#1 most frequent
United States of America
86.9%1,305 installations of 1,502
What is Clio?
Clio is web-based legal practice management software for solo practitioners and small firms. It is designed to replace multiple different systems (like document management, case management, and accounting software) to streamline the amount of technology that small firms need to manage.
Categories & Use Cases
Videos
Who Buys & Uses Clio
#2 most frequent
Canada
6.7%100 installations of 1,502
#3 most frequent
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2.7%41 installations of 1,502
Go with Clio.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
At our law firm, we use Clio Manage and Clio Grow to streamline daily operations, improve client communication, and ensure efficient case management from intake to resolution. Just like any business or law firm, data security is critical. I think Clio provides secure cloud-based access with role-based permissions and is compliant with legal industry standards.
Pros
- Client Communication.
- Reporting and Metrics.
- Document Automation.
Cons
- No conditional logic in task assignments.
- Basic notification system with limited real-time updates.
Return on Investment
- Faster Client Intake & Onboarding.
- Improved cash flow.
- Higher Staff Productivity.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
MyCase and Assembly Neos
Clio in Legal Office
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
My law office uses Clio as our CRM, matter and lead management, accounts receivable, and as an email marketing tool.
Pros
- Matter management
- CRM
- Billing and accounts receivable
Cons
- Lead organization in Clio Grow should not be separate from Clio Manage. These two should be integrated for better organization and management.
- Trust payments in billing
Return on Investment
- Less time spent on reviewing billing each month
- I can easily search tag contacts
- Simple task tracking across the entire firm
Usability
Alternatives Considered
CARET Legal
Other Software Used
Lexis for Microsoft Office, WealthCounsel Estate Planning
In my opinion, Garbage, like all the rest
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
In my opinion, ridiculous.
After an hour with support today their solution is to stop using my iphone for calendar and contact integration. I'm told this is the leading product in the segment. I recommend returning to paper and pencil.
After an hour with support today their solution is to stop using my iphone for calendar and contact integration. I'm told this is the leading product in the segment. I recommend returning to paper and pencil.
Pros
- reasonable visuals
- good if useless support
Cons
- In my opinion, clumsy
- In my opinion, convoluted
- In my experience, fails to integrate
Return on Investment
- I've spent five hours with support this week.
Usability
Incredibly expensive for software that fails so miserably at so many fundamental core functions.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Clio is a practice management solution for law firms. In my opinion it has sufficient features and scalability to serve as the basis for anything from a solo practitioner to a mid-large firm.
Pros
- Clio has an extensive API that allows for very robust customization. If you are looking for a practice management solution that can be adapted to your practice, Clio is very adaptable, and their developer partnership program is very good.
- Clio's billing and payment systems are well executed. It is very easy to ensure that bills get paid and retainers get replenished.
- Clio has an extensive documentation database and good support.
- I have not noticed any significant bugs in their system. Everything functions as expected without any significant outages.
- Clio's security features and systems are well thought out executed.
- Clio's user interface is intuitive and easy to use.
- It is easy to find expert setup and customization assistance.
- There are multiple existing 3rd party integrations to choose from.
Cons
- Clio's trust account management system does not allow for sub accounts. For instance, if your firm wished to separately account for your general retainer and a settlement check as being separate sub accounts held in the main trust account for that matter, Clio does not have a way to do that.
- Clio does not allow a "User" custom field. If you wished to be able to assign a team of users to particular types of files, there is no way to do this. For instance, if you wanted to add a custom field for "Billing Manager" to denote which of your multiple billing clerks was assigned to that file, there is no way to do this.
- Clio does not allow you to create custom fields that are "lists" or "collections". For instance, if you wanted to add a custom field called "heirs" that was a list of contacts, there is no way to do this, other than to add in a series of single contact custom fields. (Heir1, Heir2, Heir3, Heir4).
- Clio Grow, the Clio CRM pipeline tool, has a online intake tool, does not have an API to allow customization like Clio Manage does.
- Although clio does have a document template generation module, the lack of any ability to handle lists or collections of items limits its functionality.
Most Important Features
- Clio's billing and trust functions are very reliable.
Return on Investment
- Our initial transition to Clio was difficult. However, as we adapt our practice to Clio's capabilities, we have come to appreciate Clio's reliability and easy of use.
Other Software Used
Visual Studio IDE, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, LastPass for Business, Adobe Acrobat DC, Atlassian Jira Align, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Workspace, ComponentOne
Clio makes big promises to small firms. Don't fall for it.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We attempted to use Clio in all cases, but it is missing basic features, such as feasible calendar features, appointment notification, useable client note capabilities. We ended up returning to Google Docs for most uses, because the free software absolutely trounces the supposedly specially designed software for the legal profession. I can't get support to contact me back, and the basic features I suggest to make the software useable for a small firm are not a priority. Basic Google products: Drive, Calendar, gmail, are free and beat Clio with a stick.
Pros
- Document Merge
- Big Promises
- Simple processes become complex
Cons
- Basic calendar notification customization
- Multiple client calendar event support
- Return contact from account manager within a reasonable timeframe
- Flexibility for small practices
- Honest sales promises about the limitations of the software
- Client file basic note documents: I can either put every note in a different document (useless since I'll have to open every one to read the case history) or I can use a "note" which inexplicably opens over like 1/6th of the screen. It's like trying to do a survey through a periscope.
- Use google drive instead. It's free and it's so much better.
Most Important Features
- Doc merge (use MS Word instead)
Return on Investment
- We wasted a ton of time transitioning only to find promised features did not work
- We wasted a ton of time trying to get Clio to help us figure out how to at least hack their program to make it work for us
- We're still wasting time trying to get some kluge of Clio and other software to do all of the basic functions that should obviously be covered.
Alternatives Considered
Google Drive
Other Software Used
Google Drive