WIT@Work

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Effective lawyers don’t just know the law—they need core skills to apply their knowledge.

Lawyers need to be able to listen fully, engage and persuade people, read body language, adapt to the unexpected, and creatively solve problems in the midst of uncertainty and change. Applied improvisation is one of the most effective (and enjoyable!) ways to build these skills.

WIT@Work is Washington Improv Theater’s organizational training arm and we’ve led trainings for the DC Bar Foundation, GW Law School,McDermott Will & Emery, Kelley Drye & Warren, the US Department of Justice, and more. Our program director, John Windmueller, Ph.D., has over two decades of experience designing, delivering, and overseeing professional training and graduate education focused on communication, collaboration, and creativity. 

WIT@Work uses improv principles and exercises to help lawyers build skills in communication, collaboration, and creativity in a way that is engaging, effective, and fun. These competencies help lawyers polish their trial skills and become more effective negotiators and advocates outside the courtroom. Along with skill-focused workshops, we also offer fun firm-wide team-building workshops and cohort-building workshops for summer associates.

How to engage WIT@Work

Bring WIT to your firm to foster professional development. Our Improv for Attorneys workshop uses improv-based principles and exercises to help attorneys better engage with clients and colleagues, to negotiate effectively and creatively, and to present and persuade successfully. Workshops can be hosted in-person at your site or online. Email john@witdc.org to arrange a session.

Let us organize an event for your Summer Associates. Improv can be a wonderful way for your summer associates to bond and get connected to the city while having fun and building skills along the way. We can host an event at your site, here at the theater, or online. Email john@witdc.org to arrange a session.

Pricing and other information

We offer online and in-person versions of all our workshops. These trainings are typically one to two hours in length and average $65 per participant (minimum cost is $900). Group sizes range from 5 to 300 participants and we work with you to design the specific workshop that fits your goals and schedule.

Download our full brochure here.

Clients rave: Cigna Mid-Atlantic President Monica Schmude says: “As much positive feedback I received from the first time that we had the event with WIT@Work— the second, the third, and the fourth, were just equally as positive. It’s such an amazing program.”

In the news

Did you know Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson used to do improv? WIT@Work John Windmueller spoke to Law360 about why improv is a valuable skill for lawyers.

Read the Article

About John Windmueller, Ph.D.

John Windmueller serves as the Director of WIT@Work, the applied improv and organizational training branch of Washington Improv Theater.

John has over two decades of experience designing, delivering, and overseeing professional training and graduate education focused on communication, collaboration, and creativity. In addition to his education and training background, he holds a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Carter School and has extensive experience working as a facilitator and mediator, helping groups and communities have constructive conversations.

Along with directing WIT@Work, John performs regularly at WIT and at improv festivals throughout the U.S.

WIT@Work clients include: Deloitte, Marriott, Time Warner, Cisco Systems, Ogilvy, McDermott Will & Emery, Burness Communications, Goodwill Industries International, AOL, Sidwell Friends School, American Chemical Society, George Washington University, George Mason University, Wounded Warrior Project, IREX, KPMG, The World Bank, and The American Red Cross.

American-Red-Cross-Logo-Vertical   aol-logo     ashoka logo     GEO-LogoGOODWILL.jpggw-logo    the world bank logo        deloitte-logo-2011        geico         Kpmg-logo      sidwell logo

Curious about bringing some WIT to your workplace? Just fill out this questionnaire and submit it. Our WIT@Work Training Manager, John Windmueller, will be in touch with you shortly.

WIT@Work Intake Questionnaire

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What's Your Focus

Are you interested team building, developing communication skills, or sparking creativity and innovation? All of the above? Check off the focus area(s) that most interest you. If you’d like, share some some context about your group and the goals and challenges you want to address in the optional notes sections.
What's Your Focus

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