MSU Law offers nation's first course on legal design services

MSU Law Adjunct Professor Joshua Kubicki's students are breaking new ground as they arrive for class on Tuesday evenings. A part of the ReInvent Law Laboratory's curriculum, this class is the first in the nation that combines design thinking with legal services delivery. Design Thinking for Legal Services applies the fundamentals of business and service design to the legal profession models that the legal profession has been slow to adopt, says Kubicki. His 18 upper-level students dissect the traditional law firm business model and explore alternative methods of delivering services to clients. "My students are gaining the actionable skills to understand, analyze, and relate to the business of practicing law," Kubicki says. They also have the opportunity to connect with legal industry leaders, "people they wouldn't have access to anytime soon in their legal careers," he adds. He gets the students out of their seats, focusing on learning through dialogue, team case studies, and immersive thinking. Emphasis is placed on understanding a customer's journey through the legal process, and how the design thinking toolkit can be applied to optimize the customer's experience. Kubicki's approach in the classroom reflects his own entrepreneurial approach. As the founder and President of the Legal Transformation Institute, he's continually engaged with design thinking, working with corporations and law firms to develop new business models. Published: Mon, Dec 08, 2014