when selling your house or company, working out terms with your publisher, or handling a lawsuit, you often engage an agent. lawyers, investment bankers, literary agents, and others who negotiate on your behalf may help you in many ways: They may have greater specialized expertise than you do, they may be better bargainers, they may have superior access to the other side, they may serve as a useful buffer, and they may save your time. (In "When you shouldn't go it alone," an article in the March issue of Negotiation, my colleague Lawrence Susskind delves into some of the advantages of relying on agents and offers good advice on how to use them effectively.)