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A&O partners with Harvey AI platform to upgrade legaltech
02 March 2023
International law firm Allen & Overy has announced it will be integrating Harvey, the innovative artificial intelligence platform built on a version of Open AI’s latest models enhanced for legal work, into its global practice. Harvey will empower more than 3,500 of A&O’s lawyers across 43 offices operating in multiple languages with the ability to generate and access legal content with unmatched efficiency, quality and intelligence.
A&O has been trialling Harvey in beta since November 2022 under the leadership of a team of lawyers and developers tasked with disrupting the legal industry, called the Markets Innovation Group (MIG). At the end of the trial, around 3,500 of A&O’s lawyers had asked Harvey around 40,000 queries for their day-to-day client work.
Harvey is a platform that uses natural language processing, machine learning and data analytics to automate and enhance various aspects of legal work, such as contract analysis, due diligence, litigation and regulatory compliance. While the output needs careful review by an A&O lawyer, Harvey can help generate insights, recommendations and predictions based on large volumes of data, enabling lawyers to deliver faster, smarter and more cost-effective solutions to their clients.
Harvey, which received seed funding from the OpenAI Startup Fund, was founded by a team of former lawyers, engineers and entrepreneurs who share a vision of transforming the legal industry with technology.
The ground-breaking deal will give A&O a significant competitive edge in the market, the firm said in a statement, as “it will be able to advise clients using the most advanced and comprehensive AI platform in the legal sector.”
"This announcement marks a new era for A&O and the legal industry,” said Wim Dejonghe, a London-based senior partner at the firm. “Harvey AI is not just another platform, but a game-changer that will enable us to deliver unprecedented value, efficiency and innovation to our clients. We are proud to be the first law firm to partner with Harvey AI. We share their vision of using technology to enhance and transform legal services.”
Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s San Francisco-based COO and manager of the OpenAI Startup Fund, said: “We invested in Harvey because we believe AI can have a profound impact on the legal process and their proprietary platform will fundamentally change the way lawyers spend their time. The fact that A&O witnessed the benefits and level of engagement within a few short months is testament to what Gabriel Pereyra, Winston Weinberg, and team have built.”
Gabriel Pereyra, co-founder of Harvey in Cupertino, California, said: “We are honored and excited to partner with A&O. Their global presence, tradition of excellence and rapid adoption will allow us to safely develop and deploy cutting-edge legal AI to the most complex legal work across every practice area and legal system in the world.”
