$0.00 – $6.50
Bruce Patton (adapted by Sheila Heen)
Four-party, two-stage negotiation between an auto mechanic and a client and their respective attorneys over a disputed repair bill; first stage involves lawyer-client interviews and second stage involves negotiation
Note: This simulation may be used in conjunction with the PON video Lawyers and Clients: The Initial Interview, available from the TNRC in videotape, DVD or downloadable format. The Lawyers and Clients video is based on the same fact pattern as this four-party version of Eazy's Garage.
Note: This simulation is also available in a two-party (lawyers only) version here.
SCENARIO:
Susan Garfield has a billing dispute with John Eazer, owner of a local garage, over some work done on Garfield's car. Finding the bill significantly higher than the original informal estimate, Garfield angrily confronted Eazer. Eazer prepared a second bill at an even higher figure. Frustrated, Garfield returned to the garage after closing time with a spare key and drove her car home, without paying anything. Eazer turned to his child-in-law, an attorney, wishing to file a criminal complaint. When phoned, Garfield referred the attorney to her father, a senior partner in a local law firm. Garfield's father is letting one of his young associates handle the case. The negotiation involves both lawyers, and may or may not involve clients Susan Garfield and John Eazer as well.
MECHANICS:
This simulation involves 1-2 hours of preparation (preferably outside class), 30-45 minutes of lawyer-client interviews, and 30-45 minutes of negotiation. The negotiations may involve lawyers only or lawyers and clients, at the instructor's (or students') discretion.
MAJOR LESSONS:
- Importance of lawyer-client interviewing skills, particularly in a negotiation context
- Roles of lawyers and clients in negotiation, and possible tensions in the lawyer-client relationship
- Tension between empathy and assertiveness, especially in the context of a long-term relationship.
- The relevance and uses of objective criteria.
- Negotiating in the shadow of the law (and under the threat of a possible lawsuit).
- Balance among short-term and long-term interests, including financial, relationship, reputation, and emotional interests.
- Questions about what constitutes "success" in this negotiation? Is it making the other side back down? Avoiding litigation? Getting a "fair"deal? What are the criteria for a "good" outcome in negotiation?
TEACHING MATERIALS:
Role specific:
Confidential Instructions for:
- John Eazer
- John Eazer's Attorney
- Susan Garfield
- Susan Garfield's Attorney
- Sample Preparation Memo
Teacher's Package:
- All of the above
- Teaching Note
PROCESS THEMES:
Anchoring; Apologies; Attorney/Client relations; Authority; BATNA; Bluffing; Communication; Education, as a means; Emotions; Ethics; Joint gains; Information exchange; Lawyering; Legitimacy; Litigation analysis; Meaning of "success"; Objective criteria; Offers, first; Partisan perceptions; Principal/agent tensions; Public opinion; Relationship; Separating the people from the problem; Systems of negotiation; Threats; Yesable propositions
Eazy's Garage - Four-Party Attributes
| Time required: | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Number of participants: | 4 |
| Teams involved: | No |
| Agent present: | None |
| Neutral third party present: | None |
| Scoreable: | No |
| Teaching notes available: | No |
| Non-English version available: | German |
