Everytime I represent a client in a breach of contract claim I can not help but think how the circumstances would have been so much more favorable had the client known some basic contract law principles at the time the client entered into the contract. Ensuring that the right language is in your contract has the potential of saving you from a financially and emotionally devastating lawsuit. With this in mind, I have embarked on presenting a series of lectures regarding basic, yet important principles in contract law, specifically as applied to multimedia professionals.

I will be speaking at at the 360|Flex Conference taking place in San Jose March 7-10, 2010 on the topic of What Every Software Developer Should know Before Entering into a Contract.

And for you Flash professionals, don't miss this informative and exciting blog regarding the latest in Flash technology: http://www.imanit.com

A great TED video on delayed gratification can be found here: Delayed Gratification Video

I. INTRODUCTION

There are seven main traits exhibited by moral beings. The extent to which an individual exhibits these traits coincides with one's level of moral intelligence. These seven traits are inhibitory control, empathy, consistency, fairness, responsibility, cooperation, and logic. Research has revealed that humans are born with a certain instinctual guideline of morality and develop further moral intelligence during maturation. "Underlying the extensive cross-cultural variation we observe in our expressed social norms is a universal moral grammar that enables each child to grow a narrow range of possible moral systems. When we judge an action as morally right or wrong, we do so instinctively, tapping in a system of unconsciously operative and inaccessible moral knowledge."[1]  And while even young children do not start off on even moral footing, a lifetime of experiences and cultural influence further develops and shapes individuals' depth and direction of moral understanding.

What is effective negotiation?

Traditionally, a negotiator was thought to be effective if he achieved all of his objectives with respect to the controversy he was hired to resolve. However, effective negotiation is much more than that.  It is maximizing the net benefit to your client, within the realm of fairness to your opponent, with the end result of enhancing your reputation. This is achieved through significant preparation and by a commitment to advancing justice.

Many attorneys are business people, too. Unfortunately, sometimes the business minded approach of maximizing profits may directly conflict with the attorney's effective and ethical representation of his clients.

Untimely Settlement

The compensation agreement between an attorney and his client may influence the attorney's desire to settle his client's case prematurely or in the alternative prolong litigation.  An attorney who is paid by the hour may discourage his client from settling his case even where it is in his client's best interest to settle, and conversely, an attorney who is paid on a contingency basis may feel incentivized to mislead his client into taking an undesirable settlement just so the attorney can turn a fast profit. Such behavior constitutes ineffective representation and is furthermore unethical.  Attorneys are hired to further their client's best interest. An attorney who actively furthers his own best interest instead of his client's is not performing the job he was hired to perform and is thus acting unethically.

The costly nature of litigation is not enough to deter many from pursuing their case to the destination of trial. Often times, even though reason would leave a neutral observer to conclude that settlement within a wide range of possibilities would be in both parties' best interests, settlement cannot be reached even at the insistence of counsel. Truly then, emotions are hindering the parties from coming to agreement, even though it be more costly to not agree.