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Harvey is launching a dedicated pro bono program to help expand access to justice across the UK, Australia, and US.
As part of its broader Responsible Business Program, the initiative brings together Harvey’s AI technology, legal engineering expertise, and leading pro bono teams to explore how technology can increase capacity and impact.
The program will commence with a select group of law firm partners, consisting of senior pro bono leaders from Ashurst Perkins Coie, DLA Piper, and Nelson Mullins.
The firms will be focusing on practical tools for high-volume casework, reusable resources, and more efficient workflows.
Alongside this work, Harvey will explore partnerships with frontline legal service organisations, using what it learns to develop scalable solutions that can help more people access the legal support they need.
The expanding pro bono impact
Harvey’s program will utilise its technology, people, and expertise to increase the capacity of pro bono teams and deepen their impact.
By commencing with a small pilot group, Harvey aims to build a detailed understanding of how its products can assist with the vital work lawyers do every day.
The company outlined the key priorities of creating custom agents to increase high-volume pro bono casework such as housing support, veterans services and social welfare claims.
Furthermore, it aims to develop templates and knowledge resources that can be used across the legal services industry.
And its final priority is to build repeatable workflows that allow pro bono teams to set aside more time to support their clients.
Sarah Morton-Ramwell, a global pro bono and social impact partner at Ashurst Perkins Coie, noted that the program is ultimately designed to build on the longstanding commitment of Harvey’s pro bono partners to advancing access to justice.
“Ashurst Perkins Coie has a proud history of advancing access to justice through pro bono work that targets systemic change,” Morton-Ramwell said.
“Through our partnership with Harvey, we will deliver transformational AI addressing the needs of vulnerable justice system users and the pro bono teams and front-line legal service providers who represent them.”
Moreover, for BigLaw Nelson Mullins’ pro bono partner, Elisa Kodish, the partnership offers an opportunity to expand the reach and impact of its current pro bono work.
“I’m excited about this collaboration’s potential to build on our national pro bono program, reach more people, meet more legal needs, and deepen our impact,” Kodish said.
Closing the justice gap
The program fundamentally brings Harvey together with law firms and frontline legal service organisations to address the widening access to justice gap.
The founders recognised the widening access to justice gap that is apparent in all markets that they serve.
In fact, the World Justice Project estimated that internationally, over 1.5 billion people cannot obtain justice.
In the US alone, 1.4 million civil legal problems brought to legal services organisations cannot be addressed due to a lack of resources.
Hence, the implementation of the dedicated pro bono program in the UK, Australia and the US is aimed at addressing that challenge.
Nelson Mullins’ AI and innovation partner, Jeff Kelly, highlighted that the partnership will also bring together Harvey’s technology and the broader legal aid community to explore how its technology can be used in an effective manner to address the justice gap.
“We’re proud to deepen our partnership with Harvey and work alongside our legal aid community, using AI thoughtfully to help close the justice gap,” Kelly said.
Meanwhile, Christopher Hook, head of responsible business at Harvey, stressed the importance of grounding these efforts in the daily operational realities of frontline legal and pro bono teams.
“AI has the potential to meaningfully improve access to justice, but only if we develop solutions around the realities of how pro bono teams and frontline legal organisations work,” Hook said.
“That’s why we’re investing our technology, people and expertise to help the world’s leading pro bono teams increase their capacity and ability to support those who need legal help.
“By working closely with our partners, we can build tools around real-world casework, measure where they make the biggest difference, and use those learnings to scale our impact quickly.”
