Legal Role-Play:

Super Slipster

$0.00$6.50

Matt Smith under the supervision of Robert C. Bordone, with revisions by Michael Moffitt

Two-party personal injury settlement negotiation between the attorney for the injured plaintiff and general counsel for the defendant toy manufacturing company

Quantity

Please note: you must order a copy (a.k.a. license/usage fee) for every person participating in the simulation in your course. This simulation has multiple roles, so you will be unable to complete your purchase without meeting the minimum quantity requirement of copies per role.

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SCENARIO:
This is a two-party negotiation between the attorney for an injured party (Adam Sidwell) and general counsel for a toy equipment manufacturer (Kiddie Craze, Inc., or KCI), regarding the possible settlement of a personal injury lawsuit. 42-year-old Sidwell was rendered a paraplegic after diving headfirst onto KCI's Super Slipster toy, a long plastic slide that becomes extremely slippery when wet. If the attorneys do not reach a settlement, the case will proceed to a jury trial.

 

TEACHING POINTS:

  • The tension between value creation and value distribution, along with basic distributive negotiation concepts such as reservation value, aspiration value, anchoring, best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA), and zone of possible agreement (ZOPA).
  • The importance of preparation. Each party is given a fairly large amount of information, much of it quantitative. These materials can be used to create objective criteria that could be useful during the negotiation.
  • The effects of information asymmetries and information disclosure and/or non-disclosure on the negotiation process.
  • The benefits and challenges inherent in negotiating as a representative rather than as a principal.
  • The dynamics particular to negotiating in the shadow of the law (i.e., when the alternative to reaching agreement is clearly litigation).

 

PARTICIPANT MATERIALS INCLUDE:

General Instructions for both parties


Confidential Instructions for:

  • Kiddie Craze, Inc.'s general counsel
  • Adam Sidwell's attorney

 

Teacher's Package Includes:

  • All of the above
  • Teaching note
  • Sample Seven-Element Preparation Sheet (handout)

Super Slipster Attributes

Time required: 1-2 hours
Number of participants: 2
Teams involved: No
Agent present: Lawyer
Neutral third party present: None
Scoreable: No
Teaching notes available: Yes