNMCP student team traveled to Jerusalem and conducted the training for approximately 30–40 SoP Peer Leaders from the Middle East region.

Client Spotlight: Nate Barber (Town of Nantucket Project)

HNMCP: I know you first heard about HNMCP through an Executive Education class you took at HLS. Remind us a bit about that story, and how you got to know Prof. Bordone?

Nate Barber: I met Bob when I attended a June seminar at HLS in 2009. My union, Local 2509 of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) sent me and fellow Nantucket firefighter Jeff Allen to take the week-long Basic Negotiation class at Harvard. Right from the first day Bob was very interested in our attendance in the class due the fact that he had never had firefighters in his classes or any public safety unions in general. We explained our collective bargaining negotiations in detail and what we were there to learn. He was genuinely interested in our process and type of negotiation and eager to help us in any way he could. The class was an amazing experience. We met great people and learned a great deal to take back to Nantucket for future negotiations.

That October we set up a training on island with former HLS students Elaine (Lin ’10) and Adam (Glenn ’10) with the town administrators and the unions. In the class we had some great feedback from the participants. Bob had the idea of creating a system of negotiation between the town and the major municipal unions. He recognized that negotiations are an ongoing event in our realm and took it as an opportunity for students to work on. I worked with him for about eight months after that to set up and conduct a clinical project with HNMCP, in the Spring of 2010, with the students to come to the island and work on a system.

HNMCP: Did you have any concerns about working with students?

NB: We thought that there was a great deal of benefits of working with the students and very little down side. We liked that the unions and the town would have a mutual project where negotiation could be talked about in the academic setting but contribute to actual future negotiations. We liked that the project was in the hands of capable Harvard students who were willing to donate a significant portion of time to our situation. We also liked that it was going to create a different venue for management and unions to share ideas.

HNMCP: What were some of the challenges of the project?

NB: Some of the challenges had to do with logistics and travel due to the geography of the island. We were able to work through it all with help from the students and IAFF. Scheduling was tricky at times but we were able to get focus groups and interviews together with few problems.

HNMCP: What was your favorite part of the project?

NB: The best part of the project was the fact that both sides sat down and had open and intelligent discussion about negotiations. The report was fantastic, of course, but also the outcome of the project opened up the minds of many people to the ideas of negotiation. Neither side had much negotiation education before the project, so there was a great deal of fresh ideas for everyone to absorb. I believe this open discussion also created a better negotiation relationship for years to come.

Student Spotlight: Vivian Choi ’12

Before coming to law school, I studied and worked in International Relations. I saw the world as made up of negotiations between countries of differing resources, doing what they can within the rules set by the powerful and the incumbents. Growing up, the news at home was always about how Korea gets the short end of the stick when bargaining with the United States, IMF or WTO. But there was no right or wrong, just or fair. We were just in the weaker bargaining position—that was that. Still, I thought that Korea could get a better deal just by having negotiators that knew the rules of the game, understood the language and culture of our counterparts, and were willing to be more active in shaping the process and pushing back on their initial demands. And I wanted to be that person. This dream led me to study international relations, then to continue my education at Harvard Law School.

My 1L classes seemed, at best, challenging but US-centric and, at worst, irrelevant to my career goals. To me, the ability to apply or distinguish cases was only one tool of persuasion, perhaps adequate for an attorney standing in front of an impartial judge in a courtroom setting, but far from enough for a negotiator navigating the power imbalances and emotions that come with international counterparts and domestic constituents. Even as I signed up for the Negotiation Workshop, I feared it would have the same narrow scope that I had found in my other law school experiences so far. But every HLS student and alumnus I had talked to said that this was the one class I absolutely had to take during my time here. Now, I can tell others the same.

I was most surprised at how personal the Negotiation Workshop gets: this is the only class in law school where you are challenged to think about your strengths, weaknesses, and your personal style, all under the guidance of passionate, capable instructors. The Negotiation Workshop also touched on many issues I had not expected such as how my personal hot buttons could get in the way of professional negotiations. The instructors helped us to reexamine what I had thought were inherent skills: being a good listener and an empathetic speaker. We learned to go further, listening actively for parties’ underlying interests and speaking directly to those interests. We were pushed outside our comfort zones. Previously, I had gone to great lengths to avoid “difficult conversations,” but I began to see that maybe they don’t have to be as difficult as I make them up to be in my head. Or I would make assumptions about the other party. Post-Workshop, my basic approach is: know your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), try to find a ZOPA (zone of possible agreement), build relationships—whether or not an agreement is reached—and be diligent about self-reflection.

Enthused from the Negotiation Workshop, I signed up for a project with the Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program. Dispute Systems Design, the class attached to the Clinic, was something I had been also interested in, as most multilateral treaties negotiate a built-in dispute resolution procedure as well. My project focused on helping the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revamp their internal ADR process. Having a real client upped the responsibility factor. The most challenging part was probably planning the sheer logistics of the project, scheduling interviews and focus groups and administering surveys, even Skyping in for client calls from spring break. It was wonderful of the school to fly us out to meet our client in person, hear from him what a big help we had been, and see for ourselves what an important project we were working on. Knowing that we were helping to improve an agency that tries to resolve workplace disputes nationally made it extra rewarding.

This year, I was excited to see that there was a new course for Multiparty Negotiation. This was getting at the heart of what I really wanted to experience. In the Negotiation Workshop, the dyadic negotiations meant that two parties were already at the table because mutual gains could be made, so just by being there I was already given power and a voice. The multilateral negotiation setting of the Multiparty Negotiation Workshop had more varying power imbalances, many different personalities, and thus a wider range of outcomes. Sometimes you had to be more assertive, at other times you could free-ride. I reflected often on sitting with Korean delegates at the U.N., wondering why they would never speak up. Now I understood that if someone else present can make the case for you, why stick your neck out? The multiparty setting also created more opportunities to strategize away from the table. The class was challenging since being assertive and strategic are not things that come naturally to me. But whereas before the Multiparty Negotiation Workshop I was more apt to think that inherent power structures determined most of the outcome, and the only difference a good negotiator can make would be in the margins, now I view multiparty negotiations as something much more malleable. I am keen to look for the right opportunities and moments to shape or redirect a conversation.

The Multiparty Negotiation Workshop also delved into team decision-making, leadership and facilitation. The Guantanamo project was my first “multiparty” team project at HLS. I had never been involved in a project with such smart people and strong personalities before, so every team session was a challenge, while the assignment itself seemed like an impossible problem to approach. But we worked hard, collaborated through our differences, and produced an end-product we were proud of. Even though our team wasn’t picked to present its recommendations on Guantanamo in D.C., I was excited by our team’s process, the obstacles we overcame, and the rapport that was built at each breakthrough. More than anything, it was a great experience to tackle such a complex, high-level problem as if it were our own and is indicative of the work I hope to do later in my career.

After graduation, I’ll be doing Mergers & Acquisitions in a law firm in New York. Having never worked in the private sector before, I think it will be important to learn about the corporate side of things if I hope to negotiate for a country’s economic interests. I am very happy and grateful to have been able to study negotiation through such varied lenses during my time at HLS. The perspective I gained is not only pertinent to my career, but I think healthy for my life in general! Now that I see every interaction through the negotiation lens, things will never be the same.

Student Spotlight: Ellen Wheeler ’12

When Ellen Wheeler ’12 reflects on her experience with negotiation at Harvard Law School, it seems the overriding incentive for her involvement was the fear factor!

“Opportunities like the Negotiation Workshop, that put you outside of your comfort zone, are so valuable in developing skills and growing as a person!” Wheeler has been involved with the Harvard Negotiation Law Review for a significant portion of her time at HLS (she is co-Editor in Chief this year). Reading so much of the literature made her want to put theory to the test. “I applied to the Negotiation Workshop my 1L spring and loved it. I almost did not take it because I was nervous at the prospect of having my interpersonal and relationship skills analyzed.” This fall she took the newly offered Multiparty Negotiations Workshop as well. “I found that the supportive and open environment fostered in all of the negotiation courses put me at ease right away.”

For Wheeler the ultimate hands-on experience came in the fall of 2010 when her project for the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program blossomed from one semester into two. Wheeler, along with Bridget DeVoy ’12 and Lee Brand’12, worked with the International Law Development Organization (IDLO) to analyze the microfinance industry in Alexandria, Egypt. They were charged with determining whether the creation of an alternative dispute resolution system was both desirable and feasible, as well as with making recommendations on how such a system could be implemented. What attracted Wheeler to this particular project? “Like I said: scary! Also, I did a double major in college in government and economics, focusing on development economics. So I was very interested in microfinance and this project offered an opportunity to explore work from my undergraduate degree in the context of my Law School studies in dispute systems design.”

“The project was incredibly challenging. The hardest part was not speaking Arabic. IDLO was interested in microfinance but had not explored it in Egypt, so a lot of our work involved figuring out who the stakeholders were and developing those contacts. We spent a huge amount of time making cold calls to organizations. Often the person would answer in Arabic and I would just try to explain who I was, slowly, in English in the hopes that they would transfer me to someone who spoke English. This worked about 20% of the time.” Wheeler had very much wanted to experience negotiating with individuals despite a language barrier and she found the substantial difficulties around this challenging. Half of their interviews required translators, half were with stakeholders who spoke English, but in either case communication was extremely challenging. “I realized how much I rely upon the ability to notice connotation and nuances of language in order to frame or re-frame questions.”

One of the amazing and unexpected perks, however, was being in Egypt right on the cusp of the revolution. Wheeler and her colleagues flew home two days before the Arab Spring began to blossom. “A lot of work and interviews were focused on the government and socioeconomic issues that came up later on. It was amazing to be able to have an insight into everything that happened.”

As she looks forward to graduation in May, Wheeler reflects on her takeaways both from her clinical project and the Multiparty Negotiation Workshop she finished up in December 2011. The opportunity to grapple with and engage serious complexity was of enduring value. “Absolutely everything was complicated: figuring out the relevant stakeholders, making client contacts, setting up interviews, even getting around. Cairo cabs, for example, are completely crazy and we had to have the hotel’s front desk write down the various addresses in Arabic for us before we set out in the morning. Often, the drivers would drop us off as close to the location as possible, given traffic, but generally that was two blocks from our destination—on streets with no signs and buildings with no addresses! I feel like I am now fully prepared to be sent literally anywhere in the world for a client and trust I can figure things out.”

Alumnus Spotlight: Dimitrios Efstathiou ’06

Dimitrios Efstathiou ’06 describes his position as Senior Counsel for Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing as one that requires him to wear multiple, sometimes competing hats. To keep those hats straight, Efstathiou turns to an old Negotiation Workshop friend—the Seven Elements worksheet.

“Major League Soccer is a single-entity league—the league owns all nineteen teams. So as in-house counsel there are times in negotiating contracts when I wear a ‘League hat’, others when I wear a ‘Team hat’ and many times when it’s a sort of hybrid of the two. Good preparation is essential.”

While each team has its own legal support, Efstathiou regularly assists teams with local broadcast and sponsorship agreements where he must attempt to meet both the team’s interests and the League’s interests. At times like these, he turns to the Seven Elements worksheet. “I list out the various parties and their respective interests, and note where those interests converge and diverge. I can then recognize what ‘hat’ I should be wearing for particular issues during the contract negotiations. Further, I highlight those interests that absolutely must be met, for both the League and/or the team.”

Efstathiou’s interest in negotiation began before he even moved to Cambridge, at a presentation by Prof. Robert Bordone, Director of the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program and lead instructor of the Spring Negotiation Workshop, at an admitted students event. “It just clicked for me. It is easy to make the connection between negotiation skills and the legal profession.” But it was the additional framing of negotiation as something that happens in everyday life that truly resonated for Efstathiou. He considered the Negotiation Workshop as something that would significantly enhance his interpersonal communication skills as well.

As an undergraduate, Efstathiou used an academic lens to study various ethnic conflicts in Southeastern Europe (e.g., the collapse of former Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Greek-Turkish border conflicts) and the potential avenues for non-violent resolution for those disputes at a grassroots level. But his perspective was intensely personal as well. His family is spread across a number of different countries, languages and economic backgrounds, making communication “at times entertaining and at other times strenuous.” Listening to Prof. Bordone talk about the Negotiation Workshop, Efstathiou envisioned the positive impact these skills could have in his life, both professionally and personally. He immediately signed up for the Workshop in his 1L year.

As a joint-degree student at both HLS and The Fletcher School at Tufts University, Efstathiou felt fortunate to have a luxurious four years to participate in the negotiation community at HLS. He took the Dealing with Emotions class and was a Teaching Assistant (TA) for the Negotiation Workshop. “I was a TA for three years, co-teaching in both the Winter and Spring Workshops. I owe a lot to both the Lecturers and my fellow classmates. The TA experience ingrained the foundational Seven Elements in my mind so it became second nature for me to apply them in my professional and personal life,” says Efstathiou. “Before a meeting or conference call, I always spend a few minutes jotting down interests and criteria for both parties. It goes a long way towards framing the negotiation. And ascertaining my BATNA [best alternative to a negotiated agreement] gives me confidence before walking into the room. It allows me to gauge when it is sensible to walk away from the table. And in more personal negotiations (read: arguments!), I have found that separating intent from impact has helped me empathize and see through some of the more heated moments.”

“Not to mention the thousands of dollars in rent I have saved over the past seven years or so! Each time I enter into a new lease, I literally pull out the Seven Elements worksheet and fill it out. And each time, I think the landlord was a bit taken aback by my use of objective criteria and refusal to negotiate against myself.”

Regardless of whom he is negotiating with or which hat he is wearing, Efstathiou sticks to a straightforward negotiating style. “Major League Soccer has grown significantly since its inaugural season in 1996, adding six teams in the last five years and entering into large national broadcast and sponsorship agreements. Major League Soccer is no longer considered a fad but is now recognized as a permanent part of the professional sports landscape. And that sports and entertainment industry is a relatively small world, where character and reputation matter quite a bit. Having all the negotiation skills in the world is of little significance if your rep is poor. For that reason, I don’t like to use much puffery or diversions in negotiations. That way, from the outset, I can clearly communicate to the parties on the other side of the table which issues are ‘deal-breakers’ and in which areas I have more flexibility. As a result I am able to develop trust from the other side that I am a ‘straight-shooter’ that will not raise false issues.” And in Major League Soccer, being a straight-shooter is a valuable reputation to have.

Piloting Justice in Chile

This past January, Leah Kang ’12, Teresa Napoli ’13, and Apoorva Patel ’13 traveled to Chile to investigate the Ministry of Justice’s neighborhood multi-door courthouse pilot program under the supervision of Clinical Instructor and Lecturer on Law Jeremy McClane ’02. The Unidad de Justicia Vecinal (Neighborhood Justice Unit) program is piloting multi-door courthouses in four districts in the greater Santiago area. The pilot program aims to study the potential for a national system of multi-door courthouses that would address the lack of “access to justice” that is a problem for many communities in Chile.
The clinical project began last fall when the Chilean Ministry of Justice asked HNMCP to conduct a study of its Unidad de Justicia Vecinal (UJV) program and to evaluate the Chilean multi-door courthouse model according to principles of ADR and dispute system design theory.  Over January term, the students conducted field research in the form of site visits at each of the the four pilot courthouses, interviewed stakeholders, and observed courthouse processes.

The idea of the multi-door courthouse was originally presented by Harvard Professor Frank Sander, who imagined that a single justice unit could provide multiple fora, or “doors,” for dispute resolution, so that disputants could access a range of ADR options in addition to traditional legal processes. In Chile, the absence of civil reform has created difficult procedural and formalistic barriers to the public’s use of the courts. As a result, there are few avenues for resolution of neighborhood disputes. The UJV program could be the solution for this problem by providing community members with the services of mediation, concilliation, arbitration, legal representation, and social services referrals within a single courthouse.

Based on their research, the students formulated observations and recommendations for improving the UJV program, which the Ministry of Justice will consider as it forms its strategy for a national roll-out of the neighborhood justice units. Before leaving Chile, the students presented their preliminary findings before an audience of Ministry officials and their work was enthusiastically received.

Harvard Mediation Program Looking Forward to Another 30 Years

Having celebrated its 30th anniversary last spring, the Harvard Mediation Program (HMP) is inaugurating a new era with a flurry of training offerings for its members, a review of its training

curriculum, and a reinvigorated sense of community.

This fall, HMP welcomed in another wonderful class of trainees with four days of basic mediation training in October. In addition, HMP held advanced trainings on mediation skills in the corporate world and the psychology of mediation. Elaine Lin (HLS ’10 and current HMP community member) led a hands-on workshop on different ways that mediation skills can be put to use in real-world business contexts. David Hoffman ’84 (founder of Boston Law Collaborative and lecturer at HLS) and Dr. Richard Wolman (clinical psychologist, teacher and researcher) delivered an exciting presentation exploring the psychodynamics of mediations. Both trainings were very well-attended and engaging. We are looking forward to providing additional opportunities to broaden our mediation skills this spring.

Fall 2011 also featured the start of a comprehensive review of the HMP training curriculum. In September, HMP convened a committee of students, community members, faculty, and staff to review its training curriculum for new mediators. Through this review, HMP aims to make its renowned mediation training even better. The curriculum review committee began its work through engaging a variety of stakeholders — including court liaisons, trainers, coaches, and trainees — to learn what works best in training, and how it might be improved. Based on these initial conversations, the committee will sharpen the curriculum’s focus on developing “micro-skills” to help mediators navigate challenging moments during mediation. The committee will also experiment with introducing pedagogical innovations, such as fishbowling simulated mediations and using video footage from mediations, to enrich the learning experience for trainees. As part of curriculum review, the committee will also develop more extensive “train the trainers” and “coach the coaches” training sessions and materials to support its fabulous trainers and coaches, all of whom are volunteers from HMP. The curriculum review process is off to an extremely promising start, and may ultimately continue into 2012–2013.

In addition to trainings and the curriculum review, HMP has worked hard this year to increase the sense of community, both within HMP and in the ADR community at HLS. We started off the fall with a dessert hour in the HMP office, followed by a pizza and movie night with the Negotiators and HNLR. To celebrate Halloween we again collaborated with the Negotiators and HNLR to host a dessert potluck. Before Thanksgiving our Co-President Liz Bailey ’12 opened her home to all HMP members for a holiday potluck. Finally, we finished off the semester with a cookie decorating study break in the HMP office. These events were well attended and generated overwhelmingly positive feedback, creating great momentum for social events as we head into the spring semester. HMP will continue to work with the social chairs of the other ADR groups on campus to plan and host events that will bring students and community members together to stay engaged in and excited about being a part of HMP.

HMP is a student practice organization that mediates disputes in Boston-area courts and housing authorities and provides trainings to the Harvard community and to other local organizations. Our membership includes both students and non-students living in the Boston area. Please contact us if you are interested in getting involved with HMP, or if you know of an organization that may be able to use our mediation services. For more information, please visit our website or contact Elizabeth Bailey ’12 or David Zins ’12 or Mo Griffin.

The Role of Lawyer as Negotiator

Furthering HNMCP’s mission of bridging theory and practice, HNMCP Clinical Instructor Jeremy McClane ’02 delivered a presentation on negotiation skills and theory at the ABA Section of International Law fall meeting in Dublin, Ireland in October. Attendees included high-level practitioners from global law firms as well as individual practitioners with international practices, corporate and government lawyers, and academics.

Jeremy presented on the “Role of Lawyer as Negotiator” panel. In his talk he spoke about the challenges that lawyers face creating deals for their clients that take advantage of opportunities for value creation. His talk focused on the traditional conception of a lawyer’s duties in which some practitioners become trapped, but which ultimately sabotage their ability to get the best deal for their clients. Jeremy discussed different moves negotiators can make to improve their negotiations, and facilitated a lively discussion following a simulated negotiation involving high level members of the section.

Participants at the conference found the topic highly relevant, as most of them engage in complex cross-border negotiations on a regular basis. Consequently the panel and ensuing discussion were well received. “Jeremy did a great job in presenting the material” said Jeff Kerbel, co-chair of the panel, partner of Bennett Jones LLP, and vice-chair of the International M&A and Joint Venture Committee of the Section of International Law. A number of people came up to me during the conference indicating how useful they found the panel and Jeremy’s presentation and even asking whether there would be a sequel. I have never seen that before at an ABA meeting.”

Following this initial presentation, HNMCP and the American Bar Association hope to continue their collaboration to assist each other in developing both theory and practice in international negotiation.

New Advanced Workshop on Multiparty Negotiation, Groups, and Teams

HNMCP Director Robert Bordone ’97 and HNMCP Assistant Director Rory Van Loo ’07 taught a new advanced multiparty negotiation course last semester that is the first of its kind at Harvard Law School to emphasize teams and groups. In the course, twenty-four students worked on their multiparty skills through in-class exercises, case studies, video reviews, and a semester-long consulting project. “Because multiparty negotiations, teams and groups are everywhere, important, and challenging, we wanted to give students the opportunity to improve the negotiation skills they learned in the basic negotiation workshop and also to learn new skills specific to multiparty settings,” said Bordone.

A central part of practicing those skills came through a team consulting project for U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ronald Weich on the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.  In January 2012, four students will travel to Washington, D.C. along with Bordone to advise Assistant Attorney General Weich on negotiations regarding the President’s discretion on how to deal with Guantanamo detainees. The students themselves selected the final team to travel to D.C. and will manage the presentation in D.C. on their own, but they had help along the way. In November 2011 the six original student teams presented to faculty panels that included Noah Feldman ’92, Jody Freeman ’91 LLM ’95 S.JD, Gerald Neuman ’80, and Carol Steiker ’82 AB ’86 JD, along with Bordone and Van Loo. This faculty panel provided coaching and narrowed the field from six to four teams.

Said Grant Strother ’12, a member of the final HLS team selected by the class to travel to Washington, D.C., “The Guantanamo consulting project was a great opportunity to apply the concepts we learned throughout the course, from developing our project groups into effective teams to applying multiparty negotiation strategies to a complex real-world problem. Week to week, the course was an exciting mix of strategy and practice. The consulting project added an extra layer of significance that few courses offer. It is really exciting and a great honor for our team to represent the class in presenting our recommendations to Assistant Attorney General Weich.”

The class itself was the result of months of HNMCP teamwork. As early as January of 2011 former HNMCP Associate Tobias Berkman ’10 began researching possible exercises, surveying literature in the field, and putting together course materials. Clinical Instructors Jeremy McClane ’02 and Chad Carr ’06 wrote and edited cases used in the workshop, including three facilitation simulations that were videotaped.

Students appear to have appreciated what resulted from all of this HNMCP teamwork. As Krista deBoer ’12 put it, “The multiparty course prepared me for aspects of lawyering that other courses leave completely untouched; it was one of the most challenging and important classes I’ve taken in law school.”

Ports Foreign and Domestic

This past December, students on the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau project presented their ideas for a dispute resolution system to the fledgling government agency recently launched by HLS professor and Senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren.

In January the ABB (Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.) team traveled to Zurich to present to a group of ABB executives including the company’s general counsel.  ABB was impressed with the presentation and has made it a priority to implement several of the students’ recommendations in 2012.

In January the Chilean Ministry of Justice (MoJ) team traveled to Santiago to do fieldwork for their project on the MoJ’s  neighborhood multi-door courthouse pilot program. They received local media coverage and the Ministry is ecstatic with the students’ research and recommendations for the system. Read more about the trip here.

This past summer, HNMCP director Robert Bordone ’97 and former Associate Toby Berkman ’10 visited the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine to get a sense of the experience current “seeds” in order to inform the work of this fall’s clinical project with the organization.

In January of 2012, Krystyna Wamboldt ’12 and Rachel Krol ’12, the two students on the Seeds of Peace project, traveled with Prof. Bordone to present their training in Jerusalem.

Sharing Expertise

This summer HNMCP Director Robert Bordone was contacted by a number of news outlets for expert advice on negotiation in relation to current affairs. Read the articles here:

CNN Money
Radio Boston
National Journal

Class Notes

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, Rachel Krol ’12 married Scott  Kirker outside of Philadelphia.

Elaine Lin ’10 wrapped up a year in Oz—teaching, training and coaching with Conflict Management Australasia. She is thrilled to have moved back to Cambridge in November 2011 after accepting a position working with Sheila Heen and Doug Stone at Triad Consulting Group. She looks forward to reconnecting with the HLS community.

Paul Yoo ’11 joined McKinsey & Co. as an associate in the Miami office. He is currently developing a dispute systems design and negotiation strategy for a Fortune 500 company. Paul would like to thank Matt Smith and Bob Bordone for the valuable mediation and negotiation training they provided at HNMCP.

Jane Kucera ’08 is clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Matt Smith ’05, former Clinical Fellow for HNMCP and currently an Associate with McDermott Will & Emery in Los Angeles, published “Reflections on 2011 FCPA Enforcement Trends: The Expanding Role of Foreign Law in Defining ‘Foreign Officials” in the January edition of Bloomberg Law Reports.

We’ve Moved!

HNMCP has moved its offices to 1515 Massachusetts Ave., Austin 102, Cambridge, MA  02138. Our phone will remain 617.496.7109. Our fax will change to 617.496.8775