On 22 May 2013, Center for Law and Policy hosted a talk on the significance of negotiation skills for in-house lawyers. The speaker was Ali Sadozai [LL.B. (Manchester); Company Secretary and Head of Legal Affairs, Nestle]. The participants included, law professors, legal practitioners, and graduate students at UMT School of Law and Policy.
The talk began with Mr. Sadozai briefly outlining his role as a general counsel and what that meant in a large MNC such as Nestle. He stated that, first and foremost, a counsel's job is to ensure that the company's actions remain compliant with the many laws and quality standards that a business has to follow. There are multiple parties whose expectations and requirements have to be met at all times, such as vendors, distributors, regulators, etc.
He explained the important differences between a lawyer working at a law firm and a company's internal counsel. The primary difference being that the in-house lawyer's approach is integrative, not distributive. Also, an in-house lawyer must be well acquainted with the details of not only the issue at hand, but also the larger goals that the company hopes to achieve.
Mr. Sadozai then went on to give some important advice on being a more effective negotiator as an in-house lawyer. He stated that a good negotiator must always know not only his/her own side's interests and goals, but also understand the opposing side's interests and what they hope to gain from the negotiation. He cautioned that during negotiations the lawyer must always keep in mind that getting the exact outcome he/she desires is not always possible and he/she must always be prepared to respond to different outcomes of the negotiation.
Mr. Sadozai also went on to add that a good in-house lawyer's job is as much to focus on the legalities of the situation as it is to look at long term goals and business interests in the same vein as any other member of the company management.
The talk was followed by a lively Q&A session with the audience.
In the end, Syed Imad-ud-Din Asad [LL.M. (Harvard); Advocate, High Court; Founder and Director, Center for Law and Policy] thanked Mr. Sadozai for taking time out of his busy schedule to share his expertise with the participants.
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