MAD-MAKE A DEAL’s Approach
When your negotiation goes a bit deeper than haggling or "let's split the difference", you can call on MAD-MAKE A DEAL, either for advice and as a sounding board from the sidelines, or for effective support at the negotiation table.
Starting from an analysis of your interests and most certainly those of the other party as well, we search with you for possible win-win situations that can improve the final negotiation result. Creative brainstorming, out-of-the-box thinking, will prepare us for the negotiation: what exactly are your interests and how can we value and flesh them out? In a comprehensive interest-based analysis of the other party, we may identify a concession you can make for obtainging a point you do not want to concede. What would be good for you and does not disadvantage the other party or vice versa? Do we assess the other party's negotiating stance correctly? How do we improve our own negotiating stance? Are there alternatives that could help us in one way or another and what additional information would allow us to identify the other party's motives even better? What common interests are there and how can we use those to the advantage of all parties? ...
After this thorough preparation, you can take your seat at the negotiation table with the necessary confidence and a balanced empathetic and assertive approach.
During the entire course of the negotiation, we monitor a number of legal aspects. In addition to the regulations specific to the agreement to be negotiated, we also monitor confidentiality and information obligations. Further assistance can be provided at the time when agreement is reached; or, where a party decides to break off negotiations, with correct termination of the negotiation in accordance with the requirements of good faith (Article 5.15 Civil Code) to avoid pre-contractual liability (Article 5.17 Civil Code).
‘ Freedom of Negotiation ’
The parties are free to initiate, conduct and terminate pre-contractual negotiations. They shall act in accordance with the requirements of good faith in doing so.
Pre-contractual liability is the liability one risks incurring if negotiations are broken off in an improper manner.
Article 5.17 of the Civil Code says the following in this regard:
‘ Pre-contractual liability ’
Parties may incur extra-contractual liability towards each other during pre-contractual negotiations.
When negotiations are broken off incorrectly, the remedy for such liability involves putting the aggrieved person back in the situation he would have found himself in had negotiations not taken place. Where there was a legitimate expectation that the contract would certainly be concluded, such liability may include recovery of the loss of expected net benefits from the contract that was not concluded.
