There’s been some big news in legal tech circles recently. Harvey, a broad-based AI provider to law firms across practice areas and workflows, and LexisNexis announced a strategic alliance that will enable Harvey users to now have access to and integrate with the LexisNexis database. This is huge since firms using Harvey to leverage internal data will now be able to leverage the LexisNexis database for public legal materials within the Harvey platform. I have written before that this is akin to the holy grail since it means a one stop location for AI needs.
Here’s why it matters: it means that Harvey customers can use the tool to respond to natural language queries based not only on internal documents but also on case law in the LexisNexis extensive database. It means Harvey users no longer need to toggle between internal knowledge bases and external research tools. Everything can happen in one place, accelerating workflows and reducing cognitive friction. For firms evaluating AI tools, that kind of seamless integration is a real benefit and incentive.
How Did Harvey Do It?
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What is interesting though is how Harvey became such a big player in legal AI so quickly. The typical game plan for vendors in the legal tech and AI field is to make a big announcement. Offer a lot of press releases to the media about what they are doing. Invite media and potential customers for product demos of anything and everything. Show up at legal tech shows like LegalWeek and host big and elaborate parties.
Harvey did little of this. Harvey representatives only recently began showing up at the big shows. They have provided little information to media representatives about their products. Most of us reporting on legal tech have had no demos of the Harvey product and only get word-of-mouth information from users about the product, what it does, and how well it performs. Harvey representatives don’t regularly appear on legal tech podcasts.
How did it get to the point that Zach Abramowitz, a well-known legal tech commentator, last week proclaimed that the legal AI competition was over and Harvey won? I have to admit I laughed a little when I first saw Abramowitz’s post since I wasn’t sure if he was serious or writing tongue in cheek. I’m not laughing now.
The Right Question
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So what did Harvey do? Harvey was founded in 2022 by Winston Weinberg, a former O’Melveny & Meyers litigator, and Gabriel Pereyra, a former DeepMind researcher. A scant three years ago. It built its product on ChatGPT and fine tuned it for legal. Okay. So have a lot of others.
What was different? Harvey understood something that I knew but forgot. The single most-asked question by law firm representatives when confronted with a product sales pitch, particularly when it comes to new technology like AI and tech in general is: What other firms are using this product?
To busy lawyers and legal professionals, use by others is the talisman of a good product. Of a reliable product. Of a mainstream product. Not demos, although that may come later. Not what will it do, although that’s later as well. The fact that other firms are using it is THE validation question. Being able to answer that question in a way that resonates gets you in the door. It provides credibility. It gets you to the next level. Yes, you have to have a good product. But that’s table stakes.
What set Harvey apart? It started by recruiting former Biglaw partners to join their team who understood how Biglaw works, what it’s interested in, and how it makes technology decisions.
Harvey then went to the Biglaw firm Allen & Overy with its some 3,500 lawyers and talked it into doing an extensive trial. That was the first major hurdle. The second major hurdle: securing the Allen & Overy adoption in early 2023. That led to Harvey securing a trial and adoption at the Biglaw firm Paul Weiss. Then Harvey secured a strategic parentship with the Big Four accounting firm PwC.
The Right Answer
Now Harvey could give a good answer to the fundamental and first question law firms ask. It had commitments from well-known firms and it was off to the races. It went from a stealth startup to a $5 billion valuation by following its own playbook and understanding its customers’ most fundamental concern.
Instead of trying to dazzle with early demos or influencer endorsements, it focused quietly on refining and testing the model and building relationships with the right people inside the right firms. And understanding its potential customers.
Stephen Embry is a lawyer, speaker, blogger and writer. He publishes TechLaw Crossroads, a blog devoted to the examination of the tension between technology, the law, and the practice of law.