One of the region’s leading law firms is about to get a helping hand from AI: Our friends at Cairo-based arbitration firm Youssef + Partners (Y+P) has signed a strategic partnership with American legal profession-focussed generative AI startup Harvey to integrate the technology into the firm’s legal practices and client services, Y+P said in a statement.

Harvey? The legal sector-focused AI company is backed by ChatGPT developer OpenAI and Silicon Valley-based VC giant Sequoia Capital, which both contributed to Harvey’s USD 80 mn series B funding round in December. Harvey made headlines last year after partnering up with magic circle law firm — insider speak for one of the top five London-based law firms — Allen & Overy to use AI to draft contracts in what the Financial Times described as a “challenge to [the] legal industry.” The startup also sent shockwaves through the legal world when it partnered up with PwC’s Legal Business Solutions in March.

The details: Egypt’s top dispute resolution law firm of 2023— according to Chambers Middle East — will be one of the two first law firms in the region to integrate the technology to “streamline legal functions including litigation analysis, document production, research, and compliance,” the statement said.

But real, flesh and bone human lawyers won’t be completely obsolete from the process:“All outputs without exception undergo thorough scrutiny, review and validation by Y+P attorneys, and the tool is strictly limited to use by qualified attorneys,” the statement added.

Watch out for more AI in the legal world: “The adoption of AI will become more prevalent and accessible in the legal sector across the region and the world, as we see more providers, platforms, and solutions emerge and as more awareness is spread,” Youssef + Partners told Enterprise.

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