Back in the day Kevin Underhill and I were young associates at large law firms in Kansas City and living the life that only single people with lots of disposable income can. Now he’s a big time lawyer in San Francisco and has the funniest legal blog there is – Lowering the Bar – and I’m simply wishing I could be half as funny as Kevin. On Fridays he sends out an email with the week’s strangest legal stories and this one about power imbalances in negotiation caught my eye. Thanks Kevin for keeping me in stitches over the years.
For the full post and more of a laugh, go here.
————————————-
TIP: If You’re Standing in Front of a Car, You Are In a Poor Negotiating Position
On the other hand, it could get significantly worse:`
Just to be clear, that car is not parked. It is traveling down a road in Roswell, Georgia, at what I would guess is around 45 mph. The hood ornament is a Mr. Elton Kim, who saw the driver of said car back into his wife’s SUV and unwisely chose to confront the driver. Well, it wasn’t so much the confrontation that was unwise as the location he chose: directly in front of the woman’s car. When she accelerated, Kim jumped onto the hood, and away they went.
“His objective was to have her stop,” said his wife unnecessarily, “not to go for a joyride.” You wouldn’t know it, though, from his demeanor, as he appears to be reasonably calm despite the fact that he is clinging to the hood of a moving car. Granted, it’s not like there was a whole lot he could do physically during that time, but he isn’t screaming or anything like that. I’d like to think he was able to enjoy himself at least to some extent.
He does shout “call the police!” to the guy taking the video (from a car driving alongside), who responds “I will!” but then also shouts back, “Did you call them yet?!” Yes, I just fished out my cellphone and called them with one hand while I was clinging to the hood of this moving car, jackass. I also texted them and did a quick Twitter update. Does it matter? I don’t think the cops’ll be too upset if they get more than one call about somebody clinging to the hood of a moving car, so why don’t you STOP FILMING ME AND CALL THE POLICE?! Unbelievable.
