Day 208: How to Change the Law

Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash

Or, to be more precise, the legal profession. (Hint: You don’t necessarily start by saying, ‘How can I change the legal profession?’)

IDEATE-ing for Opportunities

In Entrepreneurship for Lawyers today, students practiced spotting opportunities using the IDEATE method.

In the IDEATE method, each letter stands for a different way to drill down on seeing problems, brainstorming solutions, and discerning which ones add the most value. In one hour, we practiced:

Identifying common “pain points” and possible solutions for them;

Discovering areas of rapid change (social, environmental, technological) and responding to emerging needs; and

Enhancing existing products or services.

(Time permitting, we would also Anticipate future needs; Target key customers; and Evaluate high- and low-potential ideas.)

By the end of the class, the groups had brainstormed dozens of possible innovations. Many of them found ideas they’d like to explore as they work toward their final project: THE PITCH.

‘Breaking’ the Law

As the groups were working, a couple of students asked, “Do our problems or solutions need to be about the law?”

I thought about this question as I designed the course. In a law school, one could certainly practice these exercises while adding the constraint that students focus on changing the legal system or the legal profession.

I consciously (and emphatically) chose a different approach. Law students get a steady diet of constraints in their usual coursework. Legal thinking is almost always linear and process-oriented. 2 + 2 = 4.

For lawyers, spotting opportunities requires a radical mindset shift. Pattern recognition is primarily non-linear. 2 + 2 = a pair of high-heeled Aladdin shoes.

To train lawyers to think creatively, we need to remove constraints. Law students are already immersed in the legal profession; they need little reminder to notice the pain points, pick up on the changes, anticipate the future of lawyering. They do need practice at dropping the reins on their pattern recognition systems.

Methods, Not Rules

As I told the students, in this class, the only rule is there are no rules. There are methods, but no rules. When you brainstorm, brainstorm. Go where your imagination takes you.

Because the best way to achieve innovation in the legal profession is to train legal professionals to be innovative. The rest will take care of itself.