An experiential learning exercise gave students at York University’s Schulich School of Business an opportunity to engage in simulated negotiations for joint venture agreements.
Schulich’s Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure (MREI) and MBA students took part in the event recently, held in collaboration with a team of leading legal practitioners from McCarthy Tetrault LLP.
As the understanding of negotiation strategy is a complex undertaking for students, and one that is perfectly suited to an experiential learning setting, Professor Sherena Hussain (BBA ’08, MBA/JD ’12) of the Brookfield Centre in Real Estate and Infrastructure, devised a hands-on assignment where students developed strategies and proceeded to negotiate a joint venture agreement for a hypothetical mixed-use development project.
The assignment was conducted in connection with the ‘structuring development transactions’ course offered in the MREI and MBA programs.
“McCarthy Tetrault has been participating in this Joint Venture Negotiation Exercise, ensuring that the next generation of real estate and infrastructure leaders are well-prepared in the art of negotiating complex development transactions,” said Hussain.
Students were exposed to the complexity of joint venture negotiations by being divided into teams and given the role of either a developer or a capital investor. Both teams applied their understanding of legal concepts and real estate and infrastructure development tools to prepare a graded negotiation strategy.
Lawyers from McCarthy Tetrault offered their time and expertise to coach and mentor teams on negotiation strategy and development processes. Professionals from QuadReal, IAM Real Estate Group, and the BSAR Group also offered their insights as business advisors to each team.
“It was a great learning experience for the class, and the advice and insights from the lawyers as well as industrial professionals were invaluable,” MREI candidate Umehani Kanga said.
The event, now in its third year, was hosted in the downtown Toronto law offices of McCarthy Tetrault.
See original story posted here.