This and That by Dennis Wade

Definition: A stalemate is a situation in which two opposing forces find that further action is impossible or futile; it is a deadlock in which both sides are equally frustrated.

So what can sport fishing teach us about negotiation; about breaking stalemates in coverage and defense matters?  I had no clue until I chatted with a mate on a charter boat, hunting Marlin, Tuna and Mahi Mahi.  “Many times when you hook a big fish, you can’t turn the reel, it’s like a tug of war in which both sides are pulling with equal force,” said Ryan, the tattooed and tanned mate of “Start Me Up,” a sport fishing vessel in Maui, Hawaii.  So, sitting in the fighting chair, practicing for what my wife and I hoped would be a successful outing on the South Pacific, I asked, “What should we do, if we can’t turn the reel?” “Hold the rod tightly and lean back–and then forward, reeling like mad to take-up the slack,” Ryan explained.  But most of all, Ryan urged, “Be patient, it’s a process, and you don’t want to lose the fish by being too aggressive; slow and steady and we’ll get the fish in the boat.”

Good advice for fishing and very good advice for negotiating.  Virtually all texts on the art of negotiation give very specific advice on body language when negotiating such as: Lean forward to exude energy, and lean back to appear more relaxed.  But beyond body language, in negotiation, like fishing, it’s important not to yield to anxiety about landing the desired result.  By leaning back, by relaxing, and letting the other side (the fish) fight its fight with you directly, or with the neutral (the mediator), you have a better chance of getting what you desire.

Leaning back and taking up the slack, although a fishing metaphor, is really another way of saying: Allow the issues, factual and legal, to play themselves out in the process.  Coming to an agreement, as Harry Kissinger famously noted, is about abandoning ideology and ultimately focusing on the pragmatic interests of the parties.

As the skipper navigated to the fishing ground, my wife teased me about my attempt to link the mate’s advice to what I do as a lawyer (after all, I was in Maui to attend the annual meeting of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel).  But, in the end, my wife and I took turns in the fighting chair, and we landed 7 Mahi Mahi which the mate sold to a chef who was waiting at the dock upon our return.

And that’s it for this This and That.  If you have any fish stories that relate to negotiation of the law, please call or email Dennis.