Why am I passionate about this?

I am an international authority for my award-winning research on the Vested® business model for highly collaborative relationships. I began my research in 2003 by studying what makes the difference in successful strategic business deals. My day job is the lead faculty and researcher for the University of Tennessee’s Certified Deal Architect program; my passion is helping organizations and individuals learn the art, science, and practice of crafting highly collaborative win-win strategic business relationships. My work has led to seven books and three Harvard Business Review articles and I’ve shared my advice on CNN International, Bloomberg, NPR, and Fox Business News.


I wrote

Contracting in the New Economy: Using Relational Contracts to Boost Trust and Collaboration in Strategic Business Relationships

By David Frydlinger, Kate Vitasek, Jim Bergman , Tim Cummins

Book cover of Contracting in the New Economy: Using Relational Contracts to Boost Trust and Collaboration in Strategic Business Relationships

What is my book about?

Today’s business environment is constantly evolving, driven by digital transformation, globalization, and the need to create value through innovation. These…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Lawyers as Peacemakers: Practicing Holistic, Problem-Solving Law

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

In contracting, lawyers are often the heavies that swoop in at the end of the negotiation with risk-averse and protective conditions that can delay or derail a strategic business relationship. This book is the top pick on my list because Kim Wright advocates for organizations (and lawyers themselves!) to make the shift to a holistic, problem-solving approach. I am a strong believer in a kinder, gentler legal involvement at the beginning of the negotiation designed to help contracting parties solve problems and issues jointly. Wright eloquently makes her case on why the shift is needed. After you read this book you too will see the need for the shift of focus away from traditional contracting paradigms.

By J. Kim Wright,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lawyers as Peacemakers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Teaches lawyers new ways of finding satisfaction in thier practice and providing comprehensive, solution-focused services to clients; sometimes it's not about winning, it's about finding the best possible answer for everyone involved.


Book cover of Lawyers as Changemakers: The Global Integrative Law Movement

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

Taken in tandem with Lawyers as Peacemakers, Wright’s books chart a much-needed approach to legal’s involvement in contracting. She advocates for Integrative Law, which puts lawyers at the table with the other negotiators as a contract is developed. This is important because often lawyers come late to the party or with contractual guardrails and Ts and Cs that should have been addressed at the start of (and during) the negotiation. When lawyers are not integrated as changemakers to support the business, you will likely find yourself in a series of back and forth red-line hell that causes frustration and deteriorates trust with your business partner. I challenge you to take Wright’s sage advice to rethink how lawyers can be changemakers. 

By J. Kim Wright,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lawyers as Changemakers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Integrative lawyers are the harbingers of a new cultural consciousness and are leaders in social evolution. Integrative Law isn't just an approach to legal procedures. It has to do with a fundamental shift in world view, an expansion of what we think is possible. Integrative Lawyers explore and draw upon many disciplines and wisdom traditions, such as philosophy, science, psychology, and spirituality. They bring this consciousness into the law and are partners with colleagues in other disciplines. Yeah, it's that kind of book.


Book cover of Thinking, Fast and Slow

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

Kahneman’s research on cognitive biases has won a Nobel prize. But how does it relate to contracting and why should you care? Thinking, Fast and Slow highlights the many cognitive biases humans suffer from and why it is important to consciously try to not fall into the traps our brains trick us in. One of the cognitive biases is that people think they are good planners, but no matter how good they are ill-equipped to make good plans because of a variety of reasons such as incomplete information and unbounded rationality. You will be a better person and decision maker if you slow down to read through Thinking, Fast and Slow. And this combination will certainly help you write better contracts. 

By Daniel Kahneman,

Why should I read it?

47 authors picked Thinking, Fast and Slow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The phenomenal international bestseller - 2 million copies sold - that will change the way you make decisions

'A lifetime's worth of wisdom' Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics
'There have been many good books on human rationality and irrationality, but only one masterpiece. That masterpiece is Thinking, Fast and Slow' Financial Times

Why is there more chance we'll believe something if it's in a bold type face? Why are judges more likely to deny parole before lunch? Why do we assume a good-looking person will be more competent? The answer lies in the two ways we make choices: fast,…


Book cover of What's Fair: Ethics for Negotiators

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

This book puts the concept of ethics in negotiations front and center. It is a must-read because ethics in negotiation are essential not only for getting to the contract – but how you will address the business decisions long after the parties come to a formal contract. For me, an ethical framework is a crucial foundation for any business and for contracting. In fact, they are so essential our research at the University of Tennessee advocates contracting parties create a Statement of Intent that formally embeds a commitment to six guiding principles that combined, help contracting parties make more ethical decisions. If you ever wondered what is fair in negotiations, pick up this book; or if you scratched your head when you thought something was not fair, pick up this book. Either way, the insights will help you develop better contracts. 

By Carrie J. Menkel-Meadow (editor), Michael Wheeler (editor),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked What's Fair as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What's Fair is a landmark collection that focuses exclusively on the crucial topic of ethics in negotiation. Edited by Carrie J. Menkel-Meadow and Michael Wheeler, What's Fair contains contributions from some of the best-known practitioners and scholars in the field including Roger Fisher, Howard Raiffa, and Deborah Kolb. The editors and distinguished contributors offer an examination of why ethics matter individually and socially, and explain the essential duties and values of negotiation beyond formal legal requirements. Throughout the book, these experts tackle difficult questions such as: * What do we owe our counterparts (if anything) in the way of candor…


Book cover of Changing Concepts of Contract: Essays in Honour of Ian MacNeil

Kate Vitasek Why did I love this book?

Ian Macneil is regarded as the father of relational contracting. His early work in the 1960s on relational contracting turned conventional views about contracts upside down with his ideas about business cooperation and collaboration. This unique book brings together essays from some of the world’s leading authorities on relational contracting honoring the pioneering work of Macneil. The essays provide insight and inspiration about relational contracting, suggesting Macneil’s pioneering foundational work on relational contracting is even more relevant today than ever. In the book’s foreword, Stewart Macaulay, another giant of relational contract theory, says, “People should not attempt to write about contracts until they have studied Ian Macneil.” I agree! 

By David Campbell (editor), Linda Mulcahy (editor), Sally Wheeler (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Changing Concepts of Contract as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Changing Concepts of Contract is a prestigious collection of essays that re-examines the remarkable contributions of Ian Macneil to the study of contract law and contracting behaviour.

Ian Macneil, who taught at Cornell University, the University of Virginia and, latterly, at Northwestern University, was the principal architect of relational contract theory, an approach that sought to direct attention to the context in which contracts are made. In this collection, nine leading UK contract law scholars re-consider Macneil's work and examine his theories in light of new social and technological circumstances. In doing so, they reveal relational contract theory to be…


Explore my book 😀

Contracting in the New Economy: Using Relational Contracts to Boost Trust and Collaboration in Strategic Business Relationships

By David Frydlinger, Kate Vitasek, Jim Bergman , Tim Cummins

Book cover of Contracting in the New Economy: Using Relational Contracts to Boost Trust and Collaboration in Strategic Business Relationships

What is my book about?

Today’s business environment is constantly evolving, driven by digital transformation, globalization, and the need to create value through innovation. These shifts demand organizations view contracting through a different lens – one of aligning interests and mitigating risk. Contracting in the New Economy provides a profound yet straightforward five-step approach for developing formal relational contracts that help parties create a flexible contract framework that continually aligns interests. The book is a must-read for anyone developing contracts. As Oliver Hart, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, writes in the forward, “It is rare that theory and practice converge, but this (book) is one occasion they do.” Contracting in the New Economy will help you put relational contracting theory into practice for your own relationships.

Book cover of Lawyers as Peacemakers: Practicing Holistic, Problem-Solving Law
Book cover of Lawyers as Changemakers: The Global Integrative Law Movement
Book cover of Thinking, Fast and Slow

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