Deciding between a legal-specific AI tool (like Harvey) and building your own with general tools (Claude, ChatGPT)? Every choice is a bet. Set the four sliders to see which bets are safe, which are risky, and where you lean.
Think of one specific tool you're weighing as you answer. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
1. What am I really paying for?
Is the tool's value mostly smarter answers, or mostly plugging into my systems (my document files, court forms, client matters, workflow)?
2. How soon will a cheap general tool catch up?
How likely is it that Claude or ChatGPT, with good prompts, will do this job about as well within the next year?
3. How hard would it be to leave?
If I wanted to switch later, can I export my data and walk away easily, or would I be deeply locked in?
4. Does it protect client confidentiality?
Does the tool clearly promise not to train on my data, keep matters confidential, and give me a record of what it did?
Your read
This is a discussion starter, not legal or business advice. It reflects what you told it, nothing more. The point is to make your bets explicit so you notice sooner if one stops being true.