Next available dates

· 09 - 13 Mar 2020 (Senate House)

The courses take place in our venues in central London (Senate House) and in New Cross (main campus). Check above for venue. Room details and instructions on how to get there will be emailed to you ahead of the course.

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"You have the perfect method of making a good lawyer. Thank you!"

"A really good course!"

Learn from a multi-jurisdictional trained lawyers with extensive experience in contract drafting and negotiations, as well as with training in psychology, human behaviour and persuasion.

Contracts often have archaic language with unclear meaning and a number of interpretations, leading to disputes and litigation. They also leave many loopholes – leading to confusion as to obligations and sometimes intentional diffusion of responsibility.

This course presents knowledge on negotiating contracts in multi-cultural setting, and drafting contracts with clear accessible language and without relying on contract templates (a powerful fuel for disputes).

Why choose this course?

The course incorporates key psychological phenomena (human mind processes, mind influences, persuasion) affecting contract negotiations and drafting; as well as knowledge on human behaviour and on differences between people and cultures.

This course considers contracts and negotiations backwards – from litigation, to performance to drafting to negotiations – enabling negotiating and drafting of contracts with minimal loopholes.

Key elements of this course

1. Issues in cross-border commercial transactions

• Assessing risks (legislative, political, judicial etc.)

• Performance

• Distance

• Cultural differences

• Costs of dispute resolution process

2. International commercial litigation

• Litigating in practice, including tactics used in multinational litigation

• Conflict of laws/private international law

• Jurisdiction and other issues

3. Development of commercial laws and practices, key legal systems and organisations

• Drafting of commercial laws

• UK legal system

• UNCITRAL and its impact

• Commercial Finance Association, World Bank etc.

4. Reasoning in commercial courts

• Understanding court’s reasoning

• Differences in reasoning between commercial and non-commercial matters, and how this affects drafting and negotiations

5. Negotiations

• Negotiation methods

• Understanding psychological processes affecting human behaviour

• Multi-cultural negotiations

6. Drafting

• Effective use of negotiations

• Drafting techniques

• Techniques for using clear language concisely

• Techniques for minimising use of contract templates, to minimise related harm

• Effective use of contract templates

• Specific international commercial contracts in different areas of practice, including sale of goods and commercial finance: cross-border asset-based lending

7. Organisational psychology: individuals, groups and cultures

• Psychological processes affecting negotiations

• Origins of individual differences and how to apply in practice

• Group and cultural differences

• Perceptions on individual, group and cultural differences

Throughout the course participants will have the opportunity to conduct practical exercises to practice new skillsand consolidate knowledge.

Is this course for me?

This course is for anyone with an interest in learning about international commercial transactions and how to negotiate and draft contracts for such transactions.

Other recommended courses to be taken separately or in combination

Psychology and Law – a one-day course, focusing on key psychological phenomena and mind processes and weaknesses affecting justice – as they apply in the justice context.

Decision Making and the Mind: Weaknesses, Biases and Persuasion – a one-day course suitable for anyone wishing to learn about persuasion and mind influences and how they penetrate our mind to affect decision making. Understanding of psychological processes is at the core of decision making and communication, and is essential to effective public speaking.

Intermediate Public Speaking and Presenting – a one-day course for those who wish to take their public speaking to a more advanced level.

All AIR courses & About AIR

Tutoring

This course is directed by Fatos Selita, an English barrister and a New York State Attorney; with experience in international business transactions in the UK, USA, Russia and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL); who has delivered training in this area internationally; and who has multi-disciplinary training and experience, including in law, mind influences, and individual differences / behavioural genetics.

Booking information

Fee: £750

As a University, we are able to offer our courses at minimum prices, and free of VAT - to make knowledge available to as wide audience as possible.

Discounts:

We offer a number of discounts: 10% when a participant enrolls for more than one of our courses (at the same time); - 20% UK students; - 25% Members of the UK Law and Society Association (UKLSA). - If five people register from the same institution for the same intake, the fifth place is free. - Goldsmiths students, staff and alumni - email us for current discounts.

Group bookings:

To book this course for a group, please email us air(@gold.ac.uk). The price for group bookings starts from £5,950, covering a maximum of 8 people.

Enquiries

Email: air(@gold.ac.uk); Phone: +44 (0)20 7078 5468. For information on our upcoming short courses please sign up to our mailing list.

Refund policy: See AIR courses main page