Oriane Dreue
Master 1 student in Business and Tax Law at Paris-Panthéon-Assas University
In a justice system under pressure and burdened by overloaded courts, innovative solutions are being sought to reduce the strain on legal practitioners.[1] Among these solutions is legal design. Though often discussed in the context of lawyer-client relations, its broader application could significantly benefit the justice system globally.
As its name suggests, legal design merges design principles with legal best practices. The term “design” comes from the Latin word “designare,” meaning “to draw” or “to indicate.” According to the French professional designers’ union, Alliance France Design, its purpose is “to provide solutions to everyday problems, big and small, related to economic, societal, and environmental issues”.[2]Legal design applies this concept by conveying legal information in ways tailored to the user, often through graphics and diagrams that enhance clarity and accessibility beyond traditional text.
However, legal design goes beyond mere infographics. French Decree no. 2019-1333, which reformed civil procedure, illustrates this broader scope. This decree changed the drafting style of the Court of Cassation’s decisions to make them more accessible to the parties.[3] These decisions are now structured with numbered paragraphs and clear headings, such as “Facts and Procedure,” “Examination of Arguments,” and “Conclusion.” The Decree also encourages detailed reasoning, where the Court explains its thought process, making judicial reasoning more accessible to the public. These changes, aimed at clarifying and simplifying judicial procedures, are part of this legal design.
Legal design includes several stages, beginning with an “empathy” phase. Here, practitioners adopt the perspective of the intended audience to understand their needs and identify key issues. This reflective process then leads to the creation of a prototype, which is tested with users to ensure that it provides an effective legal solution.[4]
To fully grasp the value of legal design, it is useful to examine its origins (I). Given its practical and human-centred benefits, legal design could help ease the burden on the justice system (II), although scepticism persists regarding its perceived challenges (III).
I. The origins of a practice with ambitious goals
The development of Legal design is closely linked to the rise of LegalTech in the early 2000s.[5] This practice took root in common law countries, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom.[6] A notable early example is the 2009 project by designer Candy Chang and the Center for Urban Pedagogy, which created a guide to help New York street vendors understand regulations affecting their trade. Some, however, trace the concept back even further, attributing it to Napoleon Bonaparte’s adage: “A good sketch is better than a long speech.” Despite these early developments, it wasn’t until 2014 that legal design was first conceptualised by lawyer and designer Margaret Hagan in her work Law by Design, where she presented it as an innovation in communicating legal principles.[7]
As a user-centred approach, legal design aims to improve accessibility and clarity in legal matters—values with constitutional significance.[8] Consequently, it offers a human-centred solution to address challenges faced by an increasingly strained justice system. A 2021 study by the Consumer Science & Analytics Institute (CSA), cited in the 2023 report of the États généraux de la justice,[9] shows that 67% of participants consider the justice system to be opaque. This same report emphasises the need to “clarify the role of justice in society and in relation to other institutional players.” For many litigants, legal jargon reinforces this perceived lack of transparency.
The issue extends beyond France: a 2016 online survey conducted by Belgium’s High Council of Justice found that 86% of participants found legal language insufficiently clear.[10] Thus, an increased reliance on legal design could make judicial institutions more understandable to the public and clarify the meaning of judicial decisions.
II. An effective and human-centred approach
Legal design holds significant potential for mitigating litigation risks, although precise data on its impact is not yet available. It promotes a better understanding of legal standards and the consequences of violating them, thus enhancing accessibility and clarity in legal matters. For instance, 91% of terms and conditions are signed without being read.[11] This lack of informed consent represents a significant risk factor for disputes, and thus, this innovative approach could help reduce court congestion by promoting clearer commitments.
Moreover, Legal design supports the efficiency of the justice system. According to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. However, courts struggle to meet this requirement due to the large volume of new cases filed each year. For example, the Ministry of Justice reported nearly 1,453,000 new cases brought before French civil courts in 2022, an increase from the previous year.[12] The strain on the system is not only due to case volume but also to the complexity and length of procedural documents like summonses and pleadings, which can complicate the judge’s ability to effectively resolve the case.
Many legal professionals share this concern. For instance, Ghislaine Brenas, founder of Just Cause, an agency specialising in legal design, stated that “nobody reads everything anymore, not clients, nor judges”.[13] This sentiment echoes that of Alexandra Sabbe Ferri, founder of Sagan law firm, questioning: “Who still reads… 40-page pleadings?[14] Judges, pressed for time, need to quickly locate and understand relevant information and the arguments underlying each claim. Legal design could offer a way to streamline information, enabling judges to grasp legal arguments more efficiently.
Finally, it is a human-centred practice. By placing litigants at the heart of its informative function, it aims to clarify the meaning of judicial decisions. This approach requires legal professionals to adopt a pedagogical role, delivering concise and understandable information to citizens. The private and public sectors alike are increasingly adopting legal design. For instance, Dany Gilbert, head of legal services in France’s Vendée department, has observed numerous positive outcomes from implementing legal design in his department, thanks to the clarity of the legal solutions provided.[15]
It thus emerges as a promising avenue to explore further, even though it does face certain criticisms.
III. Ongoing scepticism with navigable challenges
Some legal practitioners question the value of integrating legal design into legal practice. Professor Bruno Dondero, for example, has voiced doubts, arguing that “if a lawyer is someone who walks the paths of the law and guides others along them, it is hard to see how they could also exhibit creativity”.[16] The notion that lawyers should use precise, technical language primarily understood by legal professionals is still prevalent. Nevertheless, legal design is gaining traction as it is being taught in universities and used in practice. The growing importance attached to it reflects a certain shift in mentality.
Another concern is the potential for a “biased legal design”.[17] The practitioner who creates the design controls the information and decides which parts to highlight or simplify. While this could pose a risk, it may also serve as a strategic advantage in litigation. A lawyer could employ legal design to frame legal rules in ways that benefit their client which in this context could be an effective tool for enhancing argumentative skills.
Beyond doubts about the practice’s effectiveness, other practical obstacles challenge its sustainability. Legal design first presents a financial issue. Training legal professionals in this practice or hiring individuals with legal and design skills entails significant costs. As this discipline is still relatively new, professionals with dual competencies are rare and therefore command high demand in the market.
Finally, legal design is often seen as time-consuming. Although training programmes are becoming more popular, they are far from the norm in French law schools. Consequently, few legal professionals are proficient in it at the start of their careers, and those who wish to delve deeper into the practice must invest time in training. However, in a justice system facing a crisis, time is a precious resource for judges and lawyers alike, as well as for businesses that often operate on strict timelines. Yet, it could be argued that legal design may ultimately save time. By improving the clarity of legal standards, it potentially reduces misunderstandings among litigants, business partners, and employees. Lawyers and in-house counsel could also benefit from time savings, as clients would have fewer questions.
[1] Rapport du Comité des États Généraux de la Justice, Rendre Justice aux Citoyens (Octobre 2021–April 2022, Ministère de la Justice, 2022)
[2] Alliance France Design, ‘Quelques citations célèbres sur le design’ (Alliance France Design, 2024)
[3] Décret n° 2019-1333 du 11 décembre 2019 réformant la procédure civile, Journal Officiel de la République Française (11 December 2019)
[4] Florence Creux-Thomas, ‘Le Legal Design: Gadget ou Opportunité pour les Avocats?’ La Semaine Juridique (16 December 2019, no 51) 1321
[5] ‘Qu’est-ce qu’une legaltech ?’ Dalloz Étudiant (29 September 2017)
[6] Sihem Ayadi Dubourg, ‘Comprendre le Legal Design, pour transformer l’expérience de vos clients’ Juridy (6 June 2020)
[7] Law by Design, Margaret Hagan, 2014
[8] Décision n° 99-421 DC du 16 décembre 1999
[9] Rapport du Comité des États Généraux de la Justice, Rendre Justice aux Citoyens (Ministère de la Justice, Avril 2022) 69
[10] Conseil Supérieur de la Justice, Projet Épices: Le langage clair au menu du judiciaire (CSJ, 2018)
[11] ‘D’un besoin d’intelligibilité du droit à une évolution du monde juridique par le Legal Design’ Juri’Predis (24 June 2020)
[12] Ministère de la Justice, Chiffres clés de la justice, Édition 2023 (Ministère de la Justice, 2023)
[13] Florence Creux-Thomas, ‘Le legal design, gadget ou opportunités pour les avocats?’ La Semaine Juridique – Edition Générale (16 December 2019, no 51) 1321
[14] ibid
[15] Cassandre Tinebra, ‘Pourquoi le Legal Design est-il un outil incontournable pour les professionnels du droit ?’ (Village de la Justice, 4 January 2024)
[16] Bruno Dondero, « La créativité et les juristes », Cahiers de Droit de l’Entreprise, n° 5 Sept 2016, dossier 46
[17] Bruno Dondero, Legal design. – Parler de design à propos du droit a-t-il un sens ?, La Semaine Juridique Edition Générale, n° 4, Janvier 2019