Competitive Bidding Platform for Corporate Legal Teams
Role: Lead Product Designer
Timeline: 13 Months
Company: Wolters Kluwer
Product Category: Enterprise B2B SaaS | LegalTech Platform
Core Team: Lead Designer (myself), 1 UX Designer, 2 Engineers, and 1 Product Manager
Impact at a Glance
This project streamlined a previously chaotic legal procurement process, bringing order, transparency, and measurable ROI to Fortune 500 legal departments.
20% reduction in time spent managing RFPs
15% increase in user satisfaction (internal survey)
Significant cost savings through transparent, competitive bidding
Finalist – Global Innovation Awards (LegalTech)
Successfully integrated with TyMetrix 360 & Passport with enterprise-grade security
Delivered from concept to MVP launch with ongoing Phase 2 enhancements planned
Product Overview
LegalCollaborator is an early firm engagement and competitive bidding platform for legal departments. It helps corporate legal teams engage outside counsel more effectively by:
Replacing manual RFPs with a centralized, digital solution
Enabling firm comparison beyond just pricing (e.g., staffing, diversity, value)
Supporting secure communication, audit trails, and standardized workflows
Driving informed legal vendor selection across global departments
The Problem
Legal ops teams were flying blind—too much manual work, not enough insight. That’s where we stepped in.
Manual and inconsistent RFP formats via email and spreadsheets
No structured way to compare proposals across firms
Poor visibility into legal spend, staffing, and outcomes
Time-consuming selection and auditing process
Lack of diversity and strategy transparency
Research & Discovery
Interviews
We conducted exploratory interviews with over 30 industry expertes with the goal over understanding their pain points with existing tools.
Competitor Analysis
We evaluated four competitors to benchmark LegalCollaborator’s potential differentiators. Names are withheld due to NDA.
Competitor
Comp 1
Comp 2
Comp 3
Comp 4
Strengths
Highly customizable RFP flows, strong DEI tracking, and a large client base
Attorney matchmaking, solid diversity benchmarking
Streamlined workflow, transparency-first user interface
General procurement platform
Weaknesses
Steep learning curve, limited pricing analysis tools
Weak integration with enterprise legal systems
Small customer base, lacks law firm tools.
Poor usability for legal-specific workflows,lacks compliance features.
Identified Opportunities
LegalCollaborator could uniquely position itself by:
Blending enterprise-grade integrations with existing Wolters Kluwer Platforms in ELM suited
Offering RFP standardizations and customizations
Enhancing performance data for post-engagement analytics
Providing a secure, DEI-aware platform for both clients and law firms
User Insights Summary
Legal RFP Management Platforms and Exisitng Workflows
Fragmented Processes & Tools: Teams currently rely on siloed tools like Microsoft Office, Jira, and SAP Ariba to manage RFPs, which limits collaboration and transparency.
Time & Resource Constraints: All personas cite limited time, staffing, or budget as barriers to effective RFP response and pricing strategy execution.
Complex Fee Structures & Requirements: Legal pricing and RFP management are hindered by the industry’s non-standardized, highly regulated, and complex billing models.
Lack of Centralized Oversight: Internal stakeholders (e.g., attorneys, pricing managers, legal ops) face challenges aligning and responding cohesively to RFPs due to inconsistent information flow and unclear responsibilities.
Round 1 User Testing
We utilized our initial concepts to test with users from our client companies.
Our goals was gain a deeper understanding of theire formal and informal process while gaining insights of our conceptuals designs.
Initial Concepts
We began developing concepts informed by insights from our existing client base and our understanding of the broader market.
Summary Insights
Draft Legal RFP
Initial Impressions: Some users experienced difficulties
Findability: Some users had trouble navigating
Perceived Value: Most users saw clear value in the RFP drafting and submission process
Summary: Users recognize the value in having a formal way of drafting a proposal, but usability and findability require improvement
Selecting & Inviting Law Firms
Initial Impressions: Positive for all users
Findability: All users Succeeded
Perceived Value: All users found value un the process.
Insights: This is the best-performing flow. Clear, discoverable, and seen as highly valuable.
Proposal Comparison between Firms
Initial Impressions: Most users succeeded
Findability: Some users struggled
Perceived Value: Most users found value.
Insights: This funcationality is valuable, but entry points and interaction design need better clarity
Overall Takeaways
Most users see string value in the RFP solution.
The biggest barrier is findability of functions, and task clarity, especially when drafting RFPs or negotiating.
Improving navigation, labels, and onboarding can enhance usabiliity and completion success
Insights: This funcationality is valuable, but entry points and interaction design need better clarity
Round 2 User Testing
Following round one, research focused on ensuring the updated prototypes were efficient and user-friendly. The goal was to identify which design elements worked well and which needed improvement from the user’s perspective.
Summary Insights
What Users Valued
The improved efficiency offered by an integrated solution compared to other RFP tools
A comprehensive comparison view for law firms, enabling more informed decision-making
Centralized selection process with an enhanced audit trail
Seamless communication between clients and law firms throughout the engagement process
Customizable, pre-built templates tailored to specific work areas
Efficient, intuitive response to requests from a centralized location
The seamless integration with matter engagement systems was high valued
Workflows from host matter management platforms to legal engagement creation were highly intuitive
The comparison dashboard made it intuitive to review law firm proposals, providing clients with the data and visualizations needed to select outside counsel
Dashboard visualizations delivered clear, actionable data for management
Pre-Launch Iterations & Agenda
Overall Recommendations
Essential Features
Provide the ability to create and export comprehensive reports directly from the dashboard.
Enable users to send personalized, customizable email notifications to law firms following their selection.
Add an “Export” feature to the law firm comparison page, allowing users to easily download and share comparison data.
Ensure that all currency formats and transactions adhere to applicable international financial regulations and compliance standards.
Make client guidelines and legal service agreements readily accessible on the law firm comparison screen for easy reference during the selection process.
Recommended Features
Allow law firms to upload and attach relevant documents directly within the platform for streamlined information sharing.
Revise the color coding scheme for diversity metrics in the team profiles on the comparison page to improve clarity and accessibility.
Optional Features
Present a comprehensive legal engagement scope to the law firm immediately after successful completion of the conflict check process.
Allow users to provide a company overview to law firms they have not previously engaged with, facilitating better introductions and context.
Integrate a pre-populated list of suggested questions into the proposal summary, accessible via a convenient drop-down menu for easy reference and selection.
Business Objective
Enable users to add timekeepers directly from the staffing page for greater efficiency and streamlined team management.
Client Flow Map
Law Firm Flow Map
User Personas
User Personas were created based on real data compiled through usability testing of initial concepts, as well as from research gained from clients' use of the existing matter management solutions.
Client Pricing Manager
The Client Pricing Manager works alongside the RFP team.
Law Firm Attorney
Attorneys in law firms offer legal counsel, prepare documents, advocate for clients in court, and oversee cases. They uphold ethical standards and stay current on legal developments within their practice areas.
Legal Ops Director
A Legal Operations Director (Legal Ops Director) collects, analyzes, and translates the legal department's data into actionable insights. Their priorities include managing budgets, overseeing legal matters, improving team member productivity, and coordinating with outside vendors.
Partner (Law Firm)
The Partner's work includes crafting strategic growth plans, fostering client relationships, and leading the team in preparing compelling proposals.
Client Attorney
The role of an Attorney in a company involves providing legal guidance, managing risk, ensuring compliance, negotiating contracts, collaborating with internal stakeholders, overseeing legal affairs, and representing the company's interests. These professionals offer crucial support in navigating complex legal landscapes while safeguarding their organization's objectives.
Law Firm Pricing Manager
A law firm's pricing manager develops and implements pricing strategies, collaborates with legal teams, and ensures transparent, competitive pricing proposals to optimize profitability.
User-Tested High-Fidelity Screens
User Personas were created based on real data compiled through usability testing of initial concepts, as well as from research gained from clients' use of the existing matter management solutions.
Testing & Iterations
What we Heard
Users struggled comparing fixed vs. hourly rates
Dashboards were overwhelming without clear structure
Law firms needed clearer submission formatting
What We Chnaged
Added collapsible dashboard sections and smart defaults
Introduced tooltips and status tags for better comprehension
Imporved filtering and sorting across the comparison views
Technical Challenges
As part of developing LegalCollaborator, we encountered several key technical constraints that had to be addressed to ensure the solution’s success
Data Confidentiality & Compliance
One of the primary constraints was adhering to legal regulations around confidentiality and data governance. We ensured that all data, particularly around competitive pricing and legal strategies, was secured through encrypted communication channels and role-based access control.
This posed a challenge in balancing user experience with stringent security protocols while maintaining ease of use for legal professionals.
System Interoperability
The integration of LegalCollaborator into existing Enterprise Legal Management (ELM) systems (like Passportand TyMetrix 360) required robust interoperability solutions. We worked closely with our engineering team to design solutions that could handle data exchange between disparate systems without compromising performance or user experience.
Scalability & Performance
Given the large volume of RFP submissions and the complexity of legal matters, the platform needed to scale effectively while maintaining fast processing speeds. We optimized the backend architecture to handle high traffic and incorporated performance monitoring tools to continuously ensure system efficiency.
Understanding API Integrations
In developing LegalCollaborator, seamless integrations with other platforms were essential to streamline workflows and ensure efficiency. Some key areas of focus included:
Integration with Client and Law Firm Systems
We worked with the development team as they integrated APIs that allowed data sharing between client legal departments and law firms. This integration facilitated the automatic pulling of pricing data, RFP responses, and legal matter details from both systems, minimizing the need for manual entry and reducing errors.
Third-Party Data Sources
To improve decision-making, we integrated third-party legal analytics APIs to provide users with insights into pricing trends, law firm performance metrics, and market benchmarks. These data sources enhanced the ability of legal departments to make informed choices during the RFP process.
Authentication and Security APIs
Given the sensitive nature of legal data, we used secure OAuth and SAML-based authentication APIs to ensure that users could access the platform securely. This ensured that legal firms could log in using their existing enterprise credentials, maintaining security while streamlining access.
Reflection
Designing in a risk-averse, high-complexity space reminded me that simple, well-researched solutions drive the biggest impact. Trust is the currency—and UX is the bridge.