In this episode of Pearls On, Gloves Off, Mary O'Carroll sits down with John LaBarre, General Counsel of Harvey. From Google to Snowflake and now a leader in legal AI, John's career reflects the tech world's evolution. Together, they dig into the pivotal moment we're living through — when generative AI enters the legal profession not as a futuristic idea but as a productivity‑enhancer in real time.
In this episode:
- Why legal is ripe for AI: He explains how the legal profession acts as a "low‑hanging fruit" for generative AI, given its massive volumes of unstructured data and repetitive tasks.
- Re‑learning technology: Generative AI isn't like a perfect calculator. John argues lawyers must shift from expecting "the correct answer" to co‑working with predictive tools: prompting them, reviewing them, validating them.
- Measuring ROI: From the in‑house perspective, it's about doing more with the same budget. John shares examples where what used to be a 30–40 hour review became a 2–3 hour job thanks to AI.
- Law firms, adoption & the billable hour paradox: The conversation pivots to law firms — how they adopt AI, the challenges of traditional measurement (billable hours), and why this moment might represent another nail in that coffin.
- What's next: They explore the next three‑to‑five‑year horizon — what would make AI truly transformative, what still needs to happen, and why "agents" handling NDAs or contract workflows aren't far off.
If you're involved in legal operations, in‑house counsel, or law firm innovation, this episode offers actionable insight into how legal work is changing—and what you should be doing right now to keep up.
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