LawWithoutWalls: From Buzzwords (#legaltech #socialinnovation) to Action
By: Ara Dungca
JD’2020 and 2020 Osgoode Hall Law School participant in LawWithoutWalls (LWOW) program with the University of Miami School of Law.
Law Without Walls (LWOW) is a program that definitely stands as one of the highlights of my Osgoode Hall Law School journey. No other course, clinic, or intensive offer the same experience. I had the opportunity to work with students from Germany, Brazil and the United States. Our mentors and project managers were also from all over the world – Chile, Australia and the United Kingdom to name a few. This geographical and cultural diversity enriched the teamwork as everyone brought along different perspectives and experiences.
As an entrepreneurial program focused on the intersection of law, technology, business and social justice – each team was assigned a problem which they then explored for a number of weeks. In the end, the goal was to create a viable business plan and a pitch presentation. My team created an app-based solution for legal non-profits to attract private donors by showing transparency and accountability. The program got quite intense, particularly in the latter parts as we were refining our idea and getting closer to the pitch, but this is what made the experience all the more exciting. As a result, our team won Best Business Case at the pitch competition!
I truly recommend Law Without Walls to any law school student looking for a unique and rich learning experience. It is not simply about the groupwork, but also about solving legal problems in creative ways. LWOW allows you to stretch your skills beyond legal research by venturing into the world of entrepreneurial start-up culture, exploring financial planning, marketing and branding. It also encourages thinking in the social innovation space which is a rarity when it comes to traditional course offerings. It is surreal to think about how much can be accomplished with the technology we now have – legal tech and legal innovation are transforming how business and law function, LWOW is at the forefront of legal tech education.