In a significant move that underscores the legal industry’s accelerating embrace of artificial intelligence, Latham & Watkins LLP has announced a design partnership with legal AI pioneer Harvey to develop a suite of AI tools specifically for fund formation work. The collaboration aims to transform how one of the world’s leading law firms handles the complex documentation processes involved in private investment fund formation.
A Deep Integration of Legal Expertise and Engineering
Unlike a standard software licensing arrangement, this partnership embeds Latham’s market-leading Investment Funds Practice directly into Harvey’s product development cycle. Lawyers from Latham will work alongside Harvey’s engineering teams to build tools targeting the most document-intensive aspects of fund formation: Limited Partnership Agreements (LPAs), side letters, subscription documents, and comment memos .
Matthew Chase, Global Chair of Latham’s Investment Funds Practice, emphasized the practical motivation behind the collaboration. “Fund formation requires lawyers to navigate an enormous amount of detail while staying focused on the commercial priorities of sponsors and investors,” Chase said. “We’re excited to partner with Harvey to combine their engineering expertise with the breadth of practitioner perspective across Latham’s premier global platform” .
Moving Beyond Generic AI
The collaboration signals a shift in how top-tier law firms are approaching legal technology. Rather than relying on generic AI models, Latham is actively shaping the tool’s development to reflect the nuanced realities of sophisticated fund work. According to Legal Business, the resulting product will incorporate a range of capabilities including agents, project management, document analysis, and process automation.
Winston Weinberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Harvey, noted the value of this direct feedback loop. “Latham gives our product and engineering teams direct insight into the needs of lawyers handling some of the most complex fund formation matters, helping us build capabilities that reflect the complexity and realities of their work” .
Strategic Implications for the Firm and Its Clients
For Latham, the partnership represents a continuation of a deliberate and flexible AI strategy. Amber Banks, an M&A and Private Equity Partner and member of Latham’s AI Strategy Committee, described the approach as targeted: applying AI “in targeted ways that complement our lawyers’ experience and judgment and enhance how we serve clients” .
Rene Mendoza, Latham’s Chief Information Officer, indicated that while the tool is being developed in partnership with Harvey, it may eventually be marketed to other firms—though without access to Latham’s proprietary market intelligence that shapes the tool’s development . This suggests Latham views the collaboration not merely as an internal efficiency play but as a potential competitive differentiator in the increasingly technology-driven legal marketplace.
What This Means for the Legal Sector
The Latham-Harvey partnership is the latest in a series of high-profile collaborations between major law firms and legal tech providers. Kirkland & Ellis announced a similar initiative with Palantir earlier this year, targeting private equity fundraising workflows.These moves reflect a broader recognition that AI will not replace lawyers but will fundamentally reshape how legal work is executed—particularly in document-heavy, process-intensive practice areas like fund formation.
For clients of Latham’s fund practice, the immediate promise is greater efficiency: faster turnaround on routine documentation, more consistent quality control, and the ability to redirect senior lawyer attention toward strategic, business-critical issues rather than administrative detail. As Mendoza put it, the goal is to “tap into the collective expertise of our lawyers in new ways” while equipping internal teams with powerful tools .
While no release date has been announced for the fund formation tools, the development process is already underway . For legal observers, the collaboration offers a glimpse into the future of elite law firm practice—one where proprietary technology, built in close partnership with AI developers, becomes as central to client service as legal acumen itself.
