Harvey launches pro bono programme with global law firm partners

Bethany Wren (she/her) is head of content and events at LawCareers.Net

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Legal AI platform Harvey has launched a dedicated pro bono programme in the UK, Australia and the US, aiming to help address the growing access to justice gap by supporting law firms and legal service providers with AI-powered tools. The initiative forms part of Harvey’s wider responsible business programme and will initially be delivered through a pilot with a select group of law firm partners.

The company said the programme was created in response to the significant unmet demand for legal assistance. Citing figures from the World Justice Project, Harvey noted that more than 1.5 billion people globally cannot obtain justice, while many civil legal issues brought to legal services organisations in the US go unresolved because of limited resources.

During the first phase of the programme, Harvey will work with law firms Ashurst Perkins Coie, DLA Piper UK LLP and Nelson Mullins as design partners. The collaboration will focus on exploring how AI can support high-volume pro bono work, including housing support, veterans’ services and social welfare claims. Harvey also plans to develop templates, knowledge resources and repeatable workflows designed to help pro bono lawyers spend more time supporting clients.

Find out more about pro bono with our Feature: ‘Pro bono: a law student’s guide’.

To support the project, Harvey will provide dedicated legal engineering resources in both the UK and the US and will measure how its technology affects outcomes and lawyers’ capacity to deliver pro bono advice.

Commenting on the partnership, Sarah Morton-Ramwell, global pro bono and social impact partner at Ashurst Perkins Coie, said the collaboration would help deliver “transformational AI” to support vulnerable justice system users and those providing legal services on their behalf. Representatives from Nelson Mullins also highlighted the potential for AI to expand the reach and impact of pro bono programmes.

Looking ahead, Harvey said it plans to partner with frontline legal services organisations, with an initial group set to receive free access to the platform through a pilot later this year. The company described the programme as an early step in its broader responsible business strategy and said it would share further updates as the initiative develops.

There’s more on how to find pro bono opportunities as an aspiring lawyer with our LCN Says article.