Opening Space for Negotiation Reflection in Law Practice

Abstract

Critical to negotiations learning and skills-building, reflection is an enduring feature of law school negotiations courses. At the same time, anti-reflection forces in law practice persist. Lawyers face demanding work environments that compel them to make seemingly impossible choices among advancing their careers, maintaining mental and emotional health, and continuing to learn and grow. The time for slowing down and reflecting can be excruciatingly hard to come by. Technology in negotiations may also obscure the need or opportunities for reflection. This Article highlights the importance of negotiation reflection and the longstanding and emerging challenges to creating and maintaining a lawyer’s capacity for reflection. It proposes further exploration of the nature of negotiation reflection in law practice and law schools and calls for a collaborative focus on evolving law school teaching and workplace structures to better help negotiation reflection live and thrive in law practice