The firm aims to establish a culture of ‘professional responsibility and healthy scepticism’
It’s one of the first law firms in New Zealand to integrate the Harvey AI platform into its workflow, but Wynn Williams doesn’t see the move as “pioneering” – just a willingness to move early on a beneficial tool, according to managing partner Ash Hill.
In this interview, Hill shares with NZ Lawyer the firm’s AI strategy, the importance of human involvement throughout the process, and his view on the future of legal AI.
What drove the decision to adopt Harvey AI for the firm?
After viewing a number of legal AI tools, Harvey stood out as a platform purpose-built for a range of legal tasks and an ability to provide value across the firm with use cases applicable to a number of our teams. Through our initial pilot trial and interactions with Harvey, we also gained confidence in the ease of use (and consequently, active adoption) of Harvey and its roadmap.
What is the firm’s AI strategy, and how does adopting Harvey AI further this strategy?
Wynn Williams’ strategy is about utilising AI to enhance productivity and improve client experience, but with a clear focus on responsible governance and sustainable innovation. Harvey helps with this because it's designed to sit alongside our existing processes and enhance what our lawyers are already doing, not replace their judgement. Training is key to this and is something we take very seriously. We have stepped very carefully through this process, including deliberate governance / oversight protocols, an emphasis on responsible and ethical adoption, and keeping our eye on the risks at all time.
How did the firm address the concern with using AI for legal, given cases wherein AI use has proven detrimental due to hallucinations?
Ensuring that there remains human oversight and overlay at all stages. We’ve been upfront with everyone at the Firm that AI is a tool, and every output needs to be reviewed and verified by a lawyer before it goes out. Harvey has in-built, legal-specific guardrails, but the real key is ensuring a culture of professional responsibility and healthy scepticism – two things that we make a point of reinforcing through our training and guidelines.
As one of the first firms in New Zealand to adopt Harvey, how do you feel about being a pioneer in this space, and what impact do you hope it will have on the NZ legal profession?
It's genuinely exciting to be at the front of this, though we see it less as pioneering and more as being willing to move early on something we believe will benefit our clients and our people. We hope it encourages other firms across New Zealand to engage seriously with legal AI, because a more efficient and innovative profession is better for everyone — lawyers and clients alike.
Where do you see the future of legal AI heading?
We think AI will increasingly handle the heavy lifting on routine and repetitive legal tasks, freeing lawyers to focus on the strategic and interpersonal work that clients really value.
