About The Barkacs Group
Get To Know Your Negotiation Experts
Led by Craig and Linda Barkacs, The Barkacs Group blends academic insight with real-world strategy to help organizations and their employees master the art of negotiation, leadership, and ethical influence.
Meet The Barki
About Us
Craig B. Barkacs, JD, MBA, and Linda L. Barkacs, JD—collectively known as “The Barki”— are a rare husband-and-wife team whose careers span high-impact litigation, university teaching, and global consulting. Formerly co-founders of the law firm Barkacs & Barkacs, they successfully litigated several landmark cases and earned reputations as strategic advocates for justice.
Now tenured professors at the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business, Craig and Linda co-design and teach courses on negotiation, ethics, law, and international business across undergraduate, MBA, and executive programs. Their teaching has reached students on five continents, and they have trained with elite programs at Harvard, Kellogg, and Duke—bringing global perspective and academic excellence to everything they do.
The Barkacs Group
Empowering Leaders with Integrity.
As Principals of The Barkacs Group, Craig and Linda deliver high-energy, hands-on negotiation and ethics training to Fortune 500 companies, startups, and leaders worldwide. They expertly translate complex challenges into practical, ethical strategies that create lasting results. Linda authors The Negotiation Edge blog, while Craig contributes to Psychology Today through his Power & Influence column. Together, they bring sharp insight, academic rigor, and a human-centered approach to influence, decision-making, and conflict resolution. Whether in the boardroom, classroom, or courtroom, The Barki empower people to lead with confidence, negotiate with integrity, and turn every conversation into a strategic opportunity.
Testimonials
What do Working Professionals Have to Say?
" Craig and Linda Barkacs are two remarkably accomplished professionals who have “been there and done that.” Along with their outstanding academic credentials and their acclaim as professors of negotiation, both also excelled as attorneys in the fiercely competitive world of high-powered, high-stakes litigation – owing in no small part to their extraordinary communication and negotiation skills. When it comes to negotiation training and expertise, The Barkacs Group is my source, and it should be yours! "
- Daniel C. Mulligan, Director of Strategic Sales, Stryker Communications
" Both partners of The Barkacs Group have the theoretical and practical business background to provide employees at every level of an organization with effective negotiation skills. In addition, both are engaging and energetic speakers who bring many real-world examples to life, which is exactly what happened when I invited Professor Barkacs to our Business Forum group. Negotiation skills are essential in today’s business world and something all employees should have in their “toolbox”. "
- Mary Castro, Project Coordinator-ODO Zone, Pfizer Global Research and Development, La Jolla Laboratories
" Our goal in business is to sustain the relationships with the people with whom we have to negotiate. Professor Barkacs’ course educates the participants in the skills necessary to achieve this goal. Participants are required to analyze each negotiation from both sides of the table to better determine their strategy to arrive at an outcome that is beneficial to both sides. I deal with all aspects of operating a business. I could not successfully do my job without the perspective that I gained in the three thought provoking courses I have taken in negotiations and ethics from Professor Barkacs. "
- Julie Vadnais, Chief Operating Officer, Grace, Lund & Tarkington LLP
" Negotiation takes place at all levels of a business, internally and externally, and the consequences for the ill prepared are receiving less than what they deserve and less than what they could have otherwise achieved. Few can acquire the ability to negotiate effectively without proper instruction and coaching. Since taking training from Dr. Barkacs in negotiation, the effectiveness of my interactions with vendors, team members, peers, and executives has improved tremendously. Invest in your future -- training from The Barkacs Group will more than pay for itself! "
- Judd Sills, Project Manager, Southern California Edison
" More than simply lecturing on negotiation theory, Craig and Linda Barkacs actually train the student to be a better negotiator through a cycle of instruction, exercise, and feedback. In each class they introduce concepts, allow students to apply the concepts through negotiation simulations, then provide constructive feedback during the debriefing phase. Learning is achieved through practice, observation, and reflection. As the Chinese proverb says, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” "
- Justin Burruss, Software Developer III, General Atomics
" I encouraged formation of The Barkacs Group because a previous company I was with spent a lot of time and money on negotiation training that couldn’t compare to what I learned in a graduate-level negotiation course taught by Professor Barkacs. With Craig and Linda Barkacs you have two people who know theory, who know the real world, and who – most importantly – can effectively teach what they know to others in an engaging and powerful way. Others may offer negotiation training; The Barkacs Group will actually deliver it. "
- Charlotte Dryden, Dot Hill Engineering Manager, Dot Hill Systems Corporation
