Legal chatbots can draft a contract in seconds. GenAI can summarise case law, answer FAQs, and flag compliance risks. So where does that leave the human lawyer?

Here’s the answer: thinking like a designer.

Design thinking isn’t just a tool for problem-solving – it’s a mindset that AI can’t replicate. And for in-house legal lawyers trying to prove their value in an increasingly automated world, that mindset is a serious differentiator.

What is design thinking – and why is it called ‘legal design’?

Design thinking is a creative, human-centred approach to solving problems. When applied in the legal context, it’s often called legal design. Same principles, different name.

Legal design blends legal expertise with design thinking to improve the usability, accessibility, and effectiveness of legal services. It’s about designing legal processes, documents, and tools with the end user in mind – whether that’s a business stakeholder, customer, or fellow lawyer.

A widely used model for design thinking is the Double Diamond framework. It breaks problem-solving into two phases of divergence and convergence:

1. Discover – Explore the problem from all angles.
2. Define – Narrow in on the core issue.
3. Develop – Generate and experiment with solutions.
4. Deliver – Finalise and roll out what works.

Legal design is already helping legal teams simplify contracts, build better processes, and collaborate more effectively. It’s an approach grounded in empathy – and that’s something AI simply doesn’t do.

Why this matters in the AI era

AI can do many things – but it doesn’t do empathy. It doesn’t understand organisational politics, navigate nuance, or build trust with stakeholders. It doesn’t sit in a room, read the mood, and reframe a conversation to move it forward.

Legal design is rooted in those human skills. It asks you to:

• Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
• Read between the lines of what your internal clients are saying (or not saying).
• Think creatively, not just logically.

AI might help you draft a clause. But it won’t design a self-service contract process that actually gets used – because that requires understanding why Sales keeps bypassing Legal in the first place.

Legal design in action

Here’s how human-centred thinking helps you do what AI can’t:

• Fix broken workflows – Maybe your NDA template is solid, but nobody uses it because the request process is a headache. Legal design helps you fix the process, not just the document.
• Create tools people actually use – Instead of guessing what the business wants, you test and iterate – building FAQs, playbooks or templates that meet real needs.
• Strengthen relationships – Talking to users, listening to feedback, co-creating solutions – these aren’t just good practice. They build trust and goodwill between Legal and the business.

One famous example of legal design in action is Netflix’s playful Stranger Things cease and desist letter – turning legal language into a friendly, engaging note. Another is Oatly’s cheeky advert that said, “We can’t legally call this ‘ice cream’ but you still can”.

Start with one pain point

You don’t need to rewrite all your contracts or redesign all your processes overnight. 

Start small:

• Ask stakeholders what frustrates them about legal processes.
• Map out how a contract request moves through the business.
• Try simplifying one document based on user feedback.

Think of it like an experiment – one the robots can’t run.

The WorldCC Contract Design Pattern Library is a fantastic resource to help create clearer, simpler, more user-friendly contracts. Be sure to check out 'Levity', created by Elizabeth de Stadler. If you'd like a full copy of her SLA just let me know - she's kindly allowed me to share it. 

Final thought

In a world of automation, the human touch matters more than ever. Legal design gives lawyers a way to lead with empathy, creativity and collaboration – the very things that set you apart from AI.

Because while the bots might be coming for the low-hanging tasks, they’ll never replace your ability to solve the right problem in the right way, for real people.