Designing for justice: an interactive legal platform for Nigerians.

Project overview

Legal Buddy connects everyday Nigerians with vetted lawyers. People post a case, receive responses from practitioners, compare offers and manage the matter end to end inside the app.

My role

• User research and synthesis
• Information architecture and user flows
• Interaction and visual design
• Usability testing and iteration

Problem statement

Access to affordable, competent legal help is difficult. People do not know where to start, what a case should cost, or whether a lawyer can be trusted.

Goal

Make finding and working with a lawyer as simple as posting a request and choosing the right offer.

Research & insights

Through surveys and secondary research we uncovered the critical insights that shaped the direction of the product.

• High demand for lawyers, very low supply per person.
• Cost uncertainty is the single biggest barrier to getting help.
• Trust is built through reviews, verification and clear communication.

Access to competent lawyers

Clients post a case in plain language, then receive structured responses from verified practitioners. Each response carries a fee, a timeline and the lawyer's track record so people can compare like for like.

Manage your case effectively

Once a lawyer is hired, everything lives in one thread: documents, milestones, payments and updates. Both sides always know what happens next.

Testing & improvements

Moderated usability studies with eight participants surfaced six major improvements, from clearer case-posting steps to a simplified payment confirmation.

Learnings

Do not assume — test. Watching real users revealed flows I was confident about and turned out to be confusing. Leading a team of designers also taught me how to give feedback that moves work forward.