Legal design for practice, activism, policy and research

Perry-Kessaris, Amanda (2018) Legal design for practice, activism, policy and research. Journal of Law and Society, . ISSN 0263-323X. (In press) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided)

Abstract

This paper offers an integrated introduction to how, conceptually, to think about what design can do for law; where, empirically, to find examples of legal design; and how, normatively, to assess it. It begins by highlighting three lawyerly concerns: the need to communicate; the need to balance structure and freedom; and the need to be at once practical, critical and imaginative. Next the paper highlights three features of designerly ways: a commitment to communication, an emphasis on experimentation, and an ability to make things visible and tangible. It is proposed that designerly ways can directly improve lawyerly communication; and that they can also generate new structured-yet-free spaces in which lawyers can be at once practical, critical and imaginative. The paper then provides examples of legal design in action across four fields of lawyering: legal practice, legal activism, policy-making and legal research. Emphasis is placed throughout on the need for a critical approach to legal design—that is, for legal design to be thought about and done with a commitment to avoiding, exposing and remedying biases and inequalities. In that spirit, the paper concludes with an assessment of some of the risks associated with legal design.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	K Law
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > Kent Law School
Depositing User:	Sian Robertson
Date Deposited:	19 Dec 2018 10:31 UTC
Last Modified:	10 Jan 2019 15:38 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/71282 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)