Most contract negotiations don't fall apart over the words on the page. They stall because the people on each side want different things, read each other wrong, or stop trusting that the other side will deal straight. By the time a deal gets hard, the friction usually has more to do with misaligned expectations and communication breakdowns than with any particular clause. And the lawyer in the middle is rarely just drafting and redlining anymore. They're managing the business relationship, the internal teams who want the deal closed, the personalities involved, and the tension that builds across functions when a negotiation drags on.
In this webinar, Laura Frederick and Fernando Navarro Sánchez will look at how trust actually works in a negotiation, how you build it, how you put it to use, and how you lose it. They'll talk through the human side of getting a deal done, including reading the other side, handling difficult personalities, and working across cultures where directness, urgency, and disagreement don't carry the same meaning for everyone at the table. They'll also cover the quieter tools that move stuck conversations forward, including listening, reframing, asking real questions, and bringing in a trusted neutral voice when a discussion has gone nowhere. And as AI takes on more of the drafting and technical review, they'll discuss why the lawyers who stand out tend to be the ones who are good with people, meaning the trust, the influence, the hard conversations, and the problem-solving that happens when the pressure is on.
*Live CLE Credit Information:
How to Contract will apply for 1.25 hours of General CLE credit in CA, PA, and TX.
We will provide details to attendees on how to request a certificate of attendance. These certificates are provided after an attendee submits a completed credit request form (including the CLE code words shared live) within 14 days of the live webinar. Late submissions are not accepted.
Lawyers in these other jurisdictions who attend live may be eligible for credit through reciprocity, self-application, or reporting: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, CO, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, IL, KY, LA, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, MD, ME, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OK, OR, RI, SC, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, and WY. These programs may also be eligible for Canadian CPD credit in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
We do not determine individual eligibility. Please check your state bar for specific compliance rules.
