Harvey Academy
AI for Legal Basics
A free, tool-agnostic certification from Harvey covering AI literacy, common legal workflows and risk-aware decision making, with a capstone assessment.
Reviewed by Dr. Niklas Schmidt

- Format
- Self-paced online
- Duration
- ~2 hours
- Fee
- Free
- Level
- Beginner
- CLE / CPD
- None published
- Certificate
- Yes
- Next start
- Available on demand
- Region
- Online (global)
What is Harvey Academy's AI for Legal Basics?
AI for Legal Basics is a foundational certification from Harvey Academy. Despite coming from a legal-AI vendor, the content is tool-agnostic: it builds core AI literacy, explores common legal workflows where AI helps, and develops risk-aware decision-making skills for responsible use.
The course is free, self-paced and ends with a capstone assessment that unlocks a certificate. It is a useful complement to the Clio certification and a sensible first step before a hands-on course such as the AI Lab for Lawyers.
What you will learn
- Tool-agnostic AI literacy
- Common legal workflows
- Capstone assessment and certificate
Strengths
- Free
- Genuinely tool-agnostic
- Capstone assessment
Limitations
- Basic level
- Vendor-produced
Who is it best for?
Lawyers who want a free, structured literacy course from a leading legal AI company.
How does it compare with our top pick?
Every review on this site includes the same side-by-side with the AI Lab for Lawyers, our editor's choice for hands-on training, so you can see the trade-offs at a glance.
| Criterion | Harvey Academy | ★ AI Lab for Lawyers |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Self-paced online | Live online cohort |
| Duration | ~2 hours | 8 hours (4 × 2 h) + ~2 h homework |
| Fee | Free | €200 per seat |
| Hands-on practice | Limited | Every session |
| Taught by a practising lawyer | Faculty / mixed | Yes, a Wolf Theiss partner |
| Verified rating | Not published | 4.8/5 (320) |
Alternatives
Similar AI courses for lawyers

Maven / Wolf Theiss
AI Lab for Lawyers
The hands-on live course taught by a practising partner: 8 hours of building prompts, agents and workflows on real legal tasks. Rated 4.8/5 by 320 lawyers.
Format
Live online cohort
Duration
8 hours (4 × 2 h) + ~2 h homework
Fee
€200 per seat
≈ €25/h

University of Michigan
AI for Lawyers and Other Advocates Specialization
Professor Patrick Barry's four-course Coursera specialization on communicating, problem-solving and leading with AI. Free to audit; 5,000+ enrolled.
Format
Online, self-paced (Coursera)
Duration
4 courses · ~16 hours
Fee
Free to audit

Vanderbilt University
Generative AI for Legal Services Primer
The highest-rated free course for lawyers on Coursera (4.8/5). Four hours on GenAI fundamentals, legal prompting and professional responsibility.
Format
Online, self-paced (Coursera)
Duration
~4 hours
Fee
Free to audit
Editor's choice · 4.8/5 from 320 lawyers
Ready to use AI in your practice this month?
The AI Lab for Lawyers is 8 live hours of hands-on practice with a partner who uses AI every day, for €200. Cohorts run monthly and sell out, so join the waitlist for the next one.