WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

Trust is the most important factor in professional services, and earning the trust of larger law firms can lead to broader acceptance across the industry.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

Harvey's approach to product development involves expanding specialized capabilities and then integrating them into unified workflows, focusing on complex tasks like international mergers to create a defensible position in legal AI.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The legal industry is incredibly messy, and the misconception about AI companies is that they don't provide significant value beyond what foundation models offer.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

From day one, Harvey emphasized the importance of accurate citations in the legal industry, which distinguishes it from other AI applications that may lack this focus.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

To transform the legal industry, Harvey hires domain experts to outline the necessary steps for various legal processes, which are then enhanced by AI models.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The ideal interaction with Harvey for lawyers is not a simple command interface but a more nuanced system that allows for complex workflows and user judgment in legal tasks.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The legal industry is particularly suited for AI because the value of each token in legal documents is high, making the efficiency of AI applications extremely valuable. If you focus on building a specific workflow, the value can be very high, but if it doesn't sell, you're in trouble.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The transition from a software-based model to selling legal work involves creating revenue-sharing agreements with law firms, combining their expertise with Harvey's technology to enhance their business offerings.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

We've handled product development by letting law firms do a lot of the discovery for us, using them as design partners to ensure repeatability.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

In legal, there's a significant need for compliance checks, and it's crucial that the in-house team is comfortable with AI handling those tasks.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

We're building AI patterns to identify the 15 types of actions needed in the legal industry, such as case law research and clause extraction.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

On the product side, we focus on building a streamlined process for AI that resembles a Ford factory line, which enhances efficiency.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

We're collaborating with a nearly hundred-year-old firm that is willing to adapt its business model to explore new AI solutions.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The traditional billable hour model in legal services limits efficiency; we aim to help firms transform their workflows into software solutions.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

We help law firms automate lower-end work to avoid operating at a loss while pursuing larger deals, like mergers and acquisitions.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

If we paused model development, the automation of legal work would still increase significantly due to the reasoning ability of current models.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The role of lawyers is evolving back to being advisers, focusing on strategic work rather than just low-end tasks that can be automated.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The future of law firms will involve fixed fees for commoditized tasks, while strategic advice will command higher fees due to its value.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

Harvey aims to provide better access to justice by reducing the average cost of legal services, which is currently $352 an hour in the U.S., as a significant number of people lack access to the justice system, and even if every lawyer worked 20 hours a week on this issue, it wouldn't close the gap.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The legal industry is on the verge of a major transition where lawyers will increasingly use AI to enhance access to justice, despite existing regulatory challenges.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

Regulatory barriers, such as restrictions on unauthorized legal advice and equity investments in law firms, hinder innovation in legal services, but some states are exploring changes to these rules.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

If we can ensure that people receive the same quality of legal advice through AI, potentially with a lawyer involved, it could greatly benefit those in need.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

Many individuals are unaware when their rights have been violated, which is a significant issue in areas like housing and debt collection.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

AI can provide not only legal services but also education at scale, helping people understand their rights and legal recourse.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The recent advancements in AI, particularly in reducing costs, have opened up numerous use cases that are now feasible for implementation.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The introduction of OER models has significantly changed our product strategy, allowing us to build systems we previously thought were impossible.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The OER models excel at orchestrating and executing multi-step reasoning tasks, which is crucial for combining various information sources into cohesive work products.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

Our strong relationship with OpenAI stems from our ability to provide feedback on model performance based on our specific use cases, which has helped improve their offerings.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

As an application layer company, we must adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of AI model providers and ensure we are testing and integrating the best models available.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The biggest threat to Harvey is not moving fast enough in a rapidly evolving industry, where timelines for change are compressed.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

I emphasize the importance of moving quickly to avoid missing significant opportunities in the market, as the pace of innovation is accelerating.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

I have not taken a day off since starting the company, which reflects the intense commitment required to succeed in a fast-paced environment.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The best aspect of working at Harvey is the constant stimulation from new developments and changes in the market, which keeps the work exciting.

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Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

The high expectations at Harvey can be challenging, especially after a successful year, as the pressure to continuously improve is significant.

WW

Winston Weinberg

03/11/25

@ Sequoia Capital

I believe in empowering young talent by giving them opportunities to take on challenges they've never faced before, which can lead to significant growth.

How AI Breakout Harvey is Transforming Legal Services, with CEO Winston Weinberg

Takeaways