The concept of Design Thinking is relatively new to the legal profession. Right now, we’re seeing an increase in its use in the legal ecosystem to develop user and human centred services, products, and processes. This series of videos, designed by Melissa Lyon, Executive Director and Experience Designer, Hive Legal as part of her CLI Distinguished Fellowship, was created to provide a foundational understanding of the concept and processes involved in Design Thinking; the mindsets that are central to it (including its elements of empathy, collaboration and experimentation); and why it encourages, supports and provides a framework for a mindset shift for the legal profession – a different way of thinking and doing!

The series includes interviews with Design Thinking “doers” who discuss how they have applied Design Thinking in their part of the legal ecosystem and, how they have achieved tangible results using this approach too. Case studies featured here include the application of Design Thinking in in-house legal teams to develop better processes; legal firms to inspire innovation and develop visual privacy policies; and a portal to assist with access to justice. Each of these “doers” draw on their experiences and provide practical advice on utilising this approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided us all with an opportunity to reflect and rebuild, in many different ways. In the last Episode in this series, Melissa discusses how it has impacted the legal industry, in particular, the way we work, our business models, how we deliver services and, with a changed mindset, how we can sustain some of these changes too.