The Legal Design Summit: What we stand for as a global movement
The Legal Design Summit began as a movement focused on the end-users of legal services. Thus, the initial focus of the event, founded in 2016, was on contract design, user-experience in various legal services, and the wider interlinks between technology and law.
While legal design is still about all of these things, over the years, the Summit and the associated movement and community have grown towards a more ambitious agenda. The aim is no longer simply making law more usable but redesigning the whole legal system. What started off as a user-centric revolution in law is today a globally significant non-governmental organization aiming for transborder solidarity, deliberative democracy, social innovation and practical justice outcomes.
To reflect this changing vision ahead of the 2025 event, it was time to clarify what the Summit stands for. As a community, the Legal Design Summit is committed to four core values: selflessness, inclusion, courage, and authenticity. In what follows, I will explain how each is reflected in our activities.
Selflessness
Selflessness means that we believe in collective action and support as the most important tools in achieving our shared goals. We see each other and the world with empathy and never put personal gain before the interests of the community.
The Summit, organized by volunteers and relying on self-funded speakers, is not about personal profit or monetary value, but about a value of a different kind: collective imagination for better futures. This is no longer limited to simply end-users or other human beings but encompasses non-human beings, the environment, and even the future of life on earth.
Inclusion
By being inclusive we strive to create a space where different perspectives and backgrounds come together, and where diversity is celebrated – both in organizers and speakers. While legal design is still dominated by lawyers from Western countries, both legal and non-legal professionals from all over the world are increasingly and importantly involved in the community.
By organizing the Summit free of charge and with a focus on globally relevant themes, we aim to foster an accessible, international and multicultural community where anyone can participate in shaping the future of law.
Courage
Courage means that reaching for the impossible is in our backbone. We are curious about the world and passionate about improving it by innovatively combining practical and academic knowledge. When faced with a problem to solve, we ask: how hard can it be?
This means that we do not steer away from wicked problems – be they functional or theoretical. Nor do we accept the status quo as it is. There is always room for improvement, and it is up to brave people to rise to the challenge.
Authenticity
Authenticity means that the Summit is dedicated to making a difference through creative, outside-the-box design thinking. We strive to make an impact by showing up as our authentic selves and by remaining honest and open about our core mission.
By welcoming anyone from any background into the community, we aim to expand possibilities for legal design across all areas of law and society. This means remaining open towards what legal design can be, as well as its limitations – while staying true to the common core of design-thinking.
The value of collective imagination in turbulent times
As our guiding values show, the Summit stands for an important message. The Summit is not about monetary value, even if it often translates into it – many fantastic careers have taken off in its wake. Instead, it is about scaling ideas for a better world. When a diverse group of open-minded people with different perspectives come together, the outcome is bound to be valuable. Yet the value of such an outcome cannot be expressed in monetary terms, as its primary aim is not to create profit. Instead, it creates a path for a world where well-being and social justice are a reality for more ‘users’ – both human and non-human.
One of my personal key learnings from being involved in the Summit for the past few years is that a group of dedicated and imaginative people working for the same end goal can achieve – if not anything, almost anything. As we look to the upcoming event and beyond, the Summit invites everyone to join this community towards a world that is more just by design.