Slaughter and May is rolling out Harvey’s AI platform firm wide, becoming the latest major law firm to select an enterprise legal AI tool – although two of its magic circle peers have so far forged their own path instead.
Slaughter and May says it is adopting Harvey’s full platform across all practice areas to support its lawyers on multi-jurisdictional matters spanning M&A, due diligence, regulatory research, and document analysis.
David Johnson, Slaughter and May’s managing partner, said: “Adopting Harvey firmwide allows us to enhance the excellent service that we provide to our clients. Critical to our adoption is the investment we make in our people, as the vital human layer that supervises AI.”
Sally Wokes, a partner and head of Slaughter and May’s Innovation Committee, added: “Our differentiator is the depth and quality of our experience. AI allows us to connect and apply that expertise in different situations, enhancing the collective judgement, creativity and problem solving we bring to client matters.”
A statement sent out after work hours UK-time yesterday (29 April) said that Harvey was selected for its agentic capabilities and security, its proven experience leading AI transformation inside major law firms, its presence across the firm’s client base, and its ability to meet the firm’s exacting standards. Harvey’s Transformation Office, which includes seasoned legal experts, will work alongside the firm to support the rollout and ensure AI is adopted responsibly and effectively across the business.
Winston Weinberg, CEO of Harvey, said in the press release: “Slaughter and May has built its reputation for excellence over 130 years by pairing deep legal expertise and outstanding lawyers with a willingness to embrace new technologies. We are honoured to support the firm and its clients as they apply AI to some of the most consequential legal work in the world.”
A&O Shearman was the first law firm to select Harvey and fellow magic circle law firm Linklaters has largely gone with Legora. Clifford Chance and Freshfields have selected neither to date, with Clifford Chance doubling down on Microsoft Copilot and its Assist AI tool, and Freshfields striking a firmwide agreement with Anthropic.
