LexisNexis
Making legal software intuitive
Org: LexisNexis
Product: CaseMap
Role: User Experience Designer
Location: Raleigh, NC
Duration: 1 year (2019-2020)
LexisNexis asked our team to modernize CaseMap, a 20-year-old Windows-only application for managing legal cases. The mission was clear: move to the cloud, flatten the steep learning curve, and unify the experience with the company’s flagship products.
👉 Impact: Launched in late 2021 with strong adoption, praised for its intuitive design and seamless collaboration during remote work.
Challenges
Learning curve -- users needed up to 6 weeks of training.
Outdated, confusing UI -- mixed menus, poor hierarchy.
Inconsistent ecosystem -- didn’t match Nexis or Lexis+.
the old CaseMap:
Goals & Process
We needed to:
Make the product intuitive enough to learn in minutes.
Streamline workflows with modern design patterns.
Ensure visual and functional cohesion across the LexisNexis cloud suite.
We did this through:
Discovery
User & SME interviews (including a “Product Historian” with 20+ years on CaseMap).
Competitor analysis & heuristic evaluation.
Information architecture mapping:
Concept development
Whiteboarding sessions to explore UI patterns.
Grayscale wireframes to focus on structure, not polish.
Concept testing
Early studies with legal professionals.
Tested navigation, case-building tools, and data tables.
Prototyping
Built a robust Adobe XD component library.
Scaled to 200+ screens with consistent patterns.
Usability testing
14 participants across experience levels.
Weekly “User Fridays” sessions with observation + feedback.
Used Tetra Insights for transcription and coding.
Refinement & handoff
Iterated continuously with product and engineering.
Shared design specs in Adobe XD for smoother dev collaboration.
Results
Successful launch (2021): Strong adoption by existing customers and new cloud subscribers.
Key win: Simpler interface + remote collaboration tools supported legal teams working through the pandemic.
Business value: Strengthened LexisNexis’ subscription-based cloud portfolio.
