Peter Vanderwarker Speaks on Pre-Litigation Disputes and Negotiations
The Washburn Business Law Society hosted Peter Vanderwarker, in-house attorney for Sprint, on March 28, 2005, to speak on pre-litigation disputes and negotiations. Vanderwarker is a 1998 graduate of Washburn University School of Law.
“Understand who has the leverage in negotiations,” Vanderwarker said.
He stressed this point as the most important piece of advice he could leave the Washburn Law students. Vanderwarker went on to emphasis other important factors to keep in mind when negotiating a contract. He also talked about what kinds of information must be discussed with the sales team at Sprint before going into a negotiation.
Vanderwarker also spoke on the corporate structure of Sprint and his role as an in-house attorney. He discussed the different kinds of counsel that Sprint has and what each counsel does for the company. Vanderwarker also gave students advice about how to become an in-house attorney for a corporation, how to get into corporate law, and how he became involved with Sprint. He stressed checking www.acca.com for information about opportunities for becoming an in-house attorney for a corporation.
Vanderwarker lastly discussed pre-litigation disputes. He discussed how to negotiate these disputes with the customers and how Sprint makes decisions about when to let the disputes be brought against them. Vanderwarker stressed that the in-house counsel has to keep in mind that Sprint is building a relationship with its customers, so the company has to be hesitant to just walk away.
Blake Reitz contributed this article.
