Il Negozio Giuridico

Who is the Negozio Giuridico lawyer? She is curious, someone who pays attention to her environment and attempts to understand in which direction the world and the society she lives in are evolving, who attempts to step beyond her own personal perspective and take on a larger one, as a member of a local and global community. She is a professional who, faced with the ever increasing speed of change around her, begins to feel uncomfortable with the “traditional” role of the lawyer, a stagnant role that is ever more distant from the needs of society.
She is a professional who, putting herself at stake, attempts to marry modernity and tradition, and the positive aspects of each – and this usually means opting for a less formal approach, one which, nonetheless, preserves all the rigor and precious teachings of the lawmaking tradition.
More than anything though, the Negozio Giuridico lawyer is someone who does not believe that all human relations should be a duel to the death, or what is known in game theory as a “zero-sum game”[1]: “this expression defines certain game situations, the most-well known example of which is a bet. Whatever the first person looses – e.g. 10.000 lire – the second wins. If we sum win (plus 10.000) and loss (minus 10.000), the result is zero. Win and loss are indissolubly connected, one is impossible without the other. To be a “zero sum player”, one needs to be fully Manichean, and embrace the conviction that in every situation in life there are two possibilities: winning, or losing.
These are situations (and people) that may be found anywhere: marriage, public life, even a large corporation and, although it may at first seem improbable, even in foreign policy. (…)

On the other hand, there are people who face such situations differently, who within “the mathematical game theory, play “non-zero sum” games; in the relationship with one’s partner or antagonist, the defeat of one does not necessarily mean the victory of the other: both can be winners or losers. A nuclear war is the foremost example of a “non-zero sum” game, where all would lose. The opposite is also possible, when a conciliatory posture and the willingness to concede (something that the “zero-sum” player would of course see as a “defeat”) everybody can benefit.””.

These concepts are not limited to the world of mathematics: they are gaining ground in British law. In his article “Avvocato non solo “guerriero”: altri approcci possibili per un avvocato “multidimensionale” [Not merely a “warrior”: other possible approaches for a multi-dimensional lawyer],Giuseppe Briganti[2],describes exactly what kind of professional the Negozio Giuridico lawyer is, and his inspirations.

This author defines “zero sum” lawyers as “warriors”, i.e. those who  “are generally considered, and consider themselves, unidimensionally, as fighters: paladins who fight vigorously and with zeal to avenge the infringed rights of their clients (…) The “warrior” uses – and reacts to – power. In their warrior role, lawyers therefore operate on a vertical level, and on a rewind mode. Often, they do not look to their sides, to those who suffer on their skin legal problems, or towards the social, financial, and organizational environment in which these people live. In facing problems, often warriors do not even face forward, to imagine the consequences of adopting confrontational procedures rather than practices that could prevent the resurgence of the problem. In this mode, the parties do not cooperate towards the resolution of their problems; rather, they concentrate upon the hope of a favorable decision from the judge that results in a “winner” and a “loser”. In order to succeed, the warrior must then frequently trample the truest interest, emotions, and relations of the subjects involved, in order to focus upon laws.

“According to T.D. Barton and J.M. Cooper of California Western School of Law, there are at least two other different possible dimensions for the law professional: the problem solver and the designer. Rather than choosing confrontation, Barton and Cooper remind us, such issues can often be better solved through horizontal rather than vertical procedures, within a culture of supportive accountability, rather than one of guilt attribution”.

All problems are barriers, or dysfunctional links in the relations between subjects and their environment. The lawyer as designer reacts to such problems by suggesting interventions to change the human relations or the environment in which people live.

Choosing the fast forward mode means that the lawyer will, as much as possible, anticipate the problem. Barton and Cooper also suggest a number of guidelines to do so:

•    try to structure the clients’ workplaces, and financial, family, and personal environments so as to avoid the appearance of problems;
•    if problems do appear, encourage those involved to reflect autonomously on their meaning and implications;
•    promote communication and cooperation between the parties and their lawyers.

Multi-dimensional lawyers acquire these capacities by strengthening:

v. honest communication with their clients;

v. a deep understanding of different interests as well as weak spots and possible causes of tensions from which problems could arise;

v. the will to be proactive in mending relations between the parties, and the environments in which they operate.

The Negozio Giuridico lawyer is indeed a “multi-dimensional” or “non-zero sum” player (or rather, a co-player, since the real game is played out between the client and his counterpart): he does not see himself as merely an “sword arm” of the client who aims to vanquish an adversary; rather, he is the active subject of a “non-zero sum” game, in which the opponent is a necessary adversary, who requires both respect and consideration.

Indeed, in any lawyer’s experience, the cases where the counterpart is acting entirely
in bad faith, or has acted in complete opposition to the law are extremely rare.
Such a view will make it possible to successfully settle controversies, with long-lasting agreement, while also conciliating the opposing interests of the parties in a way suggested by the parties themselves.

In other words, the Negozio Giuridico will help her client be an active part in the controversy, encourage him to reflect upon his rights and duties: why should one accept that a stranger – the judge –, on the indication of two other strangers – the lawyers - dictate one’s life, when it will be the client who will have to bear the consequences of the ruling?

That is, why leave an indifferent and unaware third party to decide when one can see their child, or play their role within a company, how to use a jointly-owned good, or how to split an inheritance?
In conclusion, a lawyer of peace, not one of war. Such is the Negozio Giuridico lawyer.