International Business Negotiations (Finkelstein/Jacobs)
Faculty
|
|
| Jay Finkelstein Lecturer in Law jay.finkelstein@dlapiper.com |
|
|
| Lisa R. Jacobs Lecturer-in-Law ljacobs@stradley.com |
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Team Projects
Drafting Legal Documents
Other Professional Skills: Negotiation and strategic transaction development skills.
Grading
40% Participation,
30% Paper,
30% Other ("Other" refers to the contemporaneous diary to be maintained by students. The final paper is focused on broader topics of international business negotiations and may incorporate illustrations or retrospective aspects from the simulation (suggested topics to be circulated in class) . )
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
- If you miss a class due to illness or other unavoidable circumstances, please contact us. If Penn has recorded the class, then that recording will be available. If Penn has not recorded the class, then other video content may be available, along with the PowerPoint presentations that were used in class.
Meeting Times/Location
W 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Tanenbaum Hall 112
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
3.0
International Business Negotiations - Spring 2025 Instructors Jay Gary Finkelstein and Lisa R. Jacobs (taught in collaboration with counterpart class at University of Virginia Law School)
This course is structured around a semester-long simulated negotiation exercise in which the students in this class will represent a US pharmaceutical company (KJH Pharmaceutical Corporation) and the students in a similar class at UVA Law School will represent an African agricultural production company (Malundian Cassava Corporation). The two companies are interested in working together to exploit a new technology developed by KJH Pharmaceutical that uses the cassava produced by Malundian Cassava Corporation. The form of their collaboration could be a joint venture, a licensing agreement or a long-term supply contract. The negotiations will be conducted through written exchanges and via five (5) negotiation sessions, all of which will be held via videoconference.
The course aims to provide students with an introduction to transactional law and facilitate an opportunity for them to (i) experience the sequential development of a business transaction over an extended negotiation, (ii) study the business and legal issues and strategies that impact the negotiation, (iii) obtain insight into the dynamics of negotiating and structuring international business transactions, (iv) learn about the role that lawyers and law play in these negotiations, (v) gain experience in drafting communications, and (vi) engage in a negotiating experience in a context that replicates actual legal practice with an unfamiliar opposing party (here, the students at UVA).
The thrust of this course is class participation and active involvement in the negotiation process. Students are expected to spend time outside of class, working in teams, to prepare for class discussions involving the written exchanges as well as to prepare for the live negotiations. Class discussions will focus on the strategy for, and progress of, the negotiations, as well as the substantive legal, business and policy matters that impact on the negotiations. Teams will be assigned following the first class.
In addition to the 110-minute Wednesday classes (each of which runs from 4:30 PM – 6:20 PM), this course will have five Thursday evening sessions devoted to the actual negotiation sessions with UVA. The Thursday evening sessions will be held on Feb. 13, 20, and 27, and March 6, 2025 (all 4:30 PM- 7:30 PM) and March 20, 2025 (4:30 PM – 8:30 PM). As a result of the Thursday evening sessions, this course will be completed on March 26, 2025.
ATTENDANCE NOTE: BECAUSE THIS IS AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CLASS, ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. ANY ENROLLED STUDENT WHO MISSES THE FIRST CLASS WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE TO THE INSTRUCTORS WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE COURSE. ANY STUDENTS WHO CANNOT ATTEND A CLASS SESSION MUST CONTACT THE INSTRUCTORS BEFOREHAND FOR CONSENT AND COORDINATION.
SPECIAL WEATHER ADVISORY: DUE TO THE COORDINATION WITH THE COUNTERPART CLASS, THIS CLASS DOES NOT CANCEL EVEN IF PENN IS CLOSED. THIS CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM IF THERE IS A WEATHER OR OTHER CLOSING.
Assignments for the first class are noted in the syllabus.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
In order to successfully complete this class, students must meet the following requirements. See syllabus for more extensive description.
1. Active participation in class discussions, negotiations, and analysis of the negotiations. 40%
Business and Corporate Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of business and corporate law; Perform legal analysis in the context of business and corporate law; Communicate effectively on topics related to business and corporate law; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection between the world of business and finance and that of business and corporate law, and how they affect other areas of law and society.
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
International Corporate and Trade Law
Textbooks
"Negotiating Business Transactions: An Extended Simulation Course" by Daniel D. Bradlow and Jay Gary Finkelstein |