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TheArtofLegalNegotiations
lackofcompetence:lawyersmaynotbekeennegotiators,astheydo
notknowhowtonegotiate.Theyareafraidofleavingthelsafetynet’
providedbytheprovisionsofthelaw.Thelawyerknowshowtowrite
acomplaint,iswellpreparedwhenitcomestothenuancesoflegal
procedure,easilyaccommodatesthestressconnectedwithalegal
trial.Meanwhile,shedoesnotwanttonegotiate,toengageinany
activitywhichinadditiontotheknowledgeofthelawrequires
additionalskills,onlyindirectlyconnectedwithherlegalbackground
(i.e.,skillspertainingtologic,rhetoric,psychologyoreconomics).
Finally,itmaybeduetoherprofessionalopportunism.Whenyour
workbringstherequiredlevelofincomeandsatisfaction,thereisno
needtochangeanything,totakeariskwithoutaguaranteeofsuc-
cess.Onecanspeakalsoofyetanother,morecynicaljustification.
Wellpreparedandconductednegotiationsmayleadtothequick
resolutionofthedispute.Therefore,wehaveachoice:negotiations
leadingtoaquickandeconomicallyeffectivecompromise,oracourt
trial:long,ineffectiveandcostly.Allwouldseemtoindicatethatthe
formeralternativeisbetter.Inpracticehowever(atleastincivillaw
systems),thelnegotiationsvariant’isquiterare:ultimately,oneneeds
toearnmoney!Andnegotiationsmakingthedisputeashortepisode
arelesslikelytobringincome.Thisopportunisticpointofviewisre-
inforcedbythelegalsystemitself.Inparticular,itisimpossible(atleast
inPoland)tocollectsuccessfeesorbonuses,whichinanaturalway
leadstothedominanceofritualizedlegalbehaviour,forwhichthere
isanofficialtariff.Thatiswhywewouldliketolookattheproblem
oflegalnegotiationsfromamoregeneral,philosophicalperspective,
bindingtogetherthediscussionoverthemodelsofnegotiationswith
morefundamental,ontologicalandepistemologicalquestionspertain-
ingtothelnatureoflaw’.
[Theopen-endednessoflegalinterpretation]IncontrasttoDwor-
kin,wedonotbelievethatthereexistsasinglecorrectanswertoany
legalquestion,especiallyinhardcases.Theacceptanceofsuchaview
leadsusbackto19
th
centurypositivism.ThejudgeisnoHercules,but
aninterpreterwhostrivestofindthebestsolutiontothecaseathand.
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