Penn State Law will host the third annual Negotiation Marathon from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, in Lewis Katz Hall, Carlisle, Pa.
“Today’s lawyers negotiate all the time, whether their practice is focused on litigation, regulation or transactions. Their performance in these negotiations will have both short-term and long-term consequences, and we want to prepare students for that,” said Professor Nancy Welsh.
This event is designed to introduce law students to legal negotiation and mediation and allow them to develop their skills in representing clients in both settings. They will receive feedback from experienced, well-respected lawyers, judicial officers and lawyer-mediators.
"Mediation is either mandated or reasonably expected by the courts in the federal system, and increasingly in state courts. It’s expected because it works and it resolves cases; and knowing what you’re doing in the process serves clients and the mediation process well,” said student coach, judge and 1982 alumnus Jeffrey Elliott, a partner of Kozloff Stoudt. "I’m thrilled to again be invited to participate in this worthwhile program at the Dickinson School of Law, and to be given the opportunity to favorably influence its talented law students and future lawyers regarding the value and indispensability of mediation and ADR in our judicial system today. As these young lawyers pass the bar and move to the 'real world' of legal practice, having this experience will be a valuable take away."
Prior to the event, students will receive information that they will use in two, one-on-one negotiation sessions and a final mediation session, using an evolving fact pattern. After each of the sessions participants will receive feedback from lawyers who have been nominated by judges and other lawyers in this region as among the most effective and trustworthy legal negotiators with whom they have worked. After the mediation session, in which students will play either a lawyer or a client, they will also receive feedback from an experienced mediator participating in the process.
“Negotiation is a skill which, like all other acquired abilities, requires both study and practice. Students who participate in this challenging event are taking an important step toward becoming more well-rounded lawyers and better client representatives,” said attorney Joseph Barrett, a certified mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.