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Asked and Answered Family law gave this lawyer some ideas about what clients really want

By Stephanie Francis Ward

February 27, 2023, 8:39 am CST

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Jessica Bednarz has spent much of her career representing people, researching access-to-justice issues and using that knowledge to try to find better ways to deliver legal services. That includes using what’s known as “design thinking” for developing client service programs.

Described by the Harvard Business School Online’s website as a process that designers use to map out stages of a project, design thinking is now used to understand client concerns by a variety of industries, including the law.

Bednarz, who practiced family law in Chicago, is presenting a workshop about the topic at the ABA Techshow 2023, which is March 1 to 4 in Chicago.

Send ideas for future episodes to ABA Journal Senior Writer Stephanie Francis Ward.

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// In This Podcast:

Jessica Bednarz

Jessica Bednarz is the director of legal services and the profession at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, an independent research center housed at the University of Denver. Previously, she practiced family law in Chicago and oversaw a legal incubator program at the Chicago Bar Foundation.

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