LWOW – LawWithoutWalls

What is it?

LawWithoutWalls (LWOW) teams professionals (academic, business, entrepreneurship, law) with roughly 100 students from more than 30 law and business schools around the world. Over four months, teams identify a problem related to law and then work remotely to create a solution (including a commercial, prototype and business plan).

LWOW refines the skills of those involved, recharges the law market with innovations across business, law and technology and revitalizes relationships with colleagues, clients and future talents across the globe.

Introduction

LWOW begins with a two-day KickOff: a collaborative, skills-intensive working session designed to challenge the way we think, the way we learn, and the way we communicate with each other. It is also designed to solve problems in law, technology, and business. Students, along with business professionals, academics, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and lawyers from around the world, learn how to innovate and affect change in daily life back at work or at school.

At the KickOff, LWOW engaged in interactive exercises to foster idea generation, entrepreneurism, brainstorming, teaming, self-assessment, presentation, and networking skills. The participants learn from experts in improvisation how to communicate and network more effectively in a corporate, multicultural, and collaborative environment. And importantly, over two days, in hackathon-like style, teams create and present innovations: real solutions facing law, business, and technology.

Law Without Walls 1

Following to the KickOff, the LWOW Community gathers online each week to debate hot issues at the intersection of law, technology, and innovation.

The LWOW experience concludes at the ConPosium (12 weeks after the KickOff) in Miami, an interactive event wherein teams display their innovations to the LWOW Community and a panel of multidisciplinary judges, including venture capitalists, who assess the substance, viability, and creativity of the projects.

Law Without Walls Ready for Take-Off

Saturday – Day 1

Upon arrival, the international participants got to know each other at a joint breakfast. At 9.30am they all gathered in the conference hall waiting for the KickOff to begin. After the fascinating video introductory, Michele de Stefano impressed with a chipping and enthralling speech. She moderated the participants through the morning and animated the teams to engage in bonding activities, goal settings, collaboration trainings and work style explorations. The participants also dived into the LWOW purpose, methodology, roles and expectations.

Law Without Walls Kick-Off

Dinner party

On Saturday night, we, the University of St. Gallen, hosted a cocktail party after the very intense first day. All participants got the chance to taste a traditional St. Gallen sausage and while listening to the sweeping band Rostfrei everybody had the chance to get to know each other in a more informal way or just having fun on the dance floor.

Sunday – Day 2

After a fun night and a good night’s rest the teams put learnings from Saturday into practice by participating in a mini-hackathon related to improving legal education. A hackathon is an event where people from different disciplines and backgrounds come together to collaboratively problem solve, and transform ideas into reality. Oftentimes, hackathons can run for 24 or 48 straight hours; however, at the LWOW KickOff, our mini-hackathon only last for a good portion of Sunday. Team leaders and mentors worked with their students utilizing the new tools learned on Saturday to generate ideas, solve problems, prototype, and create a presentation.

Sunday night the LWOW KickOff 2018 ended with a cocktail party at the Lokremise in St. Gallen. After two intense working days, everybody enjoyed themselves in the beautiful location accompanied by the music of DJ Felix.

Summary

The LWOW KickOff 2018 in St. Gallen was a true success and with all participants happy, the LWOW Community is off to the next 12 weeks until the LWOW ConPosium 2018 will take place in Miami.

Great Thanks goes to the LWOW team as well as the participants of this inspiring KickOff. It was an honor to organize this fantastic event once again and it would not have been possible without your appreciated support.

Law Without Walls Participants