The real choice isn’t buy vs. build.
Deciding between Harvey or Legora and building your own tooling on Claude? For firms of any size there’s a third option that fits better than either: an operating system that runs the whole firm — intake, matters, deadlines, documents, billing, and a client portal — with governed AI already inside it, priced flat per attorney with no tokens to manage. You don’t buy an expensive add-on, and you don’t build anything. That’s LexSteward.
Three ways to bring AI to your firm
| LexSteward | Harvey / Legora | Build on raw Claude | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The operating system that runs the firm, with governed AI (Ward) built inside it | An AI drafting layer bolted onto the practice-management stack you already run | A powerful model you build your own tooling and workflows around |
| Runs your whole firm | Yes — intake, matters, deadlines, documents, billing, and the client portal, in one system | No — it sits alongside your case system, billing, intake and website | No — you assemble the workflow yourself |
| AI pricing | Included — flat per attorney, staff seats free, no tokens to manage | Enterprise pricing, typically per seat | Cheap tokens, but you build and manage everything around them |
| Built for | Firms of any size — solo, mid-size, large, and enterprise | Priced and positioned for large firms | Firms with the time and skill to build their own tooling |
| Client-data privacy | Processed under a signed agreement in a confidential, zero-retention environment — never trained on, never retained, isolated to your firm; on-premises deployment by engagement | Vendor-hosted | Depends entirely on what you wire up |
| Finds clients, too | Yes — an AI-search-optimized website and intake are part of the platform | No | No |
| Adoption | Removes the work — Ward opens your day already ranked, grounded in your own files | Another tool to learn on top of the tools you have | A blank chat box; adoption is on you |
It depends on what you want the AI to do.
Buy Harvey or Legora
Capable tools, and a good fit for a large firm with a dedicated innovation budget. But they’re an AI layer bolted onto the stack you already pay for — they don’t run your firm, and they’re priced for the top of the market.
Build on raw Claude
The models are excellent and inexpensive. The catch is the one every honest buyer names: someone has to build the tooling and drive adoption. Without workflows, grounding, and privacy, most firms get a fancy search box a few people use.
Run the operating system
One system does the whole job — find the clients, run the cases, send the bills, keep clients updated — with Ward inside it, grounded in your own files and cited. AI is included, your data stays private, and it scales from a solo practice to an enterprise firm.
Frequently asked
Yes — but a different kind of product. Harvey and Legora add an AI drafting layer on top of the tools a firm already runs. LexSteward is the operating system that runs the firm, with governed AI built into the system of record, so it does the work rather than sitting beside it.
LexSteward is a flat price per attorney with AI included and staff seats free — no token metering and no per-seat AI upcharge. It is built to be predictable at any size, rather than priced for large firms.
No. LexSteward serves firms of every size — from a solo practice to a large or enterprise firm — with a fully on-premises, air-gapped deployment available by engagement for firms with strict data-residency requirements.
AI runs in a confidential, zero-retention environment that never trains on your data and is isolated to your firm, with an on-premises deployment available by engagement for firms that need everything kept on their own hardware.
See the third option for yourself.
Start your 14-day free trial, or run the free AI-visibility audit to see where AI search can and can’t find your firm today.