How does Sprint work?
We build multidisciplinary teams comprised of legal and business professionals and students from law and business school students around the world who work together to create viable solutions to real problems related to the business of law and/or corporate social responsibility (or ESG). Based on years of LWOW, we know the importance of assigning roles and sub-dividing big teams in collaboration journeys. As such each team participant is assigned a specific role.
LWOW SPRINT ROLES:
At Sprint, participants are put on teams sponsored by a corporate legal department, law firm or law/legal tech company that assigns a narrow business-of-law and/or corporate social responsibility (or ESG) challenge.
Each team consists of approximately 8-10 members: up to 4 professionals selected by the sponsoring entity who serve as Lead Hackers; 2 to 4 Student Hackers selected by LWOW, and 1-2 Hacker Mentors (mix of professionals and academics) selected by LWOW. This core team is aided by 1 Innovation Coach (whose role is to drive the quality of the innovation) and/or 1 LWOW Project Manager (whose role is to prevent drift)—both of whom are selected by LWOW. Additionally, all Sprint teams have access to resident experts in business planning, pitching start-ups, technology, branding , and marketing.
SAMPLE TEAM DIAGRAM:
LEAD HACKERS:
WHO & HOW SELECTED: a mix of legal and business professionals (from within the Sponsor’s organization or its clients) selected by the Sponsor who serve as the team leaders or Lead Hackers over the course of the 3 day in-person Sprint journey.
WHAT: Given their expertise and experience, Lead Hackers have a deeper level of understanding related to the assigned problem. As such, they lead the team in identifying the discrete problem and its root causes and in developing creative and practical solutions to the problem identified. Throughout the Sprint, they provide critical feedback on the team’s work and collaboration, and lead the development and delivery of the final Ignite-style presentation at the ConPosium on the final day.
TIME COMMITMENT FOR SPRINT 2026:
Mandatory: Attend all 3 days of the LWOW Sprint — March 13–15, 2026 — at NOVA University’s Carcavelos campus (30 minutes from Lisbon).
Optional: Attend the Pre-Sprint Sponsor 2026 Reception:
Sponsor Reception: 12 March 2025 (Date & Location TBC)
Optional: Participate in the selection of the Topic Challenge.
Optional: Attend two scheduled LWOW PopUp events:
LWOW PopUp: 14 Oct 2025 (London, UK) hosted by Dentons.
LWOW Pre-Sprint WarmUp: Date & Location TBC
STUDENT HACKERS:
WHO & HOW SELECTED: Students from global law and business schools are selected through a competitive application process and complete LWOW’s pre-training curriculum.
WHAT: While Lead Hackers guide the team with their deeper expertise, Student Hackers remain central to the Sprint. They actively contribute to refining the problem, developing solutions, prototyping, and crafting the final presentation—working alongside Lead Hackers every step of the way and presenting with them at the Sprint’s conclusion.
TIME COMMITMENT FOR SPRINT 2026:
Mandatory: Attend all 3 full days of the LWOW Sprint on the 13, 14, 15 March 2026.
Mandatory: Attend Thursday evening 12 March in-person Pre-Sprint Meet-n-Greet Session (dates & location TBC).
Mandatory: Attend and participate in all interactive, pre-Sprint training and learning modules in preparation for Sprint 2025 (14 Jan-25 Feb 2026).
Mandatory: Participate in a LWOW Tradition: the LWOW Music Video.
Mandatory: Post-Sprint, complete a final student self-assessment.
INNOVATION COACHES:
WHO & HOW SELECTED: Legal and business professionals, selected by LWOW, who are seasoned in LWOW and have experience in leading teams on an innovation journey.
WHAT: The Innovation Coach helps drive the team to innovate successfully.
TIME COMMITMENT FOR SPRINT 2026:
Mandatory: Attend all 3 full days of the LWOW Sprint on the 13, 14, 15 March 2026.
Optional: Attend two scheduled LWOW PopUp events:
LWOW PopUp: 14 Oct 2025 (London, UK) hosted by Dentons.
LWOW Pre-Sprint WarmUp: Date & Location TBC.
Optional: Attend the Pre-Sprint Sponsor 2026 Reception:
Sponsor Reception: 12 March 2025 (Date & Location TBC).
PROJECT MANAGERS:
Note: This role has a waitlist. Email lawwithoutwalls@lwow.org to request more information for Sprint 2026.
WHO & HOW SELECTED: Legal or business professionals selected by the LWOW leadership who are seasoned in LWOW and the 3-4-5 Method of Innovation™.
WHAT: The Project Manager’s role is to prevent team drift. The Project Manager helps assign/divvy up tasks to ensure that teams move from problem to solution using the 5-Step method efficiently and effectively over the 3 days of Sprint.
TIME COMMITMENT FOR SPRINT 2026:
Mandatory: Attend all 3 full days of the LWOW Sprint on the 13, 14, 15 March 2026.
Optional: Attend two scheduled LWOW PopUp events:
LWOW PopUp: 14 Oct 2025 (London, UK) hosted by Dentons.
LWOW Pre-Sprint WarmUp: Date & Location TBC.
Optional: Attend the Pre-Sprint Sponsor 2026 Reception:
Sponsor Reception: 12 March 2025 (Date & Location TBC).
MENTOR HACKERS:
Note: This role has a waitlist. Email lawwithoutwalls@lwow.org to request more information for Sprint 2026.
WHO & HOW SELECTED: a mix of law and business professionals and academics who are selected by the LWOW leadership team but may or may not have prior experience in LWOW.
WHAT: Mentor the team by deepening their understanding of the problem, challenging groupthink, and guiding them toward valuable, viable solutions. Help identify resources to quickly build industry and corporate insight.
TIME COMMITMENT FOR SPRINT 2026:
Mandatory: Attend all 3 full days of the LWOW Sprint on the 13, 14, 15 March 2026.
Optional: Attend two scheduled LWOW PopUp events:
LWOW PopUp: 14 Oct 2025 (London, UK) hosted by Dentons.
LWOW Pre-Sprint WarmUp: Date & Location TBC.
Optional: Attend the Pre-Sprint Sponsor 2026 Reception:
Sponsor Reception: 12 March 2025 (Date & Location TBC).