EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

LawWithoutWalls Sprint is intensive and comprehensive. Students must fully attend all three full days of the LWOW Sprint 2026 and be able to work collaboratively on their Projects of Worth with legal and business professionals on their teams. Students must also complete a series of 7 LWOW Pre-Sprint Learning Modules in preparation for the in-person Sprint, and finally complete a Post-Sprint self assessment—a creative exhibit about their experience, learning, and development from participating in LWOW Sprint.

LWOW SPRINT

LWOW is an intense, team-based experience that goes far beyond traditional class projects. During the 3-day Sprint, students collaborate with lawyers, business professionals, entrepreneurs, and fellow students from around the world to tackle real-world challenges at the intersection of law, business, and technology. Students conduct research, create business plans, prototypes, and pitches to address real world problems at the intersection of law, business, and technology. The ideal LWOW student embraces hard work, thrives on challenge, and isn’t afraid of a steep learning curve. Full participation, fairness, and a strong work ethic are essential—this is a commitment to your team and to creating something that matters.

LWOW WORK PRE AND POST SPRINT

Pre-Sprint, students will be required to attend a series of training and learning modules on topics including key steps in the 3-4-5 Method of Innovation™ (problem finding and mapping, consumer storytelling, and solution ideation), professionalism and presencing, project management skills, and collaboration and teaming skills.

Over the 7 weeks (starting 14 Jan to 25 Feb 2026) leading up to Sprint 2026, students can expect to spend up to 3—4.5 hours a week attending or independently watching and interacting with these learning modules, meeting with each other in teams, and completing assigned tasks. Synchronous sessions are expected to begin at UTC 20:30 for 90 minutes. *Exact schedule will be determined by Fall 2025.

Post-Sprint, students are required to complete an assessment—in a creative format— that presents your experience at LWOW Sprint, the process, your team and solution, and importantly your learning and development (professional and personal). 

STUDENT HACKER ROLE: LWOW SPRINT

At LWOW Sprint, each team is comprised of 2-4 ‘Student Hackers’ (law + business students), 2-4 ‘Lead Hackers’ (professionals from the sponsoring organization), and possibly a ‘Mentor.’ Each team is also assigned an Innovation Coach and/or a Project Manager. Although the Lead Hackers will have a deep level of expertise related to the assigned problem and take the lead in hacking, the students are still very much at the core of the program.

There are no walls in LWOW and, as always, students are empowered to step up; we need/expect students to meaningfully participate (not just assist) in the real-life problem fine-tuning, solution development, and prototyping during the Sprint. Students are the “do-ers” on their teams. As such, students are expected to be ALWAYS present and engaged with team members during the Sprint, and allot in extra time as needed to contribute to the their Project of Worth. Student Hackers work alongside the Lead Hackers in everything from understanding the big picture and substance of the team challenge/problem to idea generation and prototyping. In addition to all of the above, it is the Student Hackers that develop the Ignite-style decks that present their Project of Worth, and they present alongside the Lead Hackers to a panel of judges at the conclusion of the Sprint (ConPosium).

TECHNOLOGY

For LWOW Sprint 2026 Pre-Sprint Learning modules, each student must have access to a computer with a webcam, and a strong and reliable internet connection, and preferably, the latest version of Zoom. Tablets are not sufficient to participate in the Pre-Sprint Learning Modules or the in-person Sprint 2026—in addition, students are required to bring a laptop to the Sprint 2026.

MANDATORY TIME COMMITMENT

  • Mandatory: Attend/participate in 7 Pre-Sprint Learning Modules prior to the in-person LWOW Sprint in March 2026 starting 14 Jan to 25 Feb 2026. Synchronous sessions are expected to begin at UTC 20:30 for 90 minutes. Exact schedule to come in Fall of 2025.

  • Mandatory: Participate in a LWOW Tradition: the LWOW Lip Sync.

  • Mandatory: Attend an in-person Meet & Greet on location at Sprint 2026 (details to come).

  • Mandatory: Attend all 3 full days of the LWOW Sprint 2026 in Carcavelos, Portugal 13-15 March 2026.

  • Mandatory: Post-Sprint, complete a final student self-assessment to help preserve students’ learnings and experiences at LWOW, and to communicate the benefits back to the sponsoring institutions.

The future of law, today.