Could your organization benefit from strengthening problem-solving and negotiating skills? Are you a legal organization looking for strategies to reduce conflict and run-away costs and bring more collaborative skills to resolving your clients’ claims?
Lainey Feingold’s Structured Negotiation workshops give participants a deep dive opportunity to learn the tools, strategies, and successes of the collaborative process Lainey co-created with clients and co-counsel and has practiced for more than a quarter century. The workshops are tailored to each audience and planned with the active participation of leaders in the host organization.
Lainey Feingold literally “wrote the book” about Structured Negotiation, a pioneering dispute resolution method that achieves significant win-win results in complex legal claims withOUT lawsuits. New stories in the second edition of Structured Negotiation, a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits, published in 2021, share how the process can create oases of cooperation once a lawsuit is filed.
Separate and apart from legal claims, Structured Negotiation can serve advocates seeking change in any context, and anyone who wants to improve negotiation skills. For example, Lainey and Shawn Henry offered a Structured Negotiation workshop titled “From the Negotiating Table to the Design Studio: collaborative skills for digital professionals” at the Better By Design Conference.
Please contact Lainey to talk about whether a Structured Negotiation workshop is right for your organization.
- Curious about other topics Lainey speaks about? Visit the Speaking Topics and Audiences page on this website.
- Read more about Structured Negotiation here.
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Elements of Lainey’s Structured Negotiation Workshops
Lainey’s workshops typically include the following elements, tailored to each organization. If the gathering is less than a full day, Lainey will work with organizers to determine which elements are best included.
- A powerpoint with lots of images to drive home learning objectives. The image at the top of this article is a slide from Lainey’s core Structured Negotiation deck. Text reads: “Structured Negotiation Depends on Trust, Relationships, Listening,” followed by the words “Let’s practice.” An image of a chess board is used to emphasize that successful collaboration depends on tools and strategies that can be learned.
- A topic for participants to engage with at several points during the workshop for hands-on practice with Structured Negotiation. The topic is agreed on with program organizers and can be an advocacy issue or a legal claim that the organization chooses.
- Activities for breakout groups of 2-4 people. Exercises are shaped and agreed on with the hosting organization and have included:
- Listening practice that is fun. Successful negotiations cannot happen without strong listening skills.
- Role-playing exercises using a topic agreed on with event organizers.
- One-on-one structured conversations among participants on issues relevant to effective negotiation
- Lots of time for questions and group discussion throughout the workshop.
- Short mindfulness practice: A mindfulness practice (meditation, journaling, nature walks, etc.) isn’t requires for Structured Negotiation but it can help develop negotiation skills. Lainey will work with the organizers to determine if a short mindfulness practice (often a 6 minute meditation) makes sense for their audience.
- Music! Lainey has a playlist of negotiation and collaboration songs that set the stage at the beginning of each session and during breaks. After all, what is so funny about peace love and understanding?
- Swag! Lainey uses the dolphin / shark metaphor to emphasize that you don’t have to be a shark to be a strong advocate or a good negotiator. Dolphin skills include patience, equanimity, trust, optimism, and more.
As a post-training reminder, Lainey always brings swag to for participants to take home, including, as shown in this image, dolphin temporary tattoos, keychains, or toys.
- Books: Lainey makes her book available to workshop participants at her cost. The workshop includes the opportunity for a discussion over Zoom about her book any time in the six months following the gathering. Back to top
- Pre-training participant survey: In advance of the training, in collaboration with the host organization, participants are invited to fill out a pre-training survey focused on familiarity and personal experiences with workshop topics, and expectations for the training. The responses help Lainey tailor workshop content and learning objectives to the needs of each specific audience.
- Determining learning objectives: Beyond the core objectives of gaining negotiation skills and understanding the elements, strategies, and tools of Structured Negotiation, Lainey works with organizers to better understand their goals and desired outcomes for the training.
- Powerpoint development: Lainey will share a draft of the powerpoint that frames the workshop well in advance. The resource will be revised and finalized with input from and final approval of host organization contacts.
- Workshop timing plan: Lainey will share a draft of the proposed workshop timing so organizers can understand the flow of the day. Timing is broken down into 20-30 minute increments. Final timing plan will be agreed on with the host organizers. Flexibility is a key to negotiation and a key to effective training. The workshop timing plan is a guide that can be changed on the fly depending on participant needs and engagement.
- Handout development: Lainey works with organizers to determine the need for and scope of handouts. Typically, except as a disability accommodation, Lainey prefers handouts, including copies of the powerpoint, to be available after the session.
- Collaboration on breakout exercises and topic selection used in the workshop. A topic relevant to the audience grounds the hands-on practice and other elements of the workshop. Lainey works with organizers to select an effective topic that will best engage the audience. Back to top
- Accessibility: Lainey’s workshops are designed and delivered with full accessibility for people with disabilities. Lainey will work with organizers to ensure that all aspects of the trainings are equally available to everyone. Organizers are responsible for ensuring that the physical location of the workshop (including restrooms and any room where food is offered) is fully accessible to people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
- Workshop length: The ideal in-person workshop length that can incorporate all the elements discussed above is 7-8 hours spread over two days. Having the first half of the training in the afternoon and the second half in the morning allows for a short overnight writing exercise or other activity.
Effective training can also happen in less time but without the full scope described here. Lainey will work with organizers to determine best content regardless of length. Lainey also offers a one or one and a half hour “Introduction to Structured Negotiation” session that can be expanded at a later date to incorporate hands-on activities.
- In-person or online? In Lainey’s experience in-person trainings offer greater opportunities for interaction that are important in meeting learning objectives. Still, Lainey has delivered successful trainings via online conferencing and will work with organizers to shape an effective online workshop. Remote participation may also be a needed disability accommodation. Lainey’s trainings may be recorded only for use by employees of the host organization.
- Continuing Legal Education credits: Organizers may arrange for continuing legal education credits, which have been issued for Lainey’s previous workshops. Lainey will work with organizers to ensure that all requirements for continuing legal education credits are met.
- Fees and costs: Please contact Lainey about workshop fees and costs. Organizers are responsible for costs related to participant disability accommodations including any needed sign language interpreters and live captioners.
Workshop Planning Process
Lainey’s workshops are planned with one or two leaders in the hosting organization. She meets as needed with them in the months leading up to the training. Lainey is always happy for one or two members of the hosting organization to deliver parts of the training if desired.
Other aspects of the planning process include:
What participants say about Lainey’s Structured Negotiation Workshops
Lainey seeks participant feedback after every workshop and develops a training evaluation form in collaboration with workshop organizers.
Lainey conducted a seven-hour Structured Negotiation workshop (spread over two days) with Disability Rights California (DRC) lawyers in August 2023. The training was planned and co-facilitated by Autumn Elliot (DRC Senior Counsel) and Melinda Bird (DRC Senior Litigation Counsel), pictured with Lainey in the image accompanying this section. Behind them are large sheets of papers reflecting participant feedback on what it means to be a dolphin or a shark.
The training was well received by participants, who wrote the following in their post-training evaluations:
Awesome training!
Excellent information and wonderful presenter
Great concrete examples and opportunities to chat, practice with colleagues
Two days was perfect
Lainey was fantastic
The interactive portions were really helpful
Lainey was fabulous and I feel like I learned a really great alternative tool for my advocacy toolbox.
Fantastic – So thankful that Lainey did this for us.
Loved the slides and loved that we got to break into practice groups.–Participants, Structured Negotiation full day training August 2023
Also in 2023 Lainey offered a full day Structured Negotiation workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina for Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC). The training was co-led with Barry Taylor, disability rights lawyer and law professor in Chicago. Lainey, Barry, and the workshop participants are pictured here after the training.
The legal director of DRNC had this to say about the workshop:
Lainey Feingold came to Raleigh to train our staff at Disability Rights North Carolina on the use of Structured Negotiation as a tool for resolving legal issues for people with disabilities in our state. We were impressed, not only with the substance of Lainey’s book and methodology, but with Lainey’s ability to fully engage an entire group during an all-day training and leave the group asking for more. We can see why her negotiations are so successful. DRNC is excited to add this tool to our tool box and put what we learned into practice.–Emma Kinyanjui, Legal Director Disability Rights North Carolina
Lainey offered her Structured Negotiation workshop over Zoom for lawyers working with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) on equitable healthcare for transgender people. The 2022 program was planned with Senior Staff Attorney Ezra Cukor and co-presented with civil rights lawyer Noah Lewis.
Lainey is an incredible teacher. She co-developed and taught a Continuing Legal Education program about using Structured Negotiation to achieve health care coverage for transgender people. Her generosity and expertise shone at every step of the process from developing & delivering the workshop to debriefing. I learned a lot and do my best to use it in day-to-day practice. She is a wonderful teacher.–Ezra Cukor, Senior Staff Attorney, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF)
Visit the Speaking Testimonial Page on this website for more feedback about Lainey’s talks and trainings.
Back to topWorkshop accessibility, fees, timing, and other logistics
Workshops for International Audiences
Lainey has delivered Structured Negotiation workshops in Melbourne, Australia and in Basque Country Spain. She is eager to work with organizations and conferences outside the United States to explore the global potential of Structured Negotiation.
At the A11yCamp gathering in Melbourne Australia in 2018 Lainey delivered a half day workshop offering the tools of Structured Negotiation for anyone seeking to advance accessibility with less conflict and more problem-solving. The audience was primarily (or perhaps entirely) non-lawyers. It was interactive, experiential (and fun!), and Lainey shared the practical skills for working cooperatively to make the digital world usable and accessible to everyone.
Collaborative lawyer and then-president of the Association, Susana Sucunza, wrote a foreword for Lainey’s book after the workshop in which she said:
Contact Lainey to discuss bringing a Structured Negotiation workshop to your organizationWhen I heard about Structured Negotiation, I was amazed. When I
put it into practice, I saw that it worked. I should begin by expressing my gratitude for the gift that Lainey has bestowed upon us. A methodology that brings us closer to the solution since, as I recently read, “every problem wants a solution. . . . . .Structured Negotiation shows us that kindness, listening, understanding, (or at least trying to understand each person’s situation),and the willingness to reach a solution contribute to results. . . . It shows us that the knowledge of the people involved (technical staff, managers, citizens), without underestimating anyone and eliminating the prejudices that burden us, matters. Structured Negotiation demonstrates that qualities like active patience make a difference.. . . . I wanted to start, and I will end, by thanking Lainey
for teaching us a new way to prevent and solve the different situations
that we face in this changing and, fortunately, diverse world in
which we find ourselves. A more humane way, in keeping with what
ordinary people really want and need. A way that champions coexistence,
the common good or social peace, as I like to call it. Thank
you for writing this book!Susana Sucunza in Structured Negotiation, a Winning Alternative to Lawsuits (2nd ed 2021)