International Negotiating Competition judged a great success
Eric Robertson Advocate (pictured below second from the right, together with his fellow judges) was part of a judging panel which sent the Scottish negotiating champions through to their place in the International Negotiating Competition due to take place in Dublin later this year. Since 1998 countries from around the globe have competed for the international title. The Scottish final, held at Glasgow University, featured teams of Diploma students drawn from Scotland’s universities. In two contentious scenarios, they devised and implemented negotiation strategies to achieve resolutions to meet their clients’ objectives.
The standard of communication and bargaining was high: “What most impressed me was the maturity and thorough preparation evident in the sessions I judged. The competition format encourages teams to be reflective: before the negotiation begins, each team has to explain what it intends to do and how it intends to do it. This facilitates a much more thoughtful and practical approach to both the negotiation and the team’s retrospective analysis”. Eric added “It is a privilege to see now the promise of what is to come in some truly excellent performances.”
Eileen Paterson, Director (Operations) of the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at the University of Glasgow hosted the day with her colleagues. She commented: “The competition gave Diploma students from across Scotland the opportunity to develop negotiation skills which can be used in the future in a whole range of situations – both legal and non-legal. I was absolutely delighted to receive such tremendous support from members of the Faculty of Advocates, and members of the Law Society of Scotland’s Education and Training committee, who undertook the difficult task of judging and giving feedback to the teams. A number of members of the legal profession had been involved in training those who entered the competition, and they too should feel very pleased at the progress made by all of the students who received training. It will serve them well in their future careers”
