Law Without Walls and the power of collaborative innovation

This past March, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in Law Without Walls (LWOW), a fast-paced, three-day innovation sprint designed to bring together legal professionals, students, and industry leaders to tackle real-world challenges in the legal sector. This year’s event was hosted at Buckingham University’s School of Law in the UK, and it proved to be an experience like no other.

As a first-time attendee, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was joined by my colleague Kelvin McClean, a Senior Software Engineer from our iManage Belfast office, and we were paired with two fantastic teammates from Simmons & Simmons. Beyond the four of us, the team included a Project Manager, an Innovation Coach, a Mentor, and three brilliant law students. I had been briefed that LWOW was intense but highly rewarding — and that couldn’t have been more accurate. Over three days, we were engaged in a high-energy, collaborative environment that pushed us to challenge assumptions, think creatively, and problem-solve in entirely new ways.

Since I am a Customer Success Team Lead at iManage, I’m very familiar with the evolving challenges facing legal professionals. But LWOW offered me a rare chance to step away from my day-to-day responsibilities and dive into a hands-on innovation experience that emphasized curiosity, creativity, and collaboration over conventional thinking.

Sprint Day 1: Building the foundation

Before arriving in Buckingham, each participant completed a DISC assessment, a behavioral tool that identifies preferences across four dimensions: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. This set the stage for understanding how each team member communicates and works best.

Day one kicked off with team-building exercises aimed at creating trust — essential for the intense collaboration ahead. We got to know our teammates and began exploring the problem we wanted to solve. Specifically, we were told not to think about the solution just yet. This day was all about defining the problem space and understanding its complexity from every angle.

Sprint Day 2: The chaos of creation

“What on earth is happening?!” 

Yes, you read that right, and that thought ran through my mind more than once during Day 2. And I wasn’t alone. It was a whirlwind of activities: rapid ideation sessions, design thinking exercises, and immersive teamwork focused on identifying the root problem, developing user personas, and brainstorming innovative solutions.

Collaborating with people I had just met — who had different working styles, backgrounds, and perspectives — was very challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. By the end of the day, our differences became our biggest strength. Working with the team felt like putting together a complex puzzle, where each piece brought something unique and essential to the final picture.

Sprint Day 3: It’s showtime, baby!

The final day was all about delivery. Together, we refined our solution, crafted our pitch, and prepared to present in an Ignite-style format — a rapid, high-energy pitch delivered in front of a live audience and a panel of multidisciplinary judges. It was nerve-racking but so rewarding!

What stood out most was the level of planning and professionalism that went into every aspect of the event. Each session, speaker, and exercise had a purpose and pushed us closer to our goal. And our team? We went from strangers to true collaborators in just three days, united by a shared vision and mutual respect.

Reflections: Lessons beyond the pitch

While the final pitch was a highlight, what I really took away from LWOW this year goes far beyond that moment on stage. I left with a renewed mindset around problem-solving — one that encourages asking better questions, pausing before jumping to solutions, and always considering the human element behind every challenge.

In an industry that often focuses on technology as the driver of change, LWOW reminded me that real innovation is about people — their perspectives, their creativity, and their willingness to rethink the status quo. LWOW proved to me that it’s not just a three-day, in-person experiential learning “weekender,” but rather an experience that challenges you to the core and rewards you in the best possible way.

As I return to my work at iManage, I bring with me new tools, new insights, and most importantly, a deeper appreciation for the power of collaborative innovation.

Besa Gerguri is a member of our Customer Success team. Their mission is to make iManage the strategic vendor of choice, partnering with our customers for life to achieve desired outcomes with iManage solutions.  They want to make sure you get the most value out of your iManage investment. From easy-to-use resources to embedded subject matter experts, every iManage customer has access to our extensive success ecosystem. Learn more.