Legal Off the Leash

Episode 9: WTF is Legal Design

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Welcome to Legal Off The Leash, the podcast where we take the legal profession out of the box and into a happier, more fulfilling future!

In this episode, Scott Simmons and Elizabeth de Stadler dive into the world of legal design — what it really means, why it matters, and how it transforms the client experience. Forget about “slapping some icons on a contract” or “making things pretty.” As Elizabeth explains, legal design is about functionality, empathy, and solving real problems for clients.

From the importance of onboarding and websites to the plain language revolution in contracts, this conversation cuts through misconceptions and shows how design thinking can reshape legal services for the 21st century. And yes, there’s even talk of “fast caterpillars” and how bad templates fuel bad AI.

Key Themes
  • What Legal Design Really Is: Not decoration — but applying design thinking to law with empathy at its core.

  • Beyond Contracts: Why websites, onboarding, and the entire client journey matter just as much as documents.

  • Plain Language, Real Change: Contracts should preserve relationships, not fuel litigation.

  • The Template Trap: Copy-paste culture has killed critical thinking in law.

  • AI’s Fast Caterpillars: Without transformation, AI just makes bad contracts faster.

  • Human-Centric Law: Practising this way isn’t just better for clients — it makes lawyers happier too.

    • Memorable Quotes
    • “Most people we talk to think that it's a matter of slapping some icons on a document. Or we get a lot of people say, well, you're going to make it pretty, aren't you? And I go, no, we're going to make it functional.” — Elizabeth de Stadler

    • “Transformation is like turning a caterpillar into a butterfly, but if you make changes without the transformation bit, all you get is fast caterpillars.” — Elizabeth de Stadler

    • “Clients are not coming to lawyers to buy their attention in six minute increments. They're coming to lawyers for outcomes and solution and support.” — Elizabeth de Stadler

    • “A contract should be about, not about dispute resolution, but about dispute elimination.” — Elizabeth de Stadler

    • “Good contracts don't get litigated.” — Elizabeth de Stadler

    • “Practicing human centric law is more gratifying and contributes more to your wellness than the old way.” — Elizabeth de Stadler

      • Important Insights & Actionable Takeaways
      • Start with empathy: Map out your users’ needs, frustrations, and expectations before designing processes or documents.

      • Fix the basics: Websites, onboarding, and client communication set the tone long before contracts come into play.

      • Plain language = trust: Contracts should clearly define roles and responsibilities to eliminate disputes, not feed them.

      • Kill the boilerplate habit: Stop clinging to irrelevant or outdated clauses “because they’ve always been there.”

      • AI isn’t magic: If your templates are poor, AI just reproduces poor work faster. Clean up before automating.

        • Lawyer wellbeing matters: Human-centric design improves not only client trust but also lawyers’ mental health and job satisfaction.

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        Legal Off the LeashBy Legal off The Leash