Negotiation Competition

Get back in touch with your BATNA’s and WATNA’s!

QUOTALS present the annual Corrs Chambers Westgarth Negotiation Competition.

The competition gives you the chance to try out your negotiation skills, learn a little about practical problem solving within the law and have some fun!

What negotiation is!
Two teams, each of two solicitors, meet to discuss a dispute between their clients. Each team is provided with a description of the fact scenario. Some facts are known to both teams, but each team has some secrets too. Each team is also armed with instructions from their client detailing exactly what outcome they should seek - and what should be avoided at all costs. The negotiation will go for 40 minutes, with some time for each team to reflect afterwards.

If you want further reading, feel free to enjoy the verse of Getting to yes: negotiating agreement without giving in / Roger Fisher and William Ury - it’s in the library or on Google Books.

Prizes!
$100 for each member of the winning team and a chance to represent QUT in the negotiations competitions held at the ALSA conference (see www.alsa.asn.au)

How to nominate?
Nominations were called by 5pm on Friday the 27 March 2008 (Week 5) to compete.

Email competitions@quotals.com with “Negotiation” as the subject line. Nominate as a team of two, or if you don’t have a partner, nominate yourself and QUOTALS will pair you up!

The rounds were held in Week 6, with questions being released on Saturday 28 March.

The Workshop

QUOTALS also held a Negotiation Workshop for those interested in gaining vital skill and knowledge to use in the competition. It was conducted by David Pattearson who is an experienced in commercial litigation and has competed in ALSA.

Room Z-207 on the 26 March (Thursday) at 6pm.

The Final

In the professional setting of Corrs Chambers Westgarth 27th floor waterfront office, the finalists of the Negotiation Competition went head-to-head.

The fictional scenario pitted Shaan Stone and Jamie Nuich, representing the Brisbane Rugby Club, against Abby Zeith and Tien Nguyen, representatives of the player in question. The negotiation was hotly contested, with both teams raising impressive arguments for their respective clients. So heated and entertaining it was, that Sinisa Butina, QUOTALS Competitions Director, waited in anticipation for “the claws to come out”!

Unfortunately there could only be one winner. In the words of David Abernethy, a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and one of the adjudicators, “It’s best to do a lot of listening and prevent it from getting too adversarial.” These were the main attributes that saw Stone and Nuich awarded QUT’s best negotiation team.

Nuich was also named MVN (Most Valuable Negotiator) for keeping her calm amidst a tense and somewhat antagonistic atmosphere. Abernethy noted that she “kept structure to the negotiation and brought things back to the point in times of chaos.”

Nguyen also received a special mention for fulfilling a similar role to Nuich, by “calming down her hot headed partner”, Abernethy said.

Nonetheless, the losing team should be commended for their efforts as it was their first time negotiating and had left themselves little time to prepare; quite a contrast from the victorious pair, who were well prepared and regularly compete in the Model United Nations together.

A successful and entertaining evening was the general consensus. Gina Hegarty, the Human Resources Coordinator at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, was very pleased with the turnout and the overall smoothness of the evening. “I look forward to hosting the competition here again next year,” she said.