Esther Bowers Loves the “Lightbulb Moment” That Sparks Innovation at Scale

In our Innovation Spotlight series, we interview innovation leaders about how they approach their jobs and how they’ve implemented and deployed Harvey.

In this edition, we chat with Esther Bowers, Chief Practice Innovation Officer at Honigman. She leads innovation initiatives with a focus on the ethical and strategic use of artificial intelligence, technology adoption, and client-centered service delivery. Esther is the architect of the firm’s award-winning FOCUS program, integrating advanced technologies, legal project management, and tailored staffing models to deliver efficient and high-value outcomes.

Her thought leadership has appeared in Law360, The American Lawyer, and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute.

Innovation is often associated with technology. But to me, it’s about solving problems, inspiring new ways of thinking and working, creating opportunities, and maximizing available resources. That mindset drives continuous improvement and adaptability in everything I do.

Carpools. I joke that I’m passionate about arranging carpools for my four children and their many activities and sports. But in all seriousness, I’ve had the most interesting conversations about innovation and AI on the sidelines of kids’ sporting events. Hearing how other industries are driving change sharpens my own thinking.

Beyond family, I’m passionate about fitness in any form. Some of my best ideas come during long runs — I often have to pause and jot them down so I won’t forget them.

First has to be thrilling our firm’s lawyers and clients with solutions that address pain points, reduce friction, or create new value. That’s closely followed by getting to witness the “lightbulb moment” when lawyers move from skepticism to excitement as they acquire new skills.

Then there’s the daily fun and energy that comes from driving real transformation. I tell my team that we get to be the “fun” group — something not always common in law firms.

We chose Harvey because our lawyers love it. The pilot group found the user interface easy and intuitive, and the quality of the output helped them see the tool’s value in their practices. Our pilot group praised Harvey’s impact on their practice, client service, business development, associate training, and talent attraction. These are the outcomes we hope to achieve — and are already seeing — with Harvey.

We also value real partnership. We look for technology partners who are as invested in our success as we are, and Harvey has truly leaned into that partnership.

Our Patent Practice Group has shown the strongest adoption, led by the practice group chairs. The team has participated in intensive bootcamps, workflow development, and prompt refinement, with attorneys at all levels involved.

We also see significant usage in our private equity and M&A practices. The chair of the private equity practice group is one of our strongest users. This demonstrates the importance of top-down leadership in driving adoption.

The most surprising trend is that associate and partner usage is within 1% of each other across all categories, indicating that the tool is being used broadly and not limited to specific types of work or seniority levels.

AI can seem overwhelming, so our goal is to show how safe and simple it can be. We take a multi-pronged approach to drive AI expertise for everyone. This includes, but is not limited to:

In our Patent Practice Group, the use of Harvey has sped up associate training and ramp-up while ensuring consistent work quality. This allows partners to focus on more meaningful development activities.

In Client Service, we were able to deliver a large volume of deposition summaries and thematic analysis for a client in less than a day — a task that would have taken several associates two weeks. The format also allowed for easy addition of new depositions as transcripts became available.

Success is defined by our clients and lawyers. We ask: How did GenAI enhance the client experience? What can we now do that we couldn’t before, or that competitors can’t? What business opportunities did we unlock? What goals did we help clients achieve?

Some of the data points we track are:

The first: Be patient. This is a journey. Progress takes time, and it’s important to allow space for learning and adaptation.

The second: Get started. The most innovative ideas emerge once people begin using these tools and see their potential. Innovation breeds innovation.

The most significant impact will be on the volume and pace of work compared to the pre-GenAI era. This will unlock opportunities we are only beginning to experience, with much more to come. As our clients accelerate their pace, GenAI will be a key tool for us to keep up.