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Lawyers are used to working with complex legal terms day after day in their contracts in order to make them flawless. But, at the same time, the complexity of legal language can be a barrier for both professionals and clients. This is where Legal Design Thinking comes into play, a methodology that seeks to make legal documents more understandable and accessible to everyone. Have you ever sent a contract and been answered with doubts about complex terms and endless paragraphs? It's time to find a solution.
The need for clarity and efficiency in legal documents and contracts is becoming increasingly essential in an era where business operations are accelerating at a rapid pace. Unintelligible documents not only generate frustration. They can also trigger costly errors, unnecessary litigation and a poor customer experience that leads to confusion and inefficiencies. That's why, in this article, we explore how Legal Design Thinking can be a powerful tool for legal professionals looking to modernise, simplify and make their contracts accessible.
This article is also available in Spanish.
In this article, you will find:
- What is Legal Design Thinking?
- 5 keys to apply Legal Design Thinking in your legal documents
- Practical applications of Legal Design Thinking
- Benefits of Legal Design Thinking for legal professionals
- The future of legal is clear, visual and user-centric
What is Legal Design Thinking?
With Legal Design Thinking, the lawyer not only writes but also designs more accessible legal reading experiences.
Legal Design Thinking is a methodology that applies the principles of user-centred design to the legal field. When it comes to legal documents - such as contracts, policies, agreements or manuals - it aims to make them clearer, more understandable and useful for the people who read them, without compromising legal precision.
It is based on design thinking, which involves empathising with the end user, defining their needs, devising solutions, prototyping and testing. In practice, the lawyer not only drafts but also designs more accessible legal reading experiences. This involves using clear language, structuring information better, incorporating visual elements and, above all, thinking from the reader's perspective to facilitate understanding and compliance.
5 keys to apply Legal Design Thinking in your legal documents
1. Empathise with the user
Every design process starts with understanding the user. In the legal world, this means putting ourselves in the shoes of the person who will read, sign or interpret the document. Drafting for a lawyer is not the same as drafting for an operations manager, a client or a supplier.
To empathise with your interlocutor, talk to them, get to know their work and observe how they interact with previous documents. Where do documents get stuck? What terms do your interlocutors find confusing? How do they use documents in their day-to-day work? This research phase will be essential to guide subsequent design decisions.
2. Simplify language without losing precision
One of the most common qualities in legal documents is the excessive use of jargon. Opt for short sentences, active verbs and simple grammatical structures. When it is necessary to include technical terms or mandatory clauses, accompany them with a brief explanation or glossary, especially in annexes or margin notes.
3. Structure information with logic and visual hierarchy
Legal documents are often dense. To improve readability, it is key to structure content into sections with clear headings, consistent numbering and white space.
Introduce descriptive subheadings, tables to present complex information (such as prices or deadlines), and even diagrams or timelines to visualise processes or contractual chronologies.
In addition, the use of visual design - such as typography, colour and spacing - should be at the service of comprehension, without cluttering. For example, highlight key dates, obligations or clauses of major impact with a differentiated format.
4. Prototype, test and continuously improve
Legal Design Thinking promotes iteration. Once a new model contract, policy or NDA is designed, test its effectiveness with real users.
See how they interact with the document: do they understand what they need to do, can they locate a specific clause without help, and do they have doubts after reading it? Based on these inputs, make adjustments.
This experimental approach may seem unusual in traditional legal environments, but its results - in terms of speed, error reduction and user satisfaction - more than justify it.
5. Work in multidisciplinary teams
Legal design is not just a lawyer's job. It requires the collaboration of complementary profiles such as graphic designers, UX experts, developers or communicators. Each one brings a key perspective to optimise the usability of the document.
It is difficult to form legal teams with such a diversity of skills, but having several legal operations professionals will allow you to find more creative and effective solutions. For example, while the lawyer ensures the legal validity of the content, they can come up with a clearer visual layout, assessing how the reader interacts with the text.
6. Bonus: Use the right technology
In addition, if you choose to implement good Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software that is usable and focused on a good user experience, you will have a visual interface that will allow you to simplify the work processes on documents. This is reflected in the entire contract lifecycle, from the initial request, through the automated creation of documents via highly visual templates, negotiation and validation and electronic signature, all from a single platform.
You have to consider that a state-of-the-art CLM provider has a product team to develop its software, so you will have those professionals specialised in usability and design at your disposal, through the CLM itself.
Practical applications of Legal Design Thinking
Legal Design Thinking applies to many everyday legal documents: service contracts, confidentiality agreements, internal policies, terms and conditions, compliance manuals or supplier guides.
A common case is the redesign of contracts for B2B clients. Instead of sending a 15-page PDF with clauses that are not read until the end of the sales process, a company can present a visual summary of the agreement, followed by a clearer and more straightforward full contract. This speeds up the negotiation and builds trust from the outset.
In the area of compliance, codes of ethics or internal policies can benefit greatly from this methodology, transforming documents that previously nobody read into accessible and understandable resources for all employees.
Even in judicial processes, more and more courts and law firms are exploring how design can improve the comprehension of resolutions, sentences or summons.
You may be interested in: Bigle Libra, the legal AI that boosts your work on contracts
Benefits of Legal Design Thinking for legal professionals
Let's look at five of the main benefits of Legal Design Thinking:
- Reduced review time: Clearer documents require fewer questions, fewer errors and fewer corrections.
- Better client experience: Clients understand their rights and obligations more quickly, which improves the relationship with the firm or consultancy.
- Professional differentiation: Providing understandable and well-structured documents is a competitive advantage over competitors.
- Reducing legal risks: Clarity avoids misinterpretation or contradictory clauses.
- Fostering a culture of compliance: More accessible policies and guidelines are easier to follow and apply on a day-to-day basis.
The future of legal is clear, visual and user-centric
Legal Design Thinking is a necessary response to the current challenges in the legal sector. In an environment where transparency, efficiency and user experience are increasingly relevant, legal professionals who adopt this methodology will be better positioned to lead the change.
Applying these principles does not mean losing legal rigour, but rather enhancing its impact. A well-designed contract is no less legal: it is clearer, more effective and more useful. So the invitation is open: are you ready to redesign your legal work?
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