Overview
You generate pipeline for Account Executives by identifying and reaching out to law firms and in-house legal teams that might be interested in Harvey's AI platform. That means cold calling partners, emailing legal ops directors, and researching which firms are likely to be AI-curious. You're trying to get past executive assistants, avoid being immediately dismissed as "another vendor," and book 30-minute discovery calls for AEs. Your success is measured purely on qualified meetings booked.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | Outbound SDR (some inbound lead follow-up, but primarily prospecting) |
| Sales Motion | Outbound-heavy - targeted account lists, cold outreach sequences |
| Deal Complexity | N/A (you're booking meetings, not closing deals) |
| Sales Cycle | N/A (your job ends at qualified meeting) |
| Deal Size | N/A |
| Quota (est.) | 8-12 qualified meetings per month |
Company Context
Stage: Late-stage (1,195 employees suggests Series C/D funding)
Size: 1,195 employees
Growth: Actively hiring across GTM - need SDRs to feed pipeline as AE team scales
Market Position: Category leader but still building awareness in conservative legal market
GTM Reality
Lead Sources:
- 30% Inbound - firms filling out demo requests, downloading content, attending webinars (you follow up and qualify these)
- 70% Outbound - you're prospecting into target account lists (AmLaw 200 firms, Fortune 1000 legal departments, specific practice areas)
Prospecting Approach:
- Multi-channel sequences: cold calls, personalized emails, LinkedIn outreach
- Account-based focus: you're assigned specific firms/accounts and told to find anyone who might care about AI
- Research-intensive: you need to understand the firm's practice areas, recent news, and who might be a champion for AI adoption
Handoff to AE: You book the meeting, brief the AE on what you learned, and join the first call. After that, the AE owns the relationship.
Competitive Landscape
Main Competitors: Your competitors are all the OTHER vendors reaching out to the same legal ops directors and partners - not just legal AI, but all legal tech
How They Differentiate: You're selling AI (hot topic) to an industry that's notoriously late to adopt tech, so you have novelty on your side
Common Objections: "We're not interested in AI right now" / "Send me some information" (brush-off) / "We already have a solution" / "I'm too busy to meet"
Win Themes: Industry momentum toward AI, competitive firms already using it, efficiency gains, risk of falling behind
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Cold Calling (40%) | Email/LinkedIn Outreach (30%) | Research/List Building (15%) | Meetings/Handoffs (10%) | Admin/CRM (5%)
Key Activities
- Cold calling decision-makers: You're calling partners, legal operations directors, and general counsel. Most calls go to voicemail. When you do get someone, they're often skeptical ("How did you get this number?") or dismissive ("Just send me an email"). You need a tight pitch and thick skin.
- Email sequences: You're writing personalized emails referencing the firm's recent cases, practice areas, or industry news to show you've done homework. You're A/B testing subject lines and messaging. Most don't respond. You follow up 3-5 times before giving up.
- LinkedIn outreach: Connection requests, InMail messages, engaging with prospects' posts. LinkedIn response rates for legal are low - partners aren't scrolling feeds like tech execs are.
- Researching accounts: Before calling a firm, you're checking their website, recent press, LinkedIn profiles of potential contacts, and industry news. You're looking for hooks - did they just announce a new practice area? Are they hiring aggressively? Did a competitor adopt AI?
- Qualifying inbound leads: When someone fills out a demo form, you're calling within 5 minutes to qualify them. Are they a real prospect or a law student researching AI? Do they have budget authority or are they just curious? You're filtering out tire-kickers before wasting AE time.
- Navigating gatekeepers: Partners have executive assistants who screen calls. You're building rapport with EAs, leaving detailed voicemails, and finding creative ways to get through ("I'm following up on a request they made" sometimes works).
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- Legal is a tough market to prospect into. Partners are busy, skeptical of vendors, and protective of their time. You'll get a lot of "not interested" or no response at all.
- Rejection is constant. You're making 50-60 calls per day and booking maybe 2-3 meetings per week. That's a lot of "no" to get through.
- Research is time-consuming. You can't generic-blast law firms - you need to personalize every outreach, which limits your volume. It's a balance between quality and quantity.
- Quota pressure is real. If you're at 6 meetings by the third week of the month, you're scrambling. Some months you'll crush it, others you'll struggle.
- You're dependent on AE follow-through. If you book a great meeting and the AE no-shows or doesn't prep, it reflects poorly on you when you prospect that account again.
What Success Looks Like
- Hitting 8-12 qualified meetings per month consistently
- High meeting-to-opportunity conversion (AEs actually want to work the leads you pass)
- Building a reputation with AEs as someone who does good research and books real prospects, not tire-kickers
- Graduating to an AE or other closing role within 12-18 months if you perform well
Who You're Selling To
Primary Targets:
- Legal Operations Directors (most receptive to efficiency/tech pitches, often your best entry point)
- Practice Group Leaders / Partners (decision-makers but harder to reach)
- Chief Legal Officers / General Counsel (in-house teams - often more tech-forward than law firms)
- Innovation/Knowledge Management leaders (if the firm has them - these people love AI conversations)
What They Care About:
- Efficiency and cost savings: Legal ops cares about doing more with less
- Competitive pressure: If other firms are using AI, they're curious
- Not wasting time: They get pitched constantly. You need to quickly prove you're worth 15 minutes.
- Risk management: They're cautious - you need to lead with security/compliance credibility, not hype
Requirements
- 0-2 years experience (this is often an entry-level role)
- Comfortable with high-volume cold calling and rejection
- Strong research and writing skills (personalization matters in legal)
- Coachable and metrics-driven - you'll get a lot of feedback on talk tracks and email templates
- Genuine interest in learning sales - this is a stepping stone to AE or other roles
- Persistence and resilience - you'll hear "no" way more than "yes"