The New Lawyer and Planned Early Negotiation

Professor John Lande, Director of the Program in Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law –ranked by U.S. News as one of the best dispute resolution law school programs in the country -- has written a new book for lawyers entitled Planned Early Negotiation: How You Can Get Good Results for Clients and Make Money.

Professor Lande describes the book on his website as

…written primarily for lawyers who want to improve their effectiveness….This guide shows how you can be more successful using Planned Early Negotiation (PEN). The strategies in this book can help you become a more effective negotiator, which can increase your professional satisfaction, generate good will, relieve stress, and increase your effective billing rates with creative fee arrangements. The book includes advice from interviews of outstanding lawyers who handle all kinds of cases….With PEN, you serve your clients’ interests by planning to negotiate from the outset. Litigation is still possible, but it isn’t the first step.

This book is based on research on mediation and Cooperative and Collaborative Practice. It suggests that lawyers take the initiative to jointly manage their cases. This involves exchanging the information you need to settle instead of waiting to respond to courts or mediators. It suggests procedures to plan constructive negotiations - and deal with problems that commonly arise.

I have previously blogged about the changes coming and why the practice of law is moving from the “lawyer as warrior” paradigm to the much more complex New Lawyer roles of counselor, negotiator, mediator and meta-expert.

Professor Lande has written a “how to” guide for lawyers to assist them to become effective practicing New Lawyers.

The American Bar Association published the book, which includes a CD with practical information and forms. Here are links to the table of contents and a detailed summary of the book. For more information and to order the book, click here.

This is exactly the kind of information the profession needs. I’ve already ordered my copy. Thank you John Lande.