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Law And Negotiation: Necessary Partners Or Strange Bedfellows?, Nancy Schultz

Nancy Schultz

To what degree does legal authority dictate the outcomes of negotiations? Scholars have discussed the issue, and law students argue about it in their negotiation classes. A survey of practicing lawyers reveals that knowing the law is an important part of the preparation for negotiation, but that legal authority is not the primary determinant of negotiated outcomes in practice. Financial constraints, bargaining power, and negotiating skill are all reported as having a greater effect on negotiated outcomes than the law.