Structured Negotiation is…

• A way to resolve disputes without lawsuits. Structured Negotiation avoids depositions and expert battles. It is a dispute resolution method built on the collaborative notion that if parties seek common ground, instead of digging their heels into legal arguments, solutions to even complex problems can emerge.
• A process to create a litigation pause after a lawsuit is filed to allow parties to collaborate amidst the conflict
• A set of strategies to encourage cooperation and relationship building
• A tool for advocates seeking to advance change from within or outside an organization
• A strategy with a 25-year track record in advancing disability inclusion in the digital space. Did you know that the very first web accessibility case in the United States was negotiated in Structured Negotiation – in 2000!
• A flexible approach to problem-solving with insights useful to anyone seeking more relationship and less conflict; more effectiveness and less money-wasting.

Lainey’s book provides a nuts and bolts roadmap to understanding Structured Negotiation in all its forms. It is a book grounded in stories of win-win successes over a quarter century and the people who made them happen.

An essential element of that roadmap is learning and practicing the Structured Negotiation mindset – a series of qualities Lainey likes to call “dolphin skills.” Core to Structured Negotiation is that lawyers and advocates don’t have to be sharks to get things done. Dolphins communicate and cooperate, as good negotiators must. The dolphin skills described in the book – including patience, equanimity, abandoning assumptions, and careful listening – can be learned just like the tools and language of aggression are learned. Lainey’s book will show you how.