Legal Tech • UX Discovery
How might we make the restraining order process feel easier and safer for survivors in Wisconsin?
In Wisconsin, nearly 12,000 survivors started a restraining order online in a single six-week period in 2025. Only 1,368 finished. That gap between starting and completing, between needing protection and obtaining it, is not a legal problem. It is a design problem. It involves filling out multiple repetitive paper forms and submitting in person, or navigating two separate complex websites, which are not made with self-represented litigants in mind, to file online.
In Fall 2025, the Wisconsin Court System partnered with Innovation for Justice (i4J) on a UX discovery project to design a new fully integrated statewide restraining order portal from the ground up.
Key Outcomes
Live site implemented by Wisconsin Court System [link to site]
Discovery Report submitted to the Wisconsin Court System [link to report]
Mobile-first prototype [link to prototype]
This project was intended to serve as a case study for modeling how other jurisdictions can conduct UX discoveries of their own portals and to inform the National Guidance Report [link to guidance] on best practices in CPO portal design.
70+ Community members engaged
Prototype testing showed ease of petition completion (5.9/7), understanding of the legal process (6.2/7), and trauma-informed design (6.3/7)
Role: UX Researcher, Lead Designer, Community Engagement Lead, and Graduate Mentor
Collaborators: Innovation for Justice (i4J), National Center for State Courts (NCSC), Wisconsin Court System
Duration: 6 months
Funder: U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women
In Wisconsin, survivors can fill out paper forms at a courthouse or use an online Forms Assistant. Forms completed online must be downloaded, printed, and brought in person, or uploaded separately through a distinct e-filing system. With 110 domestic and family violence-related deaths recorded in 2024 — the highest number ever documented in the state — the urgency of this work could not be overstated.
A restraining order (also known as a protection order) is a civil court order that can protect individuals from domestic abuse, harassment, stalking, or other forms of harm.
Most people were navigating the restraining order process without legal representation.
People had to move through a fragmented process between multiple systems to complete filing.
In 2024, domestic violence accounted for one-fifth to one-quarter of all homicides in Wisconsin.
The filing experience was not designed for phones, where many survivors begin.
People had to decode court terminology while navigating a high-stress process.
Support was scattered across disconnected places instead of built into the flow.
Over the course of the discovery phase, the i4J team conducted landscape research, 28 system actor listening sessions, two brainstorming sessions with 18 participants, expert design review, and moderated usability testing — producing an interactive prototype and eight evidence-based design recommendations that address the full arc of the petitioner experience.
Classroom snapshots of clustering across interview data, usability data synthesis, and prototype refinement
Research revealed that survivors were not struggling because of one single usability issue, but because the filing experience lacked guidance at critical moments. The prototype addressed these moments by transforming a fragmented legal process into a guided, supportive journey.
• Guiding survivors through the full process in one cohesive experience
• Integrating legal information, court requirements, and support resources into the workflow
• Enabling a seamless e-filing option
Survivors often began the filing process without understanding which petition they needed or what the legal process would involve.
This early uncertainty led to incorrect filings, unmet expectations, and unnecessary abandonment of the process.
Guided entry
A clear homepage with relevant pages linked upfront to reduce uncertainty.
Types of Restraining Orders
Multiple ways to find the relevant restraining order type to reduce incorrect filing.
Process Pathway
Common questions are addressed upfront to help survivors understand the entire process of filing
Making legal forms understandable without requiring legal expertise
Legal terminology and open-ended forms assumed knowledge that many self-represented petitioners did not have. Without clear guidance, survivors struggled to provide the information courts needed to evaluate their petitions.
Critical guidance was often unavailable at the moment survivors needed it most, leaving many unsure whether they had completed the process correctly or where to turn when questions arose.
Comprehensive Safety Page
A Help button appears consistently in the top-right corner across all pages and links to a Find Help and Stay Safe page with support services and safety information.
Availability of Advocate Assistance
There are reminders at key moments in the process to consider safety when making a choice with a link to easily find an advocate for assistance.
Acknowledgement and Next Steps
Visual validation message of petition submission and informartion about what happens next.
Creating a streamlined online filing process that accounts for the survivors' urgency and various real-world circumstances
Research revealed that the system was built around procedural efficiency rather than the realities of survivors. Emotional distress, lack of trust, language differences, and limited technology access all created barriers that the existing experience failed to address.
Results + Impact
Necessary information and was easy to
understand and navigate
Clearer language helped people understand what happened next.
The experience felt more supportive during a difficult moment.
The project culminated in an interactive prototype and eight evidence-based design recommendations for the Wisconsin Court System. These recommendations give the Wisconsin Court System a clear, tested path forward grounded in the voices of advocates, attorneys, judges, and court staff who see the cost of the current system every day. This project has been implemented by the Wisconsin Court System and it aims demonstrates how courts can move beyond improving individual steps to designing end-to-end digital experiences that better support both survivors and court staff. It provides a forward-looking model for building modern, human-centered court technology.
Quick external links:
Live site implemented by Wisconsin Court System [link to site]
National Design Guidance [link to report]
Full UX discovery report [link to report]
Mobile-first prototype [link to prototype]
Civil Protection Order Portal Design Project Overview [link to lab page]