Juliane Diefenbach on the Small Steps That Lead to Lasting Innovation

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 Juliane Diefenbach, Director of Knowledge Management at HEUKING, one of the major commercial law firms in Germany.

A fully qualified lawyer, Juliane brings more than two decades of experience in knowledge management across national and international law firms. She builds high-performing knowledge functions and shapes how lawyers work, guided by the principle: Work smarter, not harder.

At HEUKING, she successfully led one of the first implementations of Harvey (and generative AI) in the German legal market in 2024. The result: strong and sustained adoption, measurable efficiency gains, and a firmwide culture of shared learning.

For me, innovation means thinking differently — and putting new ideas into practice to make work easier. It doesn’t have to be about the big, shiny technologies; often, many small, well-judged steps make the difference.

What matters is challenging the “We’ve always done it this way” mindset. The best ideas emerge in dialogue: When we connect people, share knowledge, and truly understand the problem, the “eureka” moments follow. In my daily work, I look for those connections and create space for continuous improvement.

I’m a creative person and have developed a passion for garden design in recent years. A beautiful garden grows from vision, patience, and the willingness to learn from setbacks. It’s not one grand gesture, but many thoughtful steps. This perspective also shapes my work: new workflows and technologies need a clear target picture, time to grow, and the flexibility to adjust course. That’s how smart, iterative change turns into lasting success — both in the garden and in innovation.

I’m inspired by how profoundly we can reshape legal work. When I started in knowledge management twenty years ago, it was sometimes underestimated for its potential to help people work more efficiently. Now, technology has emerged that makes this work more exciting — but at its core, this is still about people. Technology enables people to use new tools effectively, collaborate better, and develop new ideas as a result. We are at a crucial point where the right capabilities and structures can sustainably elevate legal services.

Our journey with Harvey began in early 2024, when we conducted a broad evaluation of generative AI tools. Most solutions were still limited at the time, but Harvey convinced us through their close cooperation and the rapid progress built on our user feedback. This shared learning curve aligned with our cultural shift toward greater collaboration and transformation.

In July 2024, we launched a pilot with a diverse group of AI enthusiasts that produced many “eureka” moments. The firm-wide rollout in October 2024 was the natural next step — and adoption has been impressive ever since.

What’s particularly interesting is that the strongest usage cannot be narrowed to specific practice groups, locations, or seniority levels. What counts is an openness to new ways of working. Partners and junior lawyers alike use Harvey, enabled by a collaborative culture of learning and experimentation. That entrepreneurial mindset is the key driver of our adoption.

Our approach puts people at the center. We promote shared learning and practical experimentation through:

Generative AI delivers tangible efficiency, especially for smaller task bundles and discrete workstreams. Primarily, it accelerates the start and frees time for quality.

Typical use cases include first summaries, initial drafts of emails and documents, translations, and idea scaffolds for lines of argument. Every use remains subject to professional oversight and is refined in the style of the responsible lawyer. From junior associates to senior partners, the use of generative AI speeds up routine work and helps teams get into a creative flow.

We measure success by working more efficiently and thereby delivering the best possible advice to our clients. As a result, a key indicator is time saved on smaller routine tasks.

This gives our people the space to refine their work product, think strategically, and invest in, for example, business development or further innovation projects in legal tech and knowledge management. The consistently high and dynamically growing number of prompts also shows that generative AI is firmly embedded in day-to-day work.

Two essential learnings come to mind. First, just start. Once a safe framework and clear guardrails are in place, teams should be encouraged to experiment and try new ways of working.

Second, establish a culture of persistence and sharing. Not every result impresses right away. What matters is sticking with it, sharing experiences (including successes and stumbling blocks) openly, and getting better together. That’s how skills, trust, and real impact develop.

Generative AI is already fundamentally changing the legal industry. Routine work is being redistributed, while the demand for creative and strategic excellence is growing. AI takes care of foundational tasks faster and gives us back the time that truly counts: experience, judgment, and high-level thinking — enabling superior outcomes and strong strategic positioning for our clients. In short: GenAI helps us to work smarter and not harder.