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A recent piece on Legally Disrupted boldly asked if Harvey has already won the legal AI race.

On the surface, it’s not a crazy question given few companies in legaltech have grown as quickly or as visibly.

But it’s premature.

Harvey has made all the right moves on brand, go-to-market, and narrative. That doesn’t mean they’ve won.

In fact, there’s good reason to believe the story is far from over, especially when you look at how other players are approaching product, partnerships, and long-term defensibility.

In this week’s Attorney Intelligence, we’ll explore:

1. How Harvey turned early GPT-4 access into a branding powerhouse

2. Why law firms are buying the story, even if the product lags behind

3. What Legora’s product-focused approach gets right

4. Why staying ahead in legal AI will take more than headlines

Let’s get into it.

How Harvey Got Here

Harvey was early. That’s their real edge.

Before ChatGPT even launched publicly, the Harvey team had early access to GPT-4 - the version that actually changed how useful AI could be for legal work.

According to lore, a dorm room connection to someone at OpenAI got them in the room with Sam Altman and Brad Lightcap at OpenAI, who agreed to write a $5M seed check out of their new startup fund This got them access to GPT-4 months before anyone else.

Add in a technical co-founder with deep AI chops (ex-Google Brain, DeepMind) and a legal co-founder with just enough BigLaw experience to be credible, and you have a story that sold well to firms eager for innovation.

Although their first real product took a while to appear, Harvey grew by promising firms they could go to market as AI leaders, not just with better workflows, but with press releases to prove it.

Harvey’s Go-To-Market Engine

Harvey’s genius is in it’s packaging, building its reputation not by showing off features, but by accumulating logos. Lots of them.

Initial deals were light-touch: 50-seat or 100-seat pilots. But they unlocked a cascade of brand momentum.

Each logo led to another. And instead of waiting to build a category-defining product, Harvey built a category-defining narrative: If you’re using Harvey, you’re using AI. If you’re not, you’re behind.

They’ve executed this with precision: raise huge, spend fast, staff sales with ex-BigLaw attorneys who can pitch their old firms. Every raise increases the valuation, which increases the attention, which increases the valuation again.

It’s a classic raise-and-burn strategy and they’re running it better than anyone in legaltech.

But is the Product Actually Ahead?

Not really.

Plenty of firms have tried Harvey and come away saying Legora is the better product. Multiple anecdotal reports say Harvey trails behind in head-to-head comparisons.

And yet, Harvey’s still winning business because the branding, marketing, and reputation engine is that strong.

Although they’re not standing still. Their new data partnership with LexisNexis, for example, is a meaningful move toward strengthening the core product with access to high-quality legal data. But it’s also a sign that they need to catch up on fundamentals.

They're sprinting to stay ahead, and that’s a hard game to keep winning.

The Real Winner (So Far)

If you're picking based on product, Legora seems to be out ahead today. They win most direct matchups. They’ve raised significantly over $100M in recent rounds but before that, they spent years building a product lawyers actually wanted to use.

The concern with Harvey is simple: for all their capital, they haven’t yet shown that they can consistently ship best-in-class features. The longer that gap stays open, the more pressure they’ll face, not just from challengers, but from the weight of their own valuation.

In the long run, the space will commoditize. More tools will appear, most built on similar foundational models.

Whoever wins will need staying power, a better product, and an ability to evolve.

We’ve Only Just Begun

Harvey hasn’t won. But they’re still in front - for now.

If they can turn their capital and attention into sustained product improvements, they may just lock in their lead.

But if they can’t, and challengers like Legora or newcomers like Vecflow, Paxton or others continue to improve faster, the story inevitably will shift.

Watch this space.

Legal Bytes

Here are the latest updates in legal tech and AI:

Definely has raised a $30M Series B to scale its legal drafting tools, with a focus on accessibility and expansion across the U.S. and Europe.

Paladin is partnering with over 30 law schools to launch a pro bono platform, giving law students real-world experience while supporting access to justice.

Eve has introduced a new Intake Specialist tool that helps plaintiff-side firms automate and improve how they capture and qualify prospective clients.