Program Overview

Program Overview

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School offers a comprehensive online program titled "Managing Complex Negotiations: Strategies for Success." This two-day program is designed to equip participants with the skills to handle complex negotiations, manage multiple parties with diverse objectives, and solve problems while adapting to new developments.

Program Details

• Duration: December 3-4, 2025
• Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
• Location: Live sessions via Zoom
• Online Requirement: Reliable internet access, microphone, and speakers
• Attendance Requirements: Participants must attend and participate in all sessions throughout the program and complete the program evaluation to receive a certificate of completion

Program Agenda

Day 1: Wednesday, December 3, 2025

• Module 1: Identifying Interests (9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET)
  • Prepare for internal negotiations by identifying parties, their interests, and how to "get to yes"
  • Use indirect influence when lacking formal direct authority
  • Handle the tension between creating value and claiming value
  • Overcome challenges of complex multi-stakeholder negotiations
  • Understand how to manage conflicts of interest, potential misalignments, or differences in objectives
• Module 2: Overcoming Cultural Barriers (1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET)
  • Understand the complexity that cultural differences can add to negotiations
  • Recognize real versus perceived differences in behavior, attitudes, norms, and values
  • Acquire strategies for bridging cultural divides and communication gaps
  • Discover the importance of working with general negotiation frameworks relevant across cultures

Day 2: Thursday, December 4, 2025

• Module 3: Navigating Structural Complexity (9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET)
  • Acquire sophisticated negotiation strategies for working in highly complex situations
  • Explore practical ways to map out stakeholders
  • Learn how to sequence an alliance-building process
  • Prepare for the afternoon role play
• Module 4: Examining Complex, Real-World Negotiations (1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET)
  • Get a firsthand understanding of facilitating large, complex, multinational negotiations
  • Hear from Christiana Figueres, Great Negotiator award winner and former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  • Gain an inside look at how back-table negotiations can help recruit allies to build a winning coalition
  • Spend 90 minutes negotiating, receiving feedback, and debriefing

Eligibility Requirements

• Open to participants from all disciplines and professional fields
• Fluency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing English is required
• A TOEFL score of 100 (internet based) or higher is recommended, though not required

Faculty

• Florrie Darwin: Faculty, Harvard Trade Union Program; Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program; Visiting Professor, University of Freiburg, Germany
• Gabriella Blum: Rita E. Hauser Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; Executive Committee Member, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
• James K. Sebenius: Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Vice Chair for Practice-Focused Research, Program on Negotiation Executive Committee
• Robert Mnookin: Samuel Williston Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; former Chair, Executive Committee, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School; Director, Harvard Negotiation Project, Harvard Law School

Tuition and Certificate

• Tuition: $2,497
• Certificate: Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School signed by Program on Negotiation Executive Committee Chair, Professor Guhan Subramanian

Who Should Attend

• Human resources, purchasing, marketing, and sales professionals
• Department managers
• Government officials
• Lawyers
• Mediators
• Program managers
• It is recommended that participants have taken foundational negotiation training prior to taking Managing Complex Negotiations. Negotiation Essentials Online (NEO) is recommended as a great introduction to key negotiation concepts.