Day 1: Welcome to 365 Days of Disruption

Welcome! In this blog series, I’ll share 365 reflections on lawyering in a time of social change - one each day for the next 365 days.

Why disruption? Because that’s the theme of the coming year.

Disruption is a word entrepreneurs use to describe the next big wave, the new way of doing business. The last disruption was digital. The next will be AI. No industry - and certainly not the law - will be immune from disruption by innovative thinkers and makers. Higher education has already been disrupted, with millions of young adults opting for jobs or other types of training after the pandemic.

But this blog series is not about describing or resisting change. It’s about embracing it.

As lawyers, we’re trained to be creative. To advocate for our clients by finding a fresh take, a different angle, that achieves the client’s goals within the norms society has agreed to. And, when necessary, to push for a change to those norms. Being an advocate means being a disruptor.

In the Immigration Law Clinic, we represent individuals seeking visas or defending themselves against the power of the United States in immigration court. It’s a system that pretty much everyone agrees is broken. It’s a system that dehumanizes. Being an immigration lawyer means being a disruptor.

As a writer of stories about legal history, I study and try to bring to life moments of disruption from our past and the people who led it, willingly or not.

This year, I’ll be teaching a new course, The Entrepreneurship Method for Lawyers. It’s a course that embraces change, embraces the lawyer’s unique position to be a disruptor in law and in society. Whether pursuing the next big tech startup or an innovative nonprofit to reach underserved groups, The Entrepreneurship Method will give future lawyers the tools and the mindset to be leaders of change - to be disruptors.

All of this change begs important questions about tradition. Not all change is desirable, and history is not inevitable. Disruption without reflection is dangerous. Just as you have to take a step back from the painting to see the image, 365 Days of Disruption aims to be a forum for reflective disruption.

One day at a time.

Each day, I’ll share an aha moment, a little-known fact, or a nagging doubt that arises from my work as a law professor, immigration lawyer, and writer in a time of disruption. Please join the conversation any time in the comments.