From 13 – 15 March 2026, Bucerius MLB student Kübra Islamoglu Bayer took part in the three-day LWOW Sprint event held at the NOVA School of Business and Economics in beautiful Carcavelos, Portugal. During 3 intense and challenging days, participants were assigned to talented and multidisciplinary teams composed of a mix of intergenerational legal and business professionals, academics, and law/business school students from around the world.
The teams were sponsored by corporate legal departments, law firms or law/legal tech companies and worked together to solve real business-of-law problems or social responsibility challenges.
The Law Without Walls Sprint 2026 was taught with the innovative and now established 3-4-5 method (3 Phases-48 Hacking Hours-5 Stages) and included collaboration exercises, intensive hacking as well as a mini-composium. Kübra spoke to us about her experience.
What attracted you to participate in Law Without Walls?
When I first heard about LWOW, I was hesitant—mainly because my schedule at Bucerius and my role at Siemens were already quite demanding. I wasn't sure if I could realistically manage the commitment.
That changed after the introductory session. I realized this wasn't just another competition; it was a format I was deeply familiar with: working under pressure, meeting tight deadlines, and delivering concrete, implementable solutions. In my day-to-day work, I approach AI and data-related questions primarily from a legal perspective.
What I felt was missing was the opportunity to move beyond analysis and actually shape a solution. LWOW offered exactly that: a setting where you don't just understand a problem, you build the answer alongside people from entirely different backgrounds. That’s what convinced me to participate.
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking about your LWOW experience?
Convergence. For seven weeks, our preparation was structured yet remained largely abstract.
That changed the moment we arrived in Portugal. Over those three days, time seemed to be compressed and the initial chaos dissolved. Everything that had been theoretical finally came together and moved forward with a natural, effortless logic.
How intensive was the preparation for the pitches?
Extremely rigorous but also rewarding. The seven-week preparation required disciplined time commitment. Our sessions were held every Wednesday at 21:30 Hamburg time; whilst the late hour was a challenge, we felt fortunate compared to peers joining at 5:00 a.m.
The sessions were so engaging that the 90 minutes never felt like a burden. However, the real work happened between meetings; balancing readings, deep-dive tasks. The constant evolution of our ideas required significant dedication outside of our scheduled time.
Tell us more about your LWOW Sprint challenge?
Our challenge focused on enabling a more strategic adoption of AI within a high-risk legal environment, specifically a Debt Finance practice.
The main difficulty wasn't the technology, but the context: strong resistance to change, high risk-sensitivity, and limited incentives to deviate from existing workflows. Our solution, “Leggy,” addressed this by focusing on guidance rather than enforcement. Instead of introducing another tool or training layer, we supported professionals directly within their workflow, helping them make informed decisions about AI use at the exact moment of need.
By reducing friction rather than pushing from the outside, we made adoption practical. The project was ultimately recognized with my team winning the Gold Medal at the end of the Sprint.
What inspired you most during this tournament?
The power of collaboration. It was inspiring to see how a team with such different backgrounds could synchronize so quickly. The early chaos didn’t hinder us; it pushed us to adapt. Within a very short timeframe, we didn't just build an idea, we scaled our skills in AI video creation and storytelling.
I walked away with a new definition of teamwork: it’s about being genuinely supportive and open to feedback when the pressure is highest. There is something incredibly motivating about seeing a "sketch" of an idea turn into a professional, impactful result.
Will you stay in touch with your team members?
Absolutely. There is a specific kind of bond that forms when you navigate high-pressure environments, uncertainty, and global time zone hurdles together. By the end of the sprint, it felt less like a temporary collaboration and more like a shared journey.
We’ve maintained that momentum through our active group chat; most recently, I shared an AI-generated interview I developed as part of our feedback loop, which sparked a great conversation. We aren't just teammates now; we’re a network.
