Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
245 sec. 003 - Negotiations (Spring 2025)
Instructor: Christopher Burch Hockett (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 2
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
M 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM
Location: Law 107
From January 13, 2025
To April 07, 2025
Course End: April 07, 2025
Class Number: 32861
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 20
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 20
As of: 11/22 11:45 AM
You can’t practice law without negotiating. Commercial litigators negotiate settlements, corporate lawyers negotiate deals, and public interest, in-house, government, and criminal lawyers all negotiate on behalf of their clients. And you will inevitably have to negotiate with your own bosses, clients, and team members. Yet few professionals study the negotiation process itself - why some negotiations fail, the inherent dilemmas in bargaining, or the skills required to negotiate successfully.
This class fills that gap by combining negotiation theory and intensive hands-on practice. It develops your self-awareness as a negotiator and provides tools for analyzing and preparing for negotiations. Through practice with role-plays, self-reflection, and feedback from others, you'll sharpen your negotiating abilities. But it goes beyond just tactics - you'll explore the bigger picture of how negotiation fits into legal contexts, ethical considerations, collaborating with others, and more. It's an intense, hands-on learning experience requiring weekly readings, assignments, and live negotiation simulations. You'll learn by doing, figuring out what works (or doesn't), reflecting on it, and trying new approaches.
The course moves from negotiations with fewer factors to more complex scenarios, helping you appreciate first-hand the nuanced challenges they present. As the course progresses, you will learn how to refine your personal negotiation style and develop tools for self-awareness, adaptability, and ongoing self-improvement. Because participating in the weekly simulations is central to the course, attendance is mandatory.
Instructor Bio: Chris Hockett is a retired partner from Davis Polk’s Northern California office, where he focused on complex disputes and strategic problem-solving for many of the world’s largest technology and communications companies. He now serves as a mediator, arbitrator, and court-appointed Special Master, and teaches at Berkeley Law and University of Virginia Law School. He also co-chairs an annual intensive training program for federal judges that alternates between Berkeley Law and the University of Chicago Law School.
During his career in practice, Chris handled a broad range of high-stakes commercial litigation matters, including in the areas of antitrust and unfair competition, intellectual property, securities, and consumer class actions. As lead counsel, he prevailed for clients in over 100 complex cases, as well as led negotiations that successfully resolved claims involving billions of dollars.
Chris teaches Negotiations as well as a course on Antitrust and Digital Platforms. He is on the Northern District of California Mediation and Early Neutral Evaluation Panels, and also serves on the Northern District of California’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Local Rules Committee. Chris received his law degree from the University of Virginia.
Special enrollment rules for this class:
1) You must purchase a license for the required role-play materials from the Bookstore. Each student who purchases a license will receive confidential role-play information directly from the instructor depending on their role in a particular negotiation. You cannot participate in the negotiation exercises without purchasing the role-play license from the Bookstore. You must purchase these materials by the end of the first week of class or be dropped from the course.
2) You must attend the first class in order to be admitted. Any student who does not attend the first class without prior permission of the instructor will be dropped from the class.
3) You must commit to remain in the course by no later than noon on Friday, January 17, 2025, the last day of the first full week of spring semester classes. Due to both the use of simulation exercises throughout the semester and the need to determine the members of the class as soon as possible, the usual provisions of "Drop/Add" do not apply.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Simulation Courses
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may add a file like a syllabus or a first assignment to this page.
Readers:
No reader.
Books:
Required Books are in blue
- Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People
G. Richard Shell
Edition: 3rd
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780143036975
e-Book Available: unknown
Price: $11.19
Note: prices are sampled from internet bookstores. Law-school Bookstore prices are unavailable at this time. - Beyond Winning
Robert H. Mnookin, Scott R. Peppet, Andrew S. Tulumello,
Edition: 2004
Publisher: Belknap Press
ISBN: 9780674012318
e-Book Available: unknown
Price: 5.99
Note: prices are sampled from internet bookstores. Law-school Bookstore prices are unavailable at this time. - Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton
Edition: 2011
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780143118756
e-Book Available: unknown
Price: 18.00
Note: prices are sampled from internet bookstores. Law-school Bookstore prices are unavailable at this time. - Mandatory Role Play Case Files
Berkeley Law Bookstore
Price: $40
Price Source: UCBLaw Bookstore