:Harvey: Power Users: Couch to 5K

I'm so in the throes of using it, I never considered myself as that until I was asked. But I know that I am classified as being an early adopter and I use it daily. In fact, I'd be surprised if I wasn't using it hourly. I have to use it in pretty much everything that I do to deliver my role.

When I was mulling over what we mean by a power user, I started with the blunt metric of frequency and volume. But then there are softer metrics such as how you're constructing and instructing tasks, how you're breaking them down to provide more context and specificity. And then there’s the breadth of functionality you're using: the assistant, the vault, workflow agents. Because I'm involved in all three, and especially because we're trying to break some things in the workflow space, that's possibly what resulted in me being identified as a power user.

We're trying to find new ways of working with innovative power users within a panel law firm to co-create workflows. It's a first for them and a first for us. We're hoping that some of this work will drive metrics that show internally this is a worthwhile return on investment.

Most importantly, it operates as a retention lever. Some of the tasks we're trying to address through custom workflows keep our people so absorbed in reviews and analyses that they can't do the more tactical strategic stuff they came in-house to do. We rely on Harvey to combat the perception that legal is "the department of slow, where things go to die."

I'm not afraid of failing, and I think that's really what's driven it. I'm always learning, and I love learning. Provided you have that mindset, not being a technical person isn't that much of an obstacle.

Lawyer training can be an impediment. It's drilled in from the way lawyers are trained and when you get something wrong, you remember it. That can instill a pattern of "I must make sure I don't get things wrong." That can impede your ability to use the tool because you're worried about your capacity. And it can make you overly critical of what you receive. People prejudge the quality of it. But were you clear in how you asked? The humility to say, "I should have provided a bit more context" — that's important.

It's about a mindset shift. Start small. Make sure it's a visible shortcut in your browser, that you see it each morning. Because if you don't see it, you're not going to use it. And if you don't use it, you're never going to get better.

Just run through something really basic like polishing an email for tone of voice or clarity. Low stakes. Ask yourself: How did that go? Could I have asked it better? And you try it again. It's a high frequency thing, and it's then recognizing that that's all transferable when you want something more elaborate.

It's like a couch to 5K. If you expect to just be able to run 5K immediately and you've been laid up for a couple months, you're setting yourself up to fail. Your calves will seize, you'll get shin splints. Start small.