Unit 8 [PA412]: Alternative Dispute Resolution] Assignment Rubric Instructions In your plan, explain what approach you will take in the negotiation for your client, including strategies you will use to try and settle the dispute in the best way possible for your client. Describe what issues to the dispute your client is willing to compromise on and what, if any, the client is not willing to compromise on. Finally, state what you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of your client's case (i.e., if the dispute went to court, what do you feel the client could prevail on and what issues do you feel the other party may win?) and state why you feel that way. Please use two outside sources for research in answering the above questions, and make sure to state them in your works cited page at the end of your paper. Scenario FACTS: Parents Against Drunk Driving (\"PADD\") and Bart Napier Strategic Meeting Planners, Inc. (\"SMP\") is a meeting management company that plans, organizes, and manages meetings, conferences, and conventions throughout the United States and other parts of the world for its clients. SMP offers its clients a full array of meeting management services, including strategic planning and budgeting; site selection; contract negotiations with hotels and other vendors; marketing; accounting and other financial services; management of revenues and disbursements; management of the registration process; and management of the respective event onsite. SMP's clients range from Fortune 100 companies to nonprofit organizations, such as the American Kidney Association and the International Society of Toxic Tort Defense Counsel. One of SMP's clients is Parents Against Drunk Driving (\"PADD\"), a nonprofit organization with over 20,000 members comprised primarily of victims of drunk-driving incidents and their families and friends. PADD's primary mission is to reduce the number of drunk-driving incidents by (1) raising awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving through education and public service announcements, and (2) lobbying for legislation that would (a) provide harsher penalties for drunk-driving offenders and (b) increase the fines and potential civil liability for establishments that sell or serve alcoholic beverages to minors or to persons who are obviously intoxicated. PADD also provides a support network for those who have been victimized by drunk-driving incidents. Three years ago, PADD decided to hold its Annual Conference (the \"Conference\") on 3 days of this year (the \"Conference Dates\") [on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday shortly before this negotiation] at the El Camino Lodge and Golf Resort Hotel (the \"Hotel\") in Palmtreal. PADD estimated that at least 700 people (excluding their spouses or any other traveling companions) would attend the Conference. After some negotiations, PADD, through the efforts of its agent, SMP, entered into a contract with the Hotel (the \"Hotel Contract\"). At PADD's request, SMP also contacted the Shooting Star Talent Agency (the \"Talent Agency\") to see if one of its clients, Bart Napier, was available to deliver the keynote speech during the opening dinner of the Conference. Mr. Napier was formerly a star quarterback with the Manisota Express of the Global Football League and founder of Athletes-for-a-Higher-Calling. Mr. Napier is now in great demand on the professional speaker circuit for his inspirational speeches on the importance of making good decisions in life, taking responsibility for one's actions, setting good examples for our youth, and using the tragedies, failures, and other disappointments that individuals occasionally experience in life as motivation to make positive impacts on society. Mr. Napier was available on that date to speak at the Conference. SMP told the Talent Agency about PADD, its members, and its mission, and gave the Talent Agency some general ideas of what the speech should convey. SMP and the Talent Agency negotiated a contract, which PADD and Mr. Napier executed 3 years ago (the \"Speaker Contract\") shortly after the contract with the Hotel was signed. The Speaker Contract provides, in pertinent part: Speaking Engagement: On Wednesday, the opening day of the conference, at 7:30 p.m. in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hotel, Bart Napier (\"Speaker\") will deliver the keynote speech for PADD's Conference. Speaker will have approximately thirty (30) minutes to address PADD, and he agrees to remain in the Ballroom for at least ten (10) minutes following his speech to answer questions, sign autographs, and the like. Compensation: As consideration for the speaking services described in the foregoing paragraph, PADD agrees to pay Speaker the sum of $50,000, which shall be due and payable within ten (10) days following the engagement. Morality Clause: The parties agree that PADD may cancel this Contract at any time if Speaker engages in immoral or indecent behavior that may tarnish PADD's image or reputation, which includes, without limitation, public indecency, marital infidelity, public drunkenness, or illegal gambling. Attorney's Fees and Costs: If a party is found to have failed to have performed its obligations under this contract, the non-breaching party shall be entitled to receive reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the breaching party related to that nonperformance. The Conference began as planned, and SMP was happy to report to PADD's Board of Directors during their meeting that afternoon that they had over 800 registrations for the Conference and appeared to meet their room commitment at the Hotel. During the opening dinner that evening, Mr. Napier delivered a riveting and inspiring speech that drew a standing ovation from those in attendance, and he stayed well after his presentation to mingle with the audience, sign autographs, and have his photograph taken with PADD's Board and other members in attendance. Afterwards, Mr. Napier retreated to the Hotel lounge to \"catch-up\" with two players from Manisota's championship team who now reside in the Palmtreal area, Jimmy Beam and Tommie Collins. According to witnesses, Mr. Napier and his friends drank tequila shots with beer \"chasers\" until closing. At one point, after Mr. Napier stumbled into a cocktail waitress and caused her to drop her drink tray for a second time, the manager had to ask Mr. Napier if he would kindly refrain from wearing his table's decorative centerpiece as a helmet and re-enacting his famous \"bootleg\" touchdown run from the championship game. The next morning, PADD members were shocked to read the headline on the front page of their complimentary copy of the Palmtreal Tribune provided by the Hotel: \"Football Star Arrested for Drunk Driving After Delivering Keynote Speech for PADD.\" According to the article, Mr. Napier had been arrested for suspicion of \"driving while intoxicated\" at 2:30 a.m. as he was turning from the Hotel's parking garage onto the city's main thoroughfare, and a subsequent breathalyzer test indicated that his blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit allowed under the applicable state/provincial law. Outraged, 250 of the attendees staying at the Hotel immediately packed up their belongings and checked out of the Hotel, refusing to pay for the next two nights of the Conference. Disgruntled attendees also began calling the Conference's phone line, which was being monitored by SMP, demanding that their registration fees be refunded and threatening to cancel their memberships in PADD. The registration averaged $250 per registrant, which included a ticket to the opening dinner. Additional tickets for the opening dinner sold separately at the door for $50. PADD's annual membership dues are $200. After consulting with PADD's Board later that day during an emergency meeting, SMP sent the Talent Agency a facsimile advising that, in light of Mr. Napier's behavior, PADD was canceling the Speaker Contract and was no longer obligated to provide Mr. Napier with any compensation under the Speaker Contract. Less than 3 hours later, SMP received a reply facsimile at the Hotel from the Talent Agency, claiming that Mr. Napier had fully performed his obligations under the Speaker Contract and that he would be consulting his lawyers. With PADD's consent, SMP forwarded this reply to its outside lawyers, who will represent PADD in this matter. Lawyers representing PADD and Mr. Napier have agreed to meet to discuss the situation. The payment is due to be paid to Mr. Napier on the day following this negotiation [which you may assume is the 10th day after Mr. Napier completed his Speaker Contract]. You can assume that the applicable state/provincial law follows generally accepted principles of contract law. For purposes of this negotiation, assume all amounts mentioned are stated in U.S. dollars. YOUR CLIENT INFORMATION: FOR PADD'S LAWYERS: Use this information to help create your negotiation plan. PADD is very concerned about Mr. Napier's conduct after he completed his speaking engagement. PADD feels that this incident has significantly damaged its national reputation and image. Mr. Napier's conduct runs counter to PADD's primary mission and PADD's members are still very upset. PADD has done some immediate \"damage control\" after its members began checking out of the hotel. SMP and PADD convinced almost all of the 250 attendees who checked out early that PADD should not be blamed for Mr. Napier's misconduct and that this incident merely reinforces the importance of PADD's mission. Accordingly, PADD expects to lose only a few (probably around 10) members as a result of this incident; however, PADD has agreed to refund $200 to each of the 250 registrants who checked out of the Hotel on the morning after the incident involving Mr. Napier. Although PADD indicated that it was canceling the Speaker Contract and was no longer obligated to provide Mr. Napier with any compensation under the Speaker Contract, PADD is not really sure that it can cancel the contract after Mr. Napier completed his speaking obligations under the contract when all that remained is payment. Nevertheless, as part of its efforts to minimize the harm to PADD, PADD has indicated to its members that it intended to \"contest\" Mr. Napier's speaking fee. Thus, whatever outcome results from any agreement with Mr. Napier, it is extremely important for PADD to make it appear that it has \"contested\" Mr. Napier's fee and not simply paid him in full. PADD wants to avoid any further adverse publicity. PADD feels that defending a lawsuit will only make things worse. The media are already on a \"feeding frenzy,\" and even if PADD wins in court, it will ultimately lose in terms of reputation. PADD is also concerned about the attorney's fee provision in the contract. That provision was intended to encourage Mr. Napier to perform his obligations and to make it more \"troublesome\" for him to cancel the speaking engagement. PADD is worried that it might apply to its refusal to pay. In light of the lost registration fees that would have otherwise gone, at least in part, to paying Mr. Napier's speaking fee, PADD wants to pay as little of the speaking fee as possible toward settling this matter quickly. More importantly, what PADD really wants you to do is to \"turn lemons into lemonade.\" PADD is giving you full authority and discretion to work out a satisfactory arrangement that turns things around. PADD wants you to come up with some creative ways to work with Mr. Napier to reduce the negative publicity. PADD knows that such a plan of action is going to require Mr. Napier's cooperation. The organization is leaving it to you to negotiate an agreement that resolves the dispute about the fee owed and to come up with a mutually agreeable plan of action. PADD is willing to pay progressively higher amounts to settle this dispute if Mr. Napier will agree to a plan of action. PADD expects you to think creatively about this and is hoping for a good result from your upcoming meeting. For purposes of this negotiation, you can assume that PADD has reached a mutually satisfactory agreement with the Hotel concerning the problems with room attrition. However, you are unable to disclose the terms of the agreement because PADD is bound by a confidentiality clause in that agreement. The parties have agreed to attempt to resolve their dispute via ADR. Your project should be a minimum of 4 pages in length. Submit your project to your instructor using the Dropbox. Grading Please review the assignment grading rubric below for more information on how your Assignment will be graded. Submitting Your Work Put your responses in a Microsoft Word document. Save it in a location and with the proper naming convention: username-Course Name-section-Unit x_Assignment.doc (username is your Kaplan username, section is your course section, x is your Unit number). When you are ready to submit it, go to the Dropbox and complete the steps below: 1. Click the link that says \"Submit an Assignment.\" 2. In the \"Submit to Basket\" menu, select Unit x: Assignment. 3. In the \"Comments\" field, make sure to add at least the title of your paper. 4. Click the \"Add Attachments\" button. 5. Follow the steps listed to attach your Word document. To view your graded work, come back to the Dropbox or go to the Gradebook after your instructor has evaluated it. Make sure that you save a copy of your submitted work. Category Content Description Student demonstrates the ability to explain the approach he or she will take in the negotiation for the client, as well as the strategies he or she will use to try and settle the dispute in the best way possible for the client. Student describes what issues to the dispute the client is willing to compromise on and what, if any, the client is not willing to compromise on. Weighting Possible Points 50% 40 Points Earned Sentence Mastery Grammar and Mechanics Finally, student will state an opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the client's case itself. Overall length meets the assignment parameters for word/page length. The length should be an absolute guideline for students. Part of a student's legal education is learning how to follow directions perfectly, as in the real legal world, it is expected. One sentence wrong, one instruction left out can mean the difference between winning and losing a case for your lawyer or your client, or a judge throwing out the lawsuit...and thus, the loss of your job. Get in the habit now, so that following directions is part of your routine when you hit your first job! Sentences are consistently grammatical. Major sentence-level errors including fragments, run-ons, and comma splices are avoided. Sentences vary in length and type. Simple, compound, and complex sentences are used effectively. Sentences are graceful, i.e., they can be read aloud without awkwardness, awkward pauses, or running out of breath. Language is rich, precise, and vivid. Spelling is perfect. The student uses Spellcheck but has also proofread carefully for words that sound the same but have different meanings. Grammar and mechanics are proficient, including mastery of subject-verb agreement, proper verb tense and form, appropriate punctuation and capitalization, and apostrophe use. 15% 12 10% 8 Organization and Format Word usage is appropriate, avoiding jargon. There are not extra words, and there are no missing words. Organization and structure are clear and easy to follow. Writing shows clear purpose and orderly transitions from beginning to end. Sentences consistently establish this organization and flow rather than interrupt it. Format meets APA guidelines and Bluebook rules as appropriate, including use of title pages. There is no playful experimentation with fancy fonts. It is written for the appropriate audience. Citation Style Writing shows internal citations in the body of the text as well as a proper list of references at the end of the paper, following APA or Bluebook citation as appropriate. Citations appear consistently where needed, whether following quoted or paraphrased material in the text. Note: Failure to provide citation in the paper does not result in a deduction of 15% from the paper, but will result in a failed paper and a plagiarism investigation. Additional Instructor Comments: 10% 8 15% 12 Total: 100% [80] Possible Points [ ] Points Earned \f