How do you create the life you want? What do you want out of life after Michigan Law?
Are you wondering how to weave together what fits, is doable, and will be truly
meaningful?
Designing a Fulfilling Life in the Law is an innovative program at Michigan Law that applies the principles of design thinking and problem solving to the “wicked problem” of planning your life and career in and beyond Michigan Law.
What is design thinking?
Design thinking started out as a process for creating new and innovative technology. It proved so effective that it has become a go-to approach for problem-solving, creative thinking, and innovation across public and private sectors.
Why is design thinking so effective?
- It aims to address a concrete human need.
- It tackles problems that are ambiguous or difficult to define.
- It can lead to creative and innovative solutions you might not otherwise consider.
What does this have to do with my career?
Our Designing a Fulfilling Life in the Law program offers students the tools they need to apply the iterative stages of design thinking to their own life goals, career aspirations, and satisfaction and wellbeing.
Through a semester-long course, mini-seminar, and workshops and events, we encourage exploration, ideation, prototyping, and realization to consider how you can maximize your own success and happiness in life.
A typical class or workshop might include exercises to identify your core values, consider alternate career paths, or interview guest speakers about their own career trajectories.
About the Class
This course begins by exploring how lawyers can use the skills and innovation principles of problem solving to craft their lives and vocations in and beyond law school.
We’ll approach these lifelong questions with a structured classroom framework in which students can practice their problem-solving skills with their peers, facilitated by upper-level students (“peer mentors”) who have completed the course.
Topics include exploring views of work and life, defining success, brainstorming different paths, developing approaches to overcome barriers, and prototyping future plans. This class includes seminar-style discussions, personal written reflections, and guest speakers. The capstone assignment is the creation of a long-term plan, focusing on helping students realize the lives they want following post-graduation.
