Clio Manage Review: Law Practice Management Software

Clio Duo (currently in development)

Clio Duo is a proprietary generative AI technology. When available, Duo will appear first in Clio Manage. Duo holds ambitious goals, hoping to be a “coach, intuitive collaborator, and expert consultant.”

Duo plans to offer personalized recommendations on better work habits, remind users of overdue tasks and bills pending approval, summarize documents and generate simple ones, and provide insights on the firm’s business performance.

Since Duo is developed by Clio, privacy operates as a core principle. Duo’s design includes “guardrails” protecting client confidential data.

Google My Business & Local Services Ads Integration

Clio formed partnership with Google that allows users to set up and manage their Google My Business account directly in Clio. This allows users to take advantage of online bookings through Google. It will also make it easier for Clio users to manage their Google reviews.

For Local Services Ads, the integration provides the ability to manage your ad campaign, including setting a budget and pausing ads, directly within Clio. As leads come in, they are added to your Clio Grow inbox for easy review.

Clio for Clients App

This application lets clients track case statuses, send and receive communications, scan and upload documents to their matter, and even pay bills. It’s simple.  Users send the client an invite text and they download the app onto their phone. The firm controls which clients and which matters it enables for Clio for Clients.

Clio Drive

Most web-based LPMS include document storage features that exist in parallel to any integrations they have with sync services (<i>e.g.</i>, Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive) or full-service document management systems (<i>e.g.</i>, iManage or NetDocuments). Many times, one must interact with the native LPMS storage downloading files, editing them, and then re-uploading them back to the LPMS. It’s clunky, inefficient, and error prone.

To combat this problem, Clio offers users Clio Drive, an app that runs on the user’s Windows or Mac computer and makes Clio’s document storage behave just like any other folder or USB flash drive in Windows’ Explorer and the Mac’s Finder. It’s convenient, beats many of Clio’s competitors, but does require a live internet connection to function.

MS Teams Integration

When setting up a Clio matter, you can choose to create a new “Team,” and thereby create a SharePoint folder and a place to collaborate with your colleagues. This is a great way for Microsoft 365 users to connect their matters to their current workflow. Unfortunately, the integration has gaps. For example, Teams chats are not saved to the Matter and there is no good way to sync the OneDrive folder Clio uses in the Documents integration with the SharePoint folder that the Teams integration creates. For now, users must rely on MS Power Automate or a Zapier Zap for any connection.

Data Backup

A law firm should never rely solely on their LPMS provider to back up their client data. To this end, Clio makes it relatively easy to backup a firm’s data using Amazon S3’s Data Escrow feature. They even provide step-by-step instructions to get started quickly and easily. After signing up for Clio, user should absolutely set up Data Escrow. Redundancy is key with backups.

Also, although it’s not a backup, there is a Recovery Bin feature built in. This can function as a short-term “undo” option if a user accidentally deletes something and immediately wants it back.

Accounting

Clio easily handles billing, trust accounting, and basic bookkeeping. Additionally, they have recently updated their software to include better trust account management and accounts receivable aging reports. Still, users likely need a complete accounting software package like QuickBooks or Xero, both of which integrate with Clio.

Alternatively, if a practice requires complex accounting, like collections or tax, they may want to look elsewhere. Or, at least, take a hard look at the current functionality to ensure it meets anticipated needs.

Data Migration

Clio will help migrate users from existing practice management software to Clio Manage. The quality of the migration depends as much on the source (the old software) as the destination. Contact Clio’s account migration team to understand expected results from a migration.

There are certain types of data that Clio’s team will not migrate, including historical accounting and billing information and documents stored in old software. However, users can migrate their accounts receivable and upload their documents using the bulk document uploader. If a firm has lots of accounting data in an old system, it makes sense to start using Clio at the beginning of a new calendar year. This will minimize the time spent on setting up the books.

Trust Management

Clio recently introduced a way to manage trust accounts easily through its Evergreen Management update. Users can set minimum thresholds for trust balances, automate trust balance notifications, review the status of funds, and track cash flow with Clio’s Trust Management Report.

Marketing Analytics

With Campaign Tracker, users can generate unique phone numbers (routed to the firm phone number) to use with ads, create contact forms, and enter leads manually. It’s a simple solution to a common problem: figuring out where clients came from.

Clio Manage is a good fit for most solo to medium-sized firms. It is versatile, user-friendly, and reasonably priced. If you’re looking for a cloud-based LPMS system, Clio should be on your short list of options to review. Moreover, its App Directory and Open API make it especially attractive for practices that want to build a complete system out of multiple “best of breed” tools working together. Generally, if something doesn’t natively integrate, you can use the API to make it work.

On the other hand, with its versatility comes some complexity. Firms who want a plug-and-play solution, may want to review something more than just Clio Manage. Further, although it has robust integrations, a firm will need to spend time getting set-up. And, with so many integrations, not all of your needed functionality will be included in Clio’s price. Additionally, most integrations charge their own monthly or annual fee, which would be in addition to Clio’s subscription cost.