AI won't change what it takes to be a good lawyer, according to one industry leader.
“So I actually think that much of what makes a great lawyer today will still be what makes him tomorrow,” wrote Winston Weinberg, co-founder and chief executive of Harvey, during a recent Reddit Ask Me Anything chat.
Weinberg, whose Artificial intelligence startup is already disrupting Big Lawsaid the best partners Harvey works with understand their business needs.
“I have found that the best partners are those who deeply understand the real needs of the business and formulate an agreement based on them,” Weinberg wrote. “The same goes for litigation: it’s a question of who can come up with the best argument/story, not who’s the best at reviewing emails.”
In general, junior partners should try to gain “as much client experience as possible,” Weinberg said.
“This is actually the main point I suggest to firm leaders: They should focus more on providing younger clients with a client experience and be okay with them making some mistakes—that’s how they will become better partners in the future,” he wrote.
Harvey's valuation reached $8 billion last week thanks to a recent funding round led by A16z. Weinberg said that no company, including Harvey, will own the legal technology market.
“I don’t think a single player will be able to capture all the pretty enormous value that will be created in the next 10 years in this space,” he wrote in a Reddit chat.
As for lawyers who want to follow in his footsteps, Weinberg said they need to get used to failure.
“Junior lawyers are often practicing perfectionists, and startups are about risk, reward and sustainability,” Weinberg told Business Insider after the Reddit conversation. “So, I meant what I said: the most important thing a lawyer who wants to work in technology must do is develop a tolerance for failure.”
