Magic circle law firm launches AI chatbot to improve efficiency
updated on 17 February 2023
Reading time: two minutes
Allen & Overy LLP has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot named Harvey to complete various tasks and save time “at all levels”.
Following a series of tests since November, the chatbot has now been rolled out and will be available to more than 3,500 lawyers at the magic circle law firm. Harvey can complete a variety of tasks, including drafting contracts, due diligence and regulatory compliance.
It’s been designed to improve the overall speed and quality across the firm’s 43 offices that operate in “multiple languages and across diverse practice areas”. David Wakeling, head of the firm’s market innovation group, said that Harvey can deliver “unprecedented efficiency and intelligence” and has confirmed that “it’s not a cutting exercise”, rather “a nice smart way of working”.
Despite the increased use of AI technology in the legal sector over the past few years, it’s thought that Harvey is the first example of this within the profession’s magic circle. The chatbot’s introduction comes after the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November – in fact, it was built using OpenAI’s underlying GPT technology, according to the Financial Times.
Karen Silverman, founder and chief executive of AI advisory firm The Cantellus Group, warned that this version “is probably not that useful”. Silverman added: “[A]ny lawyer using it other than for fun should be using their skills to aggressively interrogate the results they achieve.”
Wakeling explained that lawyers using the chatbot will be told they need to fact check and review the AI’s output.
Co-founder of Harvey, Gabriel Pereyra, said: "We are honoured 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."
Read Michelmores LLP’s Commercial Question on ‘The use of AI in law firms’ for more on this.
