The Legal Minds Project helps law students and attorneys write more clearly, think more confidently, and build a legal career they can sustain. We do that by working on the craft and the mind together.
Founded by Lynn Sholander, an appellate attorney and law professor, and Larson Sholander, a licensed clinical psychologist.
Whether you are finding your footing or reaching for the next level, the biggest gains rarely come from more intelligence or effort. They come from identifying the patterns that shape how you write, study, think, and perform. These are the patterns most people were never taught to notice.
The Legal Minds Project began with a realization shared by a lawyer and a psychologist. Once you can see those patterns clearly, you can change them. That is the whole idea, and it is why we work on the craft and the mind together rather than one without the other.
More than a tutor. More than a coach.
This is not generic study help or generic life coaching. It is a different approach, built for the legal mind.
Real legal experience
Guidance from a lawyer who has written the briefs, argued the appeals, and taught the writing.
Genuine psychological insight
Insight from a psychologist who understands how people learn, focus, and perform under pressure.
One integrated method
A method that treats legal craft and self-knowledge as a single discipline.
Built for legal work
An approach that fits the real demands of law school and practice.
What’s really getting in your way
Three things we hear all the time.
“I just need to work harder.”
Effort without insight repeats the same patterns. Working longer hours is rarely the answer. A clearer approach makes the effort you’re already putting in count.
“Asking for help means I’m not cut out for this.”
Needing support says nothing about whether you belong in the legal field. The strongest performers work with coaches precisely because they take their work seriously.
“I’m stuck where I am.”
Feeling stuck is a signal, not a final sentence. A role, a practice area, or an old way of working can all change with the right skills and support.
What we offer
Support tailored to where you are.
Individualized coaching and education that meets law students, practicing attorneys, and firms where they actually work.
For law students
Build the habits law school rewards.
Write with power and precision. Learn to structure arguments, sharpen analysis, and produce memos, briefs, and exams that stand out.
Master the material that matters. Develop a clear, working command of doctrine, outlining, and exam strategy.
Turn feedback into progress. Convert comments and critiques into study and writing habits that last.
Quiet perfectionism and anxiety. Build resilience and lasting habits that protect your emotional and psychological well-being under pressure.
Build your career from the start. Grow your network, strengthen interviewing and interpersonal skills, and navigate workplace culture and career changes.
Use AI the right way. Bring new research and writing tools into your work effectively and ethically.
For attorneys
Sharpen the skills a thriving practice demands.
Write to persuade and win. Craft briefs and motions that are sharper, tighter, and stronger.
Quiet perfectionism and anxiety. Build resilience and lasting habits that support your emotional and psychological well-being across a demanding career.
Advance your career with intention. Set your direction, grow your network, and navigate changes in your role or path.
Use AI the right way. Integrate new tools into your research and writing without losing your judgment.
For law firms and organizations
Strengthen the team your firm relies on.
Sharpen writing and research across the team. Raise the quality and consistency of your team’s legal research and writing.
Build resilience and effective work habits. Ease anxiety, perfectionism, and the emotional patterns that hold teams back.
Tailor a program to your needs. Design individualized programs that address your organization’s specific goals, increasing performance without sacrificing well-being.
This is an early preview. More offerings are on the way, including group workshops, online courses, a resource library, and a podcast. Until then, reach out and we will tailor something to your needs.
Our approach
Built around how lawyers and law students actually learn.
We treat legal craft and self-knowledge as one discipline, not two. Every engagement moves through four stages.
01
Identify
Identify the patterns and practices shaping your writing, thinking, and performance.
02
Understand
See why those patterns formed and what keeps them in place.
03
Practice
Build concrete, repeatable strategies through deliberate practice.
04
Sustain
Turn new skills into durable habits and lasting resilience.
Who we are
Two disciplines. One approach.
A lawyer and a psychologist, married to each other, who kept seeing the same gap from two sides and built The Legal Minds Project to close it.
Lynn Sholander, J.D.
Co-Founder
2025 1L Professor of the YearVoted by the Wayne State University Law School student body
Appellate AttorneyLaw ProfessorLegal Research and Writing SpecialistLaw Review Editor-in-ChiefJudicial Law ClerkLegal Writing Consultant
Lynn graduated magna cum laude from Wayne State University Law School, finishing third in her class and serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Wayne Law Review. After law school, she clerked at the Michigan Court of Appeals, practiced appellate and general civil litigation, and tutored law students and bar exam takers. All of that experience came together in her role as a full-time Legal Research and Writing professor, where the student body voted her 2025 1L Professor of the Year.
Today, in addition to her work at The Legal Minds Project, she serves part-time as a Legal Research and Writing Specialist at a metro Detroit law school. She has lived nearly every stage of the path her clients are on, and The Legal Minds Project is personal for her: she has seen countless students and attorneys, herself included, held back not by ability but by habits and patterns that can change. She loves helping legal professionals reach their full potential.
Dr. Larson Sholander, Ph.D., L.P.
Co-Founder
Licensed PsychologistAnxiety and OCD SpecialistPerformance Specialist
Larson is a licensed psychologist whose clinical work focuses primarily on anxiety, panic, OCD, perfectionism, and trauma. He is affiliated with the Anxiety and OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor. Through Lynn, and through the many lawyers and law students in his clinical practice, he knows the pressures of the legal profession firsthand. At The Legal Minds Project, he gives clients practical, psychology-based strategies to think more clearly, work more effectively, and stay resilient under pressure.
Work with us early
We’re taking on a few clients before the full launch.
This site is an early preview of The Legal Minds Project. Ahead of our full launch, we are working with a small number of law students, attorneys, and firms. Tell us what you are working toward, and we will take it from there.
Thank you. We have it.
We will be in touch soon. We’re glad you reached out.
