Unleashing Harvey AI: ChatGPT-powered tech transforming legal industry

Allen & Overy (A&O), one of the world's largest law firms, has partnered with OpenAI-backed artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Harvey AI to automate legal document drafting and research.

The London-based law firm claims that over 3,500 of its lawyers have already tested Harvey AI, an adaption from OpenAI's ChatGPT software, according to a press release published by the company on Wednesday. 

"I have been at the forefront of legal tech for 15 years, but I have never seen anything like Harvey," David Wakeling, Head of the Markets Innovation Group, A&O, said in the press statement. 

"It is a game-changer that can unleash the power of generative AI to transform the legal industry."

Harvey can work across many different practice areas and languages with an unmatched level of intelligence and has shown "some amazing results" from trials, claimed Wakeling. 

How will Harvey AI help A&O?

The company claims that Harvey is designed to generate customized, AI-driven generative products for various law firms and address particular client issues.

It automates and improves various aspects of legal work, such as contract analysis, due diligence, litigation, and regulatory compliance, by utilizing natural language processing, machine learning, and data analytics.

The results require careful examination by an Allen & Overy attorney, but Harvey can produce insights, suggestions, and forecasts based on massive amounts of data, allowing attorneys to provide clients with quicker, wiser, and more economical answers.

"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," said Wim Dejonghe, Senior Partner at A&O.

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."

However, the results require careful examination by an A&O attorney, but Harvey can produce insights, suggestions, and forecasts based on massive amounts of data, allowing attorneys to provide clients with quicker, wiser, and more economical answers.

Growth of generative-AI

Harvey obtained a $5 million investment last year as part of a funding round led by OpenAI, whose ChatGPT service has inspired a frantic interest in generative AI, a technique that combines a variety of inputs to produce original content.

The AI "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," said Gabriel Pereyra, Co-founder of Harvey.

A&O has been "trialing Harvey in beta since November 2022," as per the press statement.

The technology has been included in new tools that are being released by a number of legal technology companies lately, including ones for creating and reviewing contracts.

The growth of ChatGPT has sparked a hornet's nest in the tech sector, causing major titans to step up their defenses.