Simplifying pathways for legal help
Simplifying pathways for legal help with a customer-first website redesign.
The challenge
Justice Connect, a leader in pro bono legal services, faced a critical challenge. Their website, while content-rich and full of valuable resources, was outdated, disjointed and difficult to navigate.
For their two key audiences – people in need of legal aid and sector supporters (pro bono lawyers, donors and volunteers) – the site’s complexity made it harder to access help or to engage with Justice Connect’s mission.
For people in need, heightened emotional states and urgent legal needs made a clear, simple pathway essential. To make sure people were finding the right support, Justice Connect had a goal of decreasing the amount of ineligible applications to their ‘Intake Tool’ (where people can seek direct legal support), leading to frustration in the user experience.
For sector supporters, navigating program-specific content created inefficiencies in finding the resources they need.
The challenge was to rethink the website’s structure and design to prioritise audience needs over internal program structures, creating a seamless, intuitive and supportive online experience.
The solution
A two-phased approach
To redevelop the website, we led a two-phased approach across discovery and design.
Phase 1: Discovery and direction
Mapping the customer journey and validating it with analytics identified the key needs of the website.
We began by conducting in-depth research and journey-mapping to uncover key user pain points and website opportunities. This allowed us to help Justice Connect staff take a customer-first mindset to workshop required changes to the website. We did this by:
Customer journey mapping. To understand the priority audience, ‘people in need’, we mapped the end-to-end journey to understand their goals, thoughts, feelings and barriers. This highlighted gaps in the current experience and informed the need for a simplified, audience-first structure.
Staff survey and analytics. We gathered insights from Justice Connect staff and analysed Google Analytics data to validate user behaviours and blockers. A key finding: without enough context-setting information, people were taking the ‘Apply for legal help’ pathway too quickly, leading to higher ineligibility rates and underscoring the need to clarify eligibility before proceeding to application.
Sector needs analysis. For sector supporters, we simplified the site’s content by grouping resources based on usability rather than internal program names.
The result of discovery was a clear, aligned direction for a redesigned website that prioritised key audience journeys by need, enabling first-time visitors to quickly find what they need without confusion.
Phase 2: Design and wireframing
With the direction set, we kicked off Phase 2: designing the website’s new structure and look.
Sitemap and wireframes. We created high-fidelity wireframes, focusing on priority user flows for both audiences. These designs were informed by audience insights and delivered in three-week sprints to gather feedback and refine quickly.
Collaborative design approach. By grouping page design into sprints based on complexity and priority, we accelerated the process, ensuring early alignment on the site’s core style guide.
Iterative feedback loops. Internal teams described the wireframes as ‘on point and so much better than we could have imagined’, showcasing the success of the collaborative and fast-paced approach.
The result
While the project is ongoing, early outcomes have already created a significant impact.
Customer-first thinking. Discovery has shifted internal perspectives, moving away from an internal, program-based structure to prioritising audience needs and journeys.
Quick delivery, high quality. The speed and precision of wireframes and designs have impressed stakeholders, laying a strong foundation for the build phase.
Clear direction. The roadmap and wireframes have provided clarity across teams, ensuring the project is on track to deliver a website that simplifies access to justice and support for all users.
