Michele DeStefano

Michele DeStefano

Program Chair, Harvard Law School Executive Education

Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School

Professor of Law, University of Miami

Guest Faculty IE Law School (Spain)

Founder, LawWithoutWalls and MOVEL∆W

Michele DeStefano is a highly innovative legal professional with a passion for creative problem-solving, collaboration, culture change, and innovation in law. As a professor at the University of Miami who teaches design thinking at the law and engineering schools and a Faculty Chair in Harvard Law School’s Executive Education Program, Michele is an internationally recognized thought leader who has been named a Legal Rebel by the ABA and one of the top 20 most innovative lawyers in North America by the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers.

Michele is the founder of LawWithoutWalls, a international community of over 2,000 lawyers, business professionals, entrepreneurs, and students who collaborate to create innovations in the business of law and develop new mindsets and skill sets. She is also the co-creator of the Digital Legal Exchange, a non-profit that aims to inspire general counsel and their teams to become digital leaders in their businesses to drive commercial value.

With her extensive research and writing on topics such as client-centricity, collaboration, and innovation in professional services, Michele has authored multiple books, including Leader Upheaval: A Guide to Client-Centricity, Culture Creation and Collaboration; an accompanying handbook: The Leader Upheaval Handbook: Lead Teams on a Innovation & Collaboration Journey with The 3-4-5 Method(™); as well as Legal Upheaval: A Guide to Creativity, Collaboration, and Innovation in Law, New Suits: Appetite for Disruption. Her latest scholarly articles include Chicken or Egg: Diversity and Innovation in the Corporate Legal Marketplace, 91 Fordham L. Review 1209 (2023) and Don't Let the Digital Tail Wag the Transformation Dog: A Digital Transformation Roadmap for Corporate Counsel, 17 J. Bus. & Tech. L. 183 (2022).

Michele earned a B.A. magna cum laude from Dartmouth College and a J.D. degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. Michele is a visionary who is dedicated to leading the way in transforming the professional services industry. She frequently speaks and runs workshops on client-centricity, culture change, collaborative problem solving, multi-disciplinary teaming, strategic influence, personal branding, pitching, and innovation for professional service providers.