INTRODUCTION

Negotiation is the act or conduct of negotiating with the opposing

party in order to reach a settlement. It pertains to the mode of
bargaining with others in order to reach an agreement. It covers
procurement and arrangement as to conclude by mutual discussion
an agreement ibid
Resorting to negotiations depends upon the subject matter in issue.
Usually, negotiation is not resorted to in criminal cases. It is done only
at the option and consent of the defendant. In civil cases however,
negotiation through pre-trial is mandatory as provided by the rules of
court. Negotiations are generally resorted to through intermediaries
such as lawyers, especially so when the matters to be decided to are
complex or involve points of law in which lawyers are presumed to be
the best
LOYALTIES OF LAWYERS WHEN IN
NEGOTIATION
SOCIETY
LEGAL PROFESSION
COURT
CLIENT
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The legal environment in which the lawyer must work with when in
the act of negotiation are threefold.
1. the lawyer must act in accordance to the tenets of the constitution
which states a speedy disposition of their case; a speedy and
impartial trial
2. the lawyer must be guided by the rules laid out in the rules of court
when in the act of negotiation
3.) Lastly, the lawyer must act according to the rules laid out by
jurisprudence when in negotiation
HISTORY
Ever since civilization began and communities have been established,
negotiation has always been part of human existence
It is said that of all the modes of conflict management, negotiative
processes are the most flexible, efficient, economical and eminently
sensible in the human repertoire for managing issues, differences,
and controversies
five approaches in the evolution of
negotiative behavior:
Primal Negotiation
This was the all against all world Thomas Hobbes described in The
Leviathan (1651). Similar in purpose, the focus of this negotiation approach is
to serve the human instinct to survive and every war or hostile action must be
brought to an end if that is to happen. This primal form of negotiation is
largely unschooled and more reliant on visceral instinct than a planned,
overtly conscious activity.

ibid
 Strategic Negotiation
The active use of strategic thinking, conscious and intentional
planning directed toward manipulating people and circumstances to
bring about a desired outcome became a core element of negotiation
in the course of the 16th Century Renaissance. This period was
tumultuous with the Catholic Papacy instigating wars against many of
the Italian city-states, while, at the same time, other foreign powers
were also battling for influence and control. Political and military
alliances shifted continuously
 Early Modern Rationalist Negotiation
As a result of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century and the
subsequent Enlightenment of the 18th Century, how people in the Western
cultures viewed the world around them shifted dramatically. The quest for
the truth, previously pursued by and through religious faith, was supplanted
by a faith in reason, and now began to be pursued by and through rational
thinking. Negotiative behavior and practice came to be viewed as a rational
enterprise.
ibid
 Modern Techno-Rational Negotiation
This was seen in the mid 20th Century, after World War II in the wake
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attack, the principles of the earlier
rationalist negotiation approach were studied with renewed vigor and
intensity. The nuclear threat congealed into the geo-politics of the
Cold War that pre-occupied much of the world as either players or
pawns, between 1949 and 1989. There is no question but that it was
fertile terrain for those interested in negotiative processes; people
suddenly became serious about exploring alternatives
 Post-Modern Rationally-Irrational Negotiation
The present day conflicts and issues are more complex and level of
antagonism between people more strident than at any time in recent
memory for three reasons: 1) many of those issues present wicked
problems that are difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete,
contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to
recognize and often harbor unintended consequences; 2) both the experts
and people in general feel a loss of control; and 3) people are more becoming
more aware that reason and rational problem solving methodologies, as they
have traditionally been applied, are insufficient.
ibid