Harvey Hires Hebbia’s Ryan Samii For Innovation Drive

Harvey has hired Ryan Samii from Hebbia, where he was instrumental in building and scaling the company’s legal vertical. Samii (see in-depth AL interview below) will take the role of Head of Product Innovation.

The move is part of a wider ‘long-term investment in deeply partnering with – and hiring from – the innovation and legal tech community that is steering the legal profession through the AI era,’ the pioneering legal AI platform added.

Samii, who was based in LA where he had his own startup and then moved to New York for Hebbia, has also worked as an M&A associate with Paul Hastings.

For its part, Hebbia started off focused on using AI to help extract key deal data from documents in the finance sector, then more recently moved into the legal vertical as well. It’s not known if that strategy will continue or how that will evolve.

AL Interview with Ryan Samii and then Harvey CEO, Winston Weinberg

Ryan, why make this move and why now? 

From my outside perspective over the past few years, Harvey appeared to be in ruthless execution mode. They quickly became the category leader – deploying across the legal landscape, expanding globally, proving the promise of technology in our antiquated industry. I assumed the company would now shift to consolidating gains and defending market position. I was wrong.

In my discussions with Winston and team, I realized that our outlooks are aligned: there is still such a colossal frontier to be explored, defined, and delivered. We are still in the early innings of AI for law and professional services.

I’m joining Harvey because this is where the most important work in legal AI will happen. This technology is changing our industry and this company has the ambition to meet the moment, despite the challenges and unknowns ahead. When you encounter an opportunity like this, you take it.

Tell us about your new role and what you hope to accomplish. 

First, a flashback. Richard – you and I grabbed breakfast in Santa Monica back in mid-2023 or so. Generative AI was bursting onto the scene. But I remember you and I had so many questions at that table: Who would benefit most from AI? How would it impact the traditional “means of production” of legal work? Would the industry simply layer tech onto a calcified (sometimes dysfunctional) process – or would AI enable reinvention? 

Fast forward to now. The progress and adoption of AI are undeniable in our industry. Yet, the big questions persist. 

Harvey is the company in position to answer these questions and the new ones that will inevitably emerge. In my role as Head of Product Innovation, I intend to be instrumental in these efforts.

Importantly, my role is a reflection of Harvey’s intentional, strategic path forward. Alongside a mission-focused team, I will partner externally with law firm innovation leaders, lawyers, and other key stakeholders to identify where firms and clients want to go. What’s impossible today that may actually be achievable tomorrow? We will take these learnings and then bridge internally with the industry’s top engineering, product, and design team – resulting in a solution that continues sharpening and elevating our profession. 

I feel so energized and fortunate. There is much work to be done.

Winston, can you tell us some more about the broader strategy of engaging more with legal innovation teams?

Law firm innovation teams are leading the industry’s AI learning curve. They’re the ones identifying AI opportunity zones, training hundreds or thousands of lawyers, partnering with lawyers to push the frontier, and measuring real outcomes. If we get it right with them, we accelerate adoption everywhere – including in-house.

Optimizing this motion, and ideally this flywheel, hinges on intentional strategy. That’s why we’re expanding our team to include more folks with law firm innovation experience, more lawyers with in-house backgrounds, and more experts in key geographies. This lets us create multiple touch points across firms and corporate clients so we can support the full lifecycle of legal work and be a true partner in how the profession modernizes.

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Thanks to both and congrats!       

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You can find more about Harvey here.

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[ Main pic: Ryan Samii on the beach at Santa Monica, Los Angeles. ]