Designing technology for legal work: A case study on boundaries and legal expertise

This article discusses how legal professionals perceive the change in their work practices and work-related boundaries as they participate in the design and implementation of a new information system. By looking empirically at a large-scale IT development project within the judicial system in Finland, the paper contributes to debates on how technology development affects the key elements of legal work and how legal expertise is perceived when designing IT systems for the public judiciary. Drawing from research literature on science and technology studies (STS), particularly literature on expertise and boundaries, the article suggests four main findings. First, IT design is seen as an additional task with clear boundaries between legal and technological knowledge. Second, the embodied aspects of legal expertise are connected to issues of autonomy and individual work practices. Third, IT design and use affect organizational flexibility and boundaries between and within organizations. Fourth, there are changes in hierarchical relations and work divisions between judges and legal secretaries.