Applications are open for Sprint 2025!
Sprint Application FAQs
Q: WHAT IS LAWwithoutwalls? is it like doctors without borders but for lawyers?
A: LawWithoutWalls is not like Doctors Without Borders. LWOW doesn’t send teams of legal professionals out to parts of the world for clinical practice. Instead, LWOW is an initiative that combines law with technology, business and innovation. Students will work in teams comprised of legal and business professionals and academics to solve team-specific challenges at this intersection. Click here to see the list of topic challenges over years past.
Q: How does LWOW Sprint work?
A: Watch a 10 minute pre-recorded presentation here about the LawWithoutWalls Sprint or register here for one of our live virtual info sessions.
Q: What IS THE TIMELINE for LWOW 2025?
A: The timeline for LWOW 2025 can be found here. LWOW Sprint is an in-person event over 3 days. Sprint days are ALL DAY experiences. Sprint 2025 will be held 14—16 March hosted by the University of Buckingham Law School in Buckingham, UK (1.5 to 2 hours from London). Students should arrive in the UK no later by Thursday, 13 March and depart no earlier than Monday, 17 March.
The LWOW Pre-Sprint Learning Modules will be held (unless assigned to be completed independently and asynchronously) mostly on Wednesdays from 15:30pm Eastern Time USA (20:30 UTC) onwards in the 7 weeks (roughly 15 January—5 March 2025) leading up to the in-person Sprint. The final schedule of the learning modules will be published in late Fall 2024.
Q: When DO applicationS OPEN AND WHAT IS THE DEADLINE?
A: Applications for Sprint 2025 opens 18 September, 2024. Unless otherwise noted by a participating school, students must complete their Sprint 2025 Applications (click here for How to Apply) by 11 November 2024. This includes completion of the Application Form, the Applicant Recommendation and an Interview Video, also due 11 November, 2024. Applications are not considered complete until all are submitted. All students will be notified of acceptance by 2 Dec 2024.
Q: What do i need to submit for my lwow application?
A: You will need to complete 1) the online Application Form 2) Submit an Interview Video 3) Submit your LinkedIn url and finally, submit 4) a Recommendation from an academic or professional supervisor.
Q: Who should complete the Applicant Recommendation, and how?
A: Only ONE recommendation is required. Students applying to LWOW must have a current or past academic or professional supervisor (e.g., a professor who supervises their work as a research assistant, a thesis supervisor, a work manager, recent boss, etc.) complete the Applicant Recommendation on their behalf. Students should inform the supervisor of their candidacy for LWOW and send the link to their supervisor for completion. An application without a recommendation will not be considered. A link to the Recommendation Form to come 18 Sept 2024.
Q: What should my Interview Video include?
A: Your Interview Video should tell us why you're a fitting candidate for LWOW by answering the interview questions in a thoughtful, creative manner. Each video should display examples of problem solving, leadership, and creativity. Applications to LWOW are competitive, so what makes you stand out? The Interview Video is your opportunity to give us an in-depth visual idea of your identity, personality, complimentary interests and desire to participate in LWOW. Note: The Interview Video may be a mix of video clips, still photos, and animated media; however, it must be one cohesive video file. Visit How to Apply for Interview Video Questions + Instructions. Follow instructions for creation and submission.
Want some ideas on the video? Click HERE for a YouTube playlist of past Personal Pitches (whilst this is not exactly what your Interview Video will look like, it will give you an idea on the quality of the LWOW applicant pool as well as creativity of the video submissions).
Q: What is the cost to participate in LWOW?
A: LWOW is a nonprofit organization. The administration fee to participate in the LWOW Sprint depends on your school (Note: administration fee includes participation in LWOW Sprint 2025 and Pre-Sprint Learning Modules, but does not include travel or lodging; however, as in years’ past, we will select reduced-rate hotels for students and pair them 2 per room. Students can also request a single room at a higher cost). Funding arrangements vary—some students are fully funded by their schools (administration fee plus travel costs), some students receive a partial-stipend, and others are entirely self-funded. Please contact anita@lwow.org for admin costs.
Q: what is the student role at the sprint?
A: Although the professional participants (“Lead Hackers”) from the Sponsoring organization play the lead role on teams because they have a deeper level of expertise/experience related to the assigned problem than do the students, the students or “Student Hackers” are very much at the core of the Sprint. Students are also the “do-ers” on their teams. Students Hackers meaningfully participate (they do not just assist) in the real-life problem fine-tuning, solution development, and prototyping during the Sprint. 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. Student Hackers develop the Ignite-style decks that pitch their Project of Worth, and they present alongside the Lead Hackers to a panel of judges at the conclusion of the Sprint (ConPosium).
Q: What are the expectations LWOW has of me?
A: Learn more about our STUDENT EXPECTATIONS here. LWOW Sprint is an intensive 3-Day, ALL DAY learning experience and well worth the time and travel.
Pre-Sprint Work and Schedule: Students can expect to attend or participate independently in a series of 7 Pre-Sprint Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning Modules (with interactivity) approximately 90 minutes each in the 7 weeks leading up to the LWOW Sprint in order to prepare them for the experience (Note: this pre-Sprint work is roughly scheduled for 15 January—5 March 2025*. Live virtual Instruction Sessions and Webinars will be held starting 15:30pm Eastern Time USA (20:30 UTC). Attendance is mandatory for live sessions, students should check schedules to ensure they can fully participate.
*Exact schedule to be confirmed in Fall 2024. Post-Sprint, students can expect to produce a creative work (video, presentation, or visual display, or paper) exploring their Sprint experience.
Q: how intensive is the workload?
A: Not going to lie. Sprint is intense, and it’s 3-days, ALL-DAY intense. Students will be 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. It’s also our job at LWOW to make sure that students are ready for the Sprint experience.
Pre-Sprint, students will be required to attend a series of synchronous or asynchronous training and learning sessions 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 7 weeks (beginning 15 January to 5 March 2025*) leading up to Sprint 2025, students can expect to spend 3—4.5 hours a week attending or independently watching and interacting with learning modules, meeting with each other in teams, and completing assigned tasks. *Exact schedule will be determined by Fall 2024.
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).
TIME COMMITMENT:
Mandatory: Attend all 3 full days of the LWOW Sprint on the 14, 15, 16 March 2025
Mandatory: Attend Thursday evening 13 March in-person Pre-Sprint Meet-n-Greet Session (details to come).
Mandatory: Attend and participate in all interactive, pre-Sprint training and learning modules in preparation for Sprint 2025 (details to come).
Mandatory: Participate in a LWOW Tradition: the LWOW Music Video.
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, students are also required to complete a creative and engaging post-Sprint overview and assessment that presents their experience at LWOW Sprint, the process, project development, learnings and professional development.
Q: My school is not a participating school, but I still want to participate. What should I do?
A: No problem! Students from non-participating schools are welcome to apply to LWOW Sprint 2025, just like students from participating schools. There is no difference in fees. However, applicants must either be currently enrolled or recent graduates of a law or business program to be eligible to apply.
Q: What is a Project of Worth?
A: Learn more about Projects of Worth here.
Q: Will my Project of Worth be used in practice?
A: The closer a Project of Worth is to a viable product, the more successful it is likely to be. This is because part of creating your Project of Worth is trying to accurately determine the costs of creating, marketing and implementing it. Understandably, we do not expect you to have business and marketing expertise to an extent where you will be able to do this perfectly; however, part of the fun of the whole process is trying to determine these variables to the best of your ability. Projects of Worth from previous years have lasted beyond the LWOW process, further incubated and refined, and in some cases, have gone into the negotiation stages with venture capitalists and, even beyond this, into the realm of real world application. Given that LWOW Sprint 2025 is 3 days, projects will need more work and “incubation” post-Sprint if the team wants to create viability and bring the project to life.
Q: Is it really possible to create an expansive project virtually POST-SPRINT?
A: Absolutely! For over 13 years, hundreds of students and legal and business practitioners have taken part in LWOW to collaborate across borders, time zones, and institutions to bring Projects of Worth to life.
Q: When will teams and topics be announced?
A: Teams and topics will be announced in early March 2025 for Sprint 2025. Past years' topics can be viewed here. All LWOW teams are sponsored by a corporate legal department, law firm or law company. Projects will focus on a narrow business-of-law challenge or corporate social responsibility (or ESG) challenge that the Sponsor cares about.
Q: How are teams constructed? Can I choose my teammates?
A: Teams are carefully crafted of participants from across a wide range of institutions worldwide. A large part of LWOW is learning about other cultures, communication, networking, and fostering lasting relationships across societal borders in ways that would not otherwise be possible. For these reasons, we take great time and care in crafting the teams in order to maximize cross-cultural understanding and experience.
Q: CAN I CHOOSE MY OWN TOPIC?
A: LWOW topics are selected by the LWOW leadership team and Sponsors. While students cannot choose their own topic, we can try to match students with a topic that aligns with their interest and experience, as expressed in their Application and Interview Video. Topic assignments are made based on a number of factors, including background, experience and ensuring a wholly diverse experience within the team.
Q: I already have a business idea. Can I submit my own topic?
A: While we encourage our students to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas using skills honed in LWOW, our topics for LWOW 2025 are set by our leadership team in collaboration with our Sponsors. Topics can center on current challenges in legal practice, including (but not limited to) the legal profession, legal education, technology and law, corporate law, arbitration, compliance, ESG and access to justice. This allows teams to solve a real problem faced by the sponsoring organization with guidance from experts and employees within the organization.
Q: What kind of technology do I need to participate?
A: In 2025, some Pre-Sprint Learning Modules will be held over Zoom. As such, LWOW recommends a strong internet connection, good earbuds, and a computer (tablets are NOT sufficient) with a built-in or attachable webcam.
LAPTOPS are a must at the in-person Sprint! It is mandatory that students bring their laptops to the in-person Sprint as teams will be utilizing their computers to take notes, complete online research, create presentations, create videos and designs, and other tasks.
Q: I cannot afford to travel to in-person events, Should I still apply?
A: LWOW realizes that traveling to and from in-person events is a wonderful privilege, that not all institutions and students can access. Please speak with your participating institution first, then have them reach out to LWOW to discuss possibilities. Also, rest assured that LWOW will pre-negotiate for the best rates for any recommended accommodations, dining and travel options that we issue in our Sprint 2025 “Travel Guide.”