International Business Negotiation

This course is structured around a quarter-long, simulated negotiation exercise which provides an in-depth study of the structuring and negotiating of an international business transaction. This class will be taught in counterpart with a class at Berkeley Law School. Students in this class will represent a U.S. pharmaceutical company, and the students in the class at Berkeley will represent an African agricultural production company. The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by the pharmaceutical company that uses the cassava produced by the African agricultural production company. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long term supply contract. The negotiations between the two classes will take place through written exchanges and through real-time negotiation which will be conducted both in-person and via videoconferences. The purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity (i) to experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) to study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) to gain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) to learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) to give students experience in drafting communications, and (vi) to provide negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice with an unfamiliar opposing party (here, the students at Berkeley). Students will also learn about the legal and business issues that may arise in joint ventures, supply agreements and licensing agreements. The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiations process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare the written exchanges, to prepare for the live negotiations (as well as online negotiations in a world where these will be increasingly the norm), and to prepare for class discussions. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations; collective evaluation of the class's preparation for, and performance in, the negotiations; and the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. In addition to the regular Monday class, classes will meet for the live negotiations on four Saturday mornings at 10:30 AM (10/8, 10/15, 10/29 and 11/5) in the San Francisco office of DLA Piper (555 Mission Street; close to Montgomery St. BART station), and one Thursday evening (via Zoom) at 7:00 PM-10:00 PM (10/20). The four Saturday classes will end at 1:30 PM, except for 11/5 which will end at 2:30 PM. Due to the Thursday and Saturday classes, this class will conclude on November 7. Admission to this class is by consent of instructor. The maximum class size is 21, which will include students from GSB or other departments. Attention Waitlist Students: Students on the waitlist for the course will be admitted if spots are available on the basis of their position on the waitlist and degree of study; all waitlist students are encouraged to attend the first class and will be notified as spaces become available. Attention Non-Law Students: You must complete and submit both a consent form and a Non-Law Student Course Add Request Form to the Law School Registrar's Office (Room 100). See Stanford Non-Law Student Course Registration on the SLS Registrar's Office website. Prerequisites: A course in basic negotiations (e.g., Law 7821) or comparable prior experience is recommended. Elements used in grading: Class participation, written assignments and final paper. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (https://law.stanford.edu/education/courses/consent-of-instructor-forms/). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.