Project Overview:
A platform that connects in-house counsel and private practice lawyers from the best law firms, making it convenient and efficient for lawyers to find legal experts with practice areas, ask questions, and seek out expertise from multiple lawyers at trusted firms.
Business model canvas
I created a business model canvas to help the entire team easily understand the big picture in a structured and straightforward manner.
The business model canvas I created played a crucial role in helping the team understand the interconnectivity involved in the way of sharing. In it, we outlined the different aspects of our platform, including content channels for law firm lawyers to showcase and highlight their expertise to keep in-house lawyers up-to-date on legal developments.
Background
NextJuris is a legal platform dedicated to connecting in-house counsel and private practice lawyers from the best law firms. It provides a convenient and efficient way for lawyers to find legal experts with specific practice areas, ask questions, and seek out expertise from multiple lawyers at trusted firms.
Our goal is to create a platform that connects in-house counsel and private practice lawyers from the best law firms, making it easier and quicker for all practice lawyers to share legal knowledge and connect to in-house lawyers while making it easier for in-house lawyers to find information about legal experts within practice areas.
Exploration/Discovery
According to research, we have a snapshot of lawyers in the legal market.
At the start of 2019, there were 1,352,027 active lawyers in the United States, which represents an increase of 12.4% since 2010.
The states with the most lawyers are New York (182, 296), California (170,117), Texas (91,244), Florida (78,448), and Illinois (62,720).
User survey:
We conducted with 20 participants (both in-house lawyers and practice lawyers).
The first group involved 10 practice lawyers who could promote legal knowledge sharing.
Those surveys uncovered the issue of sharing legal knowledge that practice lawyers want in-house lawyers to know about their expertise.
The second group was the 10 in-house lawyers who were the content consumers of legal knowledge. They need expert answers to legal questions and keep up to date with legal insights and learning from lawyers at trusted law firms.
Based on the research, we developed user personas and empathy maps that summarized the findings and provided ideation for our CounselInsights and Counsel Ask and Hire solutions.
Ideation
With user personas and empathy maps, we established the issues facing them, and the next step was to find a solution.
Started with the formulation of some problem statements in the form of "How might we...?" questions, which aimed to create a point of view and to provide focus to ideation exercises afterward. The following problem statements :
How can we facilitate faster and easier sharing of legal knowledge among practicing lawyers and enhance their connection with in-house lawyers?
We aim to create a platform that will allow practicing lawyers to share legal knowledge and connect with in-house lawyers more efficiently and quickly. At the same time, we also strive to make it more convenient for in-house lawyers to find information about legal experts within practice areas.
How can we make it easier for in-house staff to find information about legal experts within specific practice areas?
The solution could be to create a network or community of legal experts within specific practice areas, where in-house staff could connect with experts directly and ask questions or get advice. This network could include regular events or webinars where experts could share their knowledge and experience, as well as online forums or discussion groups where in-house staff could ask questions and get feedback from experts and other members of the community.
The first solution we brainstormed was the content channels for law firm lawyers to showcase and highlight their expertise to keep in-house lawyers up-to-date on legal developments.
The second solution was the Counsel Ask and Hire which allow in-house lawyers to find, chat, vet, and engage directly with law firm lawyers.
CounselInsights:
To help Law Firm Lawyers showcase and highlight their expertise and keep In-House Lawyers up-to-date on legal developments, there are several content channels that can be leveraged. One such channel is a legal blog, which can provide a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of legal issues.
Another channel is webinars, which can be used to provide training and educational opportunities to In-House Lawyers. Additionally, Law Firm Lawyers can create white papers and research reports that can serve as valuable resources for In-House Lawyers on specific legal topics.
Counsel Ask and Hire: Expertise Matching—CounselAsk & CounselHire
Expert Q&A and messaging systems allow in-house lawyers to find, chat, vet, and engage directly with law firm lawyers. By leveraging these tools, in-house teams can not only get quick answers to pressing legal questions but also build relationships with external counsel and gain a deeper understanding of their legal needs.
Additionally, these systems can help in-house lawyers stay up-to-date on the latest legal developments and best practices, enhancing their overall legal knowledge and value to the organization.
Hi-Fi Wireframe
NextJuris Final UI
