Information Architecture & Enterprise UX

Redesigning the Digital Experience for Ropes & Gray

Led UX strategy, information architecture, and wireframing for a full-scale redesign of the global law firm’s website; modernizing a decade-old experience and restructuring how clients, recruits, and prospects navigate complex legal content.


Final visual design completed by Myohan Oh and Collin Koetz. UX strategy, information architecture, and wireframes led by me.

Impact at a glance:

Redesigned a 10+ year old enterprise website from the ground up

Developed a new information architecture supporting multiple user types and business goals

Created scalable wireframe systems across core site experiences and global components

Established strategic UX foundation for final visual design and implementation

Role


UX Designer
Led UX strategy and foundational experience design across Discovery and Define phases.


Responsibilities included:

  • site auditing

  • stakeholder interviews

  • persona development

  • information architecture strategy

  • wireframing across core site experiences

  • discovery synthesis and presentation readouts


Collaborated closely with strategists, stakeholders, and visual designers throughout the redesign process.

Opportunity


After more than a decade without a major redesign, Ropes & Gray sought to modernize its digital presence and rebuild the site from the ground up.


The existing experience faced challenges around:

  • outdated information architecture

  • fragmented navigation patterns

  • content discoverability

  • inconsistent user pathways across audiences


The redesign needed to better support:

  • prospective clients

  • current clients

  • lateral recruits

  • thought leadership discovery

  • global service and industry navigation

Product Focus — Enterprise Web Platform


Designed the UX foundation for a large-scale enterprise content platform serving multiple user groups across legal services, recruiting, insights, and firm information.


The redesign included:

  • global navigation systems

  • people directories

  • service and industry pages

  • insights and news experiences

  • recruiting and firm information pathways

  • search and location experiences

Problem Definition


The existing site had evolved over time without a cohesive structural strategy, leading to:

  • difficult navigation across large content sets

  • inconsistent user journeys

  • unclear prioritization of business objectives

  • challenges surfacing relevant expertise and insights


Additionally:

  • different user groups had overlapping but distinct needs

  • stakeholders across the firm had varying priorities for the redesign

  • the site needed to scale across a large and evolving content ecosystem

Solution Overview

Developed a new UX foundation centered around:

  • improved information architecture

  • scalable navigation systems

  • clearer content hierarchy

  • modular wireframe structures


The redesign focused on:

  • helping users find relevant expertise faster

  • improving cross-site discoverability

  • creating scalable page systems

  • modernizing the experience without disrupting core business workflows

Discovery & Research

Stakeholder Interviews

Conducted Partner interviews to better understand:

  • business priorities

  • audience behaviors

  • pain points within the existing experience

  • content and navigation challenges


While direct user interviews were limited, stakeholder conversations provided valuable insight into the behaviors and expectations of the site’s primary audiences.


Persona Development

Developed personas representing key audience groups:

  • prospective clients

  • current clients

  • lateral recruits


These personas informed:

  • navigation strategy

  • content prioritization

  • page hierarchy decisions

  • user flow considerations


Discovery Readout
Synthesized findings into a strategic Discovery readout presented to stakeholders, aligning the team around:

  • user needs

  • business priorities

  • opportunities for structural improvement

  • recommended next steps

Information Architecture


Developed a new information architecture designed to:

  • simplify navigation across complex legal content

  • improve discoverability of expertise and thought leadership

  • support multiple audience pathways

  • create clearer organizational hierarchy across the platform


Key considerations included:

  • balancing breadth of content with navigational simplicity

  • reducing redundancy across sections

  • supporting scalable future growth

Wireframing System


Once the proposed IA was approved, the project transitioned into defining scalable page structures and interaction patterns across the redesigned experience.


The wireframing process was organized into iterative sprints covering core platform areas.

Sprint 1 — Foundation & Navigation


Included:

  • Homepage

  • People Landing

  • People Detail

  • Global Navigation Components


Focused on:

  • establishing global interaction patterns

  • defining navigation hierarchy

  • surfacing expertise and firm credibility

Sprint 2 — Services & Insights


Included:

  • Services & Industries Landing

  • Service / Industry Detail

  • Insights & News Landing

  • Insights Detail Pages


Focused on:

  • improving content discoverability

  • structuring long-form editorial content

  • supporting cross-linking between expertise and insights

Sprint 3 — Supporting Experiences


Included:

  • General Content Pages

  • Locations Landing

  • Locations Detail

  • Site Search


Focused on:

  • scalability across lower-level templates

  • consistency across supporting experiences

  • improving search and location discoverability

Key Design Decisions

Audience-driven architecture
Structured the experience around distinct user groups rather than internal organizational structure.

Scalable navigation systems
Designed flexible navigation patterns capable of supporting a large and evolving content ecosystem.

Modular page frameworks
Created reusable wireframe systems that enabled consistency across services, insights, recruiting, and firm content.

Content discoverability
Prioritized surfacing expertise, thought leadership, and related content throughout the experience.

Enterprise scalability
Balanced modern UX patterns with the operational realities of managing a large-scale enterprise content platform

Considerations & Constraints


  • Large and complex content ecosystem

  • Multiple stakeholder groups with competing priorities

  • Limited direct end-user research access

  • Needed to modernize the experience without disrupting established user expectations

  • Required scalable frameworks capable of supporting future growth

Outcome


The project established a modernized UX foundation for Ropes & Gray’s digital ecosystem, improving:

  • content organization

  • navigational clarity

  • scalability across the platform

  • discoverability of expertise and insights


The redesign also created a reusable structural framework supporting long-term evolution of the site experience.

Reflection


This project reinforced the importance of information architecture and structural thinking in large-scale enterprise redesigns.


Rather than focusing solely on page-level interactions, the challenge centered around organizing complexity—creating a scalable system capable of supporting multiple audiences, business goals, and evolving content needs across the platform.