![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/suits-patrick-j-adams-final-season.jpg\")
Suits character Mike Ross<\/p>\nNew challenger tool aims to disrupt the legal tech industry<\/p>\n
Suits character Mike Ross<\/p>\n
An ex-Latham & Watkins<\/a> associate has launched a free, open-source legal AI tool rivalling billion-dollar tech giants Harvey and Legora.<\/p>\n Will Chen, who trained at the US firm\u2019s London office, unveiled \u2018Mike\u2019 earlier this month, billing it as an \u201copen-source alternative to Harvey and Legora\u201d.<\/p>\n Mike takes its name from Mike Ross in the TV show Suits. The domain, MikeOss.com<\/a>, is just one letter off \u201cMike Ross\u201d, with \u201cOSS\u201d doubling as shorthand for open-source software. It\u2019s a neat bit of branding symmetry given that Harvey itself was named after Harvey Specter, Ross\u2019s sharp-suited mentor.<\/p>\n The tool is entirely free and open-source, meaning its code is publicly available for anyone to inspect, modify and build upon. In an industry where having the top AI tools is synonymous with prestige, and with them costing hundreds of pounds per lawyer each month, Mike helps to democratise the effective use of generative AI in the legal profession, particularly for small to mid-sized firms that cannot afford the top-of-the-market tools.<\/p>\n Powered by models from Claude and Gemini, it offers a familiar suite of features: drafting, editing and reviewing documents, analysing contracts, and conducting legal research. In other words, it broadly mirrors the functionality of its better-funded and more expensive rivals.<\/p>\n Not only is the code entirely public, but Chen reports it took him just two weeks to build the software. Commenting on the launch, Chen told Legal Cheek:<\/p>\n \u201cMike started as a proof of concept to demonstrate that a legal AI platform with many of the same core capabilities as incumbent products could now be built in a matter of days, rather than requiring enormous teams and vast amounts of capital. It was also, to some extent, a commentary on how expensive \u2014 and perhaps overvalued \u2014 parts of the current legal AI market have become.<\/p>\n More broadly, Mike represents an alternative vision of legal AI: one that is open, accessible, and community-driven, rather than closed, heavily gated, and positioned almost as a luxury or Veblen-style enterprise product.\u201d<\/p>\n Chen studied law at the University of Oxford, graduating with a double first in 2020. He trained and qualified at Latham, working there between late 2021 and the end of 2024 \u2014 during which time he also founded and developed Lawprof, a digital learning platform for aspiring lawyers.<\/p>\n The launch of Mike comes at a time of eye-watering valuations<\/a> and heavy investment in the legal tech industry. Harvey is reportedly worth around $11 billion and is said to be used by more than 60% of the Am Law 100. Legora, meanwhile, recently hit a $5.5 billion valuation and counts over 1,000 firms and in-house teams among its users, including most recently Magic Circle player Linklaters<\/a>.<\/p>\n The two legal tech incumbents have also forked out millions on high-profile ad campaigns, with Harvey enlisting Gabriel Macht to reprise his role as Harvey Specter<\/a>, and Legora tapping Jude Law<\/a> for a glossy campaign with the tagline \u201claw just got more attractive\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/slack-imgs.com_-1024x556.jpeg\")
Mike is using Monet\u2019s \u2018The Cliff Walk at Pourville\u2019 as part of its branding<\/p>\n