In July, part-time lecturer Mikkel Gudsøe from the Department of Law was the keynote speaker at the Master Class which kick-starts the ‘International Negotiation Competition (INC)’. The competition aims at strengthening the negotiation skills of future lawyers.

2012.08.18 | Mia Balle Laursen

With one keynote speaker and a team of students, the Department of Law at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences was well represented at the international INC competition. At the competition held in Belfast 3-7 July, students from 16 nations tested their negotiation skills in the competition.

To prepare the students for the challenges they will be facing in the competition, Mikkel Gudsøe, part-time lecturer at the Department of Law at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences, held the Master Class “Body language, Verbal leaks & Clues of deception in legal negotiation”.

- That we have been entrusted a Master Class course speaks volumes for the Department of Law, says Michael Steinicke, Head of Department of Law.

Department of Law praised
Mikkel Gudsøe’s performance was extremely well received by, among others, Professor Larry L. Teply who is a member of the committee which selects the keynote speaker for the Master Class:

- The Master Class is always taught by an expert in the field. This year, we were indeed honoured to have Mikkel Gudsøe to present the class. Mikkel Gudsøe’s presentation turned out, indeed, to be an excellent way to lead off the competition events, says Larry L. Teply.

In addition to the committee’s appreciation, Mikkel Gudsøe’s Master Class also received praise from, among others, the Canadian team which came in third.

- Mikkel Gudsøe’s presentation on body language and non-verbal communication was as insightful and well-researched as it was entertaining.  It set the stage perfectly for this international event, where teams faced the challenges of negotiating across many differences of culture and convention. Mikkel was engaging – and encouraging – and he left the audience with ideas that could be put to work right away, says Michaela Keet, lecturer and coach for the team.

AU law students also represented
In addition to being the keynote speaker, Mikkel Gudsøe was also the supervisor for the team of law students which represented the Department of Law at the competition. The team consisted of Thea Ballegaard Laursen and Tobias Weibel and competed against Singapore, Northern Ireland and New Zealand.

Unfortunately, the Danish students fell short of top 6 which are the only places that are awarded. Even though the team did not make top 6, the INC competition was a great learning experience, according to Tobias Weibel:

- The actual competition was an exciting challenge where we faced sharp, well-prepared and highly competent opposition. I have no doubt that my experiences during INC 12 will benefit me greatly in my future work as a lawyer.

FAKTA

• This year's INC was held at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Singapore won this year's competition ahead of USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Northern Ireland and Ireland. The Danish team met Singapore in the preliminary round where the Danish students came out on top.
• It is not the first time that the Department of Law has been represented with a keynote speaker at INC. Mikkel Gudsøe also conducted the Master Class in 2009 and 2010.
• However, it is the first time that a representative of the Department of Law has held the full two-hour Master Class.
• INC was held for the first time in 1998. Teams have represented the Department of Law at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences in 2008, 2010 and in 2012.  One of the aims of having law students participate in INC is to promote interest in negotiation as well as to improve student negotiation skills.
• Mikkel Gudsøe is a part-time lecturer in the course Legal Negotiation and also responsible for AU's participating in and hosting INC. He is also Chief Attorney at the Federation of Danish Fashion & Textile.

Contact

Michael Steinicke
Head of department
Department of Law at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences
Tel.: +45 8716 5185
Email: micst@asb.dk

Mikkel Gudsøe
Part-time lecturer
Department of Law at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences
Tel.: +45 9711 7224
Email: mig@dmogt.dk

Tobias Weibel
Law student
Department of Law at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences
Email: tobiasweibel@gmail.com