Official Clio Blog http://www.goclio.com/blog Practice Management Simplified Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:58:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Join Clio at MILOfest http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/8yA_U9IG9YA/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/11/join-clio-at-milofest/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:54:50 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=490 Jack Newton, Clio’s co-founder, will be speaking on 10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Software-as-a-Service at the inaugural MILOfest.

What is MILOfest? From the MILOfest website:

MILOfest is a conference for Mac-Lovin’ Lawyers and their families.

Conceived from a couple of years of successful Mac attorney conferences, MILOfest provides lawyers with practical information for use in their practice. Our goal is to put on the rockin’est conference spotlighting the most cutting-edge uses of Mac computers and software in the practice of law. MILOfest is designed to be relevant to experienced users as well as novices (and wanna bes – we love prospective converts).

If you’re a Mac-using lawyer an not already part of the Macs In Law Offices mailing list, join today. It’s an invaluable resource that covers everything from Apple’s latest hardware updates to legal-specific desktop- and web-based offerings for lawyers.

We’re big fans of Macs at Clio – over half of our development team uses Macs as their primary operating system (we’ve also got Linux and Windows developers), and we’re pumped to be spending a few days in close quarters with other Mac fans.

MILOfest will obviously be attended by the “converted”, but we also hope it will serve as an event that Mac-curious attorneys will attend to investigate Macs as an alternative to Windows. The ever-expanding capabilities of Software-as-a-Service has only helped strengthen Macs as a legitimate alternative as a law office’s operating system. See, for example, Catherine Merino Reisman’s piece on how Clio Serves a Mac User Well on Law.com.

We’re also looking forward to meeting some of our users from Florida and beyond in person. If you’re not attending MILOfest but are reasonably close to Orlando, drop Jack a line and let him know you’re interested in meeting up – he’d love to take you out for a coffee or beer and listen to what you love about Clio and – more importantly – what direction you’d like to see us go in the future.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/11/join-clio-at-milofest/feed/ 2 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/11/join-clio-at-milofest/ Case Study: Clio Helps Nikolay Law Offices, S.C., Be More Mobile and Productive http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/CWgYG_q1tjM/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/case-study-clio-helps-nikolay-law-offices-s-c-be-more-mobile-and-productive/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:01:23 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=486 Today we’re happy to feature a case study written by Sara Branch, a legal assistant at Nikolay Law Offices, S.C., a personal injury law firm owned and operated by Dale Nikolay in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:

We started using Clio in March 2009 in our personal injury practice, and we’ve been happy with the service since day one. Prior to upgrading to Clio, we had been using Time Matters for several years. However, our server running Time Matters crashed in mid-February, and as we went to restore the software, we realized we were not using many of the features.  Time Matters also required constant patching and expensive upgrades to work properly and did not integrate particularly well with our Microsoft Office suite and our iPhones.  It did not allow us to easily attach related documents to matters.  All of these problems prompted us to look for something new.
While we were researching Software-as-a-Service, we also considered several other options, including Rocket Matter and Bill4Time, but we found Clio to be superior because it delivered a broader range of features, such as document management and integrated trust accounting, at a very affordable price point.
The fact that Clio allows us to easily attach related documents to matters is a great benefit.  Because we maintain our personal injury practice as a “paperless” office, we had been using a VPN and remote desktop to access files.  Clio provides a more flexible method of accessing all current matters, including documents, over the web and without the hassle of the VPN.  The ability to access case materials from anywhere via computer, or more importantly, via iPhone, allows us to instantly respond to clients and be completely mobile.
We have found Clio to be easy to learn and use.  We learned Clio in stages, but each stage took us only about 1-2 hours to learn.  We’ve found it’s faster and easier to enter information into Clio than into Time Matters and Clio is also much more flexible.  I’ve also used Daylight for Mac on a very limited basis and found Clio to be much more intuitive and, importantly, highly customized to a law office’s needs.
We set Clio up by ourselves, and entered in all our basic practice information in less than two hours.  Entering a matter used to take 10 to 15 minutes, but with Clio it takes only 2 to 3 minutes.  I particularly like being able to define how the contacts are related to the matter, so listing all counsel of record is very easy, even if there are more than usual.  Our past software defined contacts so rigidly that I was forced to write a Word document with all counsel of record if there was more than one defendant.  And if we require information that Clio does not have a specific field for (for example, a date of loss), I can enter it in as a Note, so it’s still right at my fingertips.  I also use the Notes to record conversations or information received during a phone call, so important notes are not lost or accidentally discarded.
I initially entered in three matters with their calendar events, contacts and tasks and then added all their documents during the first day our Clio free trial.  Since the first round of matters went so well, we decided to use Clio to completely replace our old case management software.  Clio uploaded all of our 1200+ contacts from Time Matters, which saved us a lot of time and money.  Once that was finished, I entered in the rest of our current matters, then all of their documents (which was the only labor-intensive part), and then the accounts and transactions information.
One of my favorite things about Clio is the highly responsive customer service. Whether they are resolving any issues that arise or incorporating new features and ideas we request, we find the Clio team to be among the most responsive software support resources we’ve ever dealt with. After we taught ourselves Clio by using the online help and some trial-and-error, the company’s founders, Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau, personally helped us import our contacts and a resolve a sign-in issue that arose the first week.
Another feature I appreciate about Clio is that, unlike on-premise software like Time Matters, it never crashes.  Upgrades are always seamless and Clio is always available.
Furthermore, Mr. Nikolay particularly likes the access and mobility of using web-based software.  Being web-based makes Clio significantly faster than using remote desktop over VPN, and this has allowed him to be much more productive from his home office.
For attorneys in a solo or small office practice, SaaS web-based practice management is really an ideal solution.  We save money on expensive, yearly software upgrades and hardware.  We don’t have to contract with IT consultants to maintain a server and network.  Plus, we have additional peace of mind if our computers fail, because Clio backs up all our uploaded contacts and documents.  In addition, SaaS is available anywhere and anytime the internet is available.  We don’t have to make special arrangements to access our calendars, contacts or matters just because we’re not in the office.
I believe that more attorneys will start using SaaS products like Clio as they become aware of its convenience and security.  Especially for most small practices, or offices that are not as computer-savvy, Clio is a great option – an excellent, inexpensive practice management software with a minimal start-up cost.
We started using Clio in March 2009 in our personal injury practice, and we’ve been happy with the service since day one. Prior to upgrading to Clio, we had been using Time Matters for several years. However, our server running Time Matters crashed in mid-February, and as we went to restore the software, we realized we were not using many of the features.  Time Matters also required constant patching and expensive upgrades to work properly and did not integrate particularly well with our Microsoft Office suite and our iPhones.  It did not allow us to easily attach related documents to matters.  All of these problems prompted us to look for something new.

While we were researching Software-as-a-Service, we also considered several other options, including Rocket Matter and Bill4Time, but we found Clio to be superior because it delivered a broader range of features, such as document management and integrated trust accounting, at a very affordable price point.

The fact that Clio allows us to easily attach related documents to matters is a great benefit.  Because we maintain our personal injury practice as a “paperless” office, we had been using a VPN and remote desktop to access files.  Clio provides a more flexible method of accessing all current matters, including documents, over the web and without the hassle of the VPN.  The ability to access case materials from anywhere via computer, or more importantly, via iPhone, allows us to instantly respond to clients and be completely mobile.
We have found Clio to be easy to learn and use.  We learned Clio in stages, but each stage took us only about 1-2 hours to learn.  We’ve found it’s faster and easier to enter information into Clio than into Time Matters and Clio is also much more flexible.  I’ve also used Daylight for Mac on a very limited basis and found Clio to be much more intuitive and, importantly, highly customized to a law office’s needs.

We set Clio up by ourselves, and entered in all our basic practice information in less than two hours.  Entering a matter used to take 10 to 15 minutes, but with Clio it takes only 2 to 3 minutes.  I particularly like being able to define how the contacts are related to the matter, so listing all counsel of record is very easy, even if there are more than usual.  Our past software defined contacts so rigidly that I was forced to write a Word document with all counsel of record if there was more than one defendant.  And if we require information that Clio does not have a specific field for (for example, a date of loss), I can enter it in as a Note, so it’s still right at my fingertips.  I also use the Notes to record conversations or information received during a phone call, so important notes are not lost or accidentally discarded.
I initially entered in three matters with their calendar events, contacts and tasks and then added all their documents during the first day our Clio free trial.  Since the first round of matters went so well, we decided to use Clio to completely replace our old case management software.  Clio uploaded all of our 1200+ contacts from Time Matters, which saved us a lot of time and money.  Once that was finished, I entered in the rest of our current matters, then all of their documents (which was the only labor-intensive part), and then the accounts and transactions information.
One of my favorite things about Clio is the highly responsive customer service. Whether they are resolving any issues that arise or incorporating new features and ideas we request, we find the Clio team to be among the most responsive software support resources we’ve ever dealt with. After we taught ourselves Clio by using the online help and some trial-and-error, the company’s founders, Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau, personally helped us import our contacts and a resolve a sign-in issue that arose the first week.
Another feature I appreciate about Clio is that, unlike on-premise software like Time Matters, it never crashes.  Upgrades are always seamless and Clio is always available.

Furthermore, Mr. Nikolay particularly likes the access and mobility of using web-based software.  Being web-based makes Clio significantly faster than using remote desktop over VPN, and this has allowed him to be much more productive from his home office.

For attorneys in a solo or small office practice, SaaS web-based practice management is really an ideal solution.  We save money on expensive, yearly software upgrades and hardware.  We don’t have to contract with IT consultants to maintain a server and network.  Plus, we have additional peace of mind if our computers fail, because Clio backs up all our uploaded contacts and documents.  In addition, SaaS is available anywhere and anytime the internet is available.  We don’t have to make special arrangements to access our calendars, contacts or matters just because we’re not in the office.

I believe that more attorneys will start using SaaS products like Clio as they become aware of its convenience and security.  Especially for most small practices, or offices that are not as computer-savvy, Clio is a great option – an excellent, inexpensive practice management software with a minimal start-up cost.
]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/case-study-clio-helps-nikolay-law-offices-s-c-be-more-mobile-and-productive/feed/ 0 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/case-study-clio-helps-nikolay-law-offices-s-c-be-more-mobile-and-productive/ ABA Bestselling Author Jay Foonberg and Clio President Jack Newton Partner to Teach New and Solo Attorneys How to Ethically Manage a Law Practice http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/bXwrdNSporI/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/aba-bestselling-author-jay-foonberg-and-clio-president-jack-newton-partner-to-teach-new-and-solo-attorneys-how-to-ethically-manage-a-law-practice/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:26:43 +0000 rian http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=480 Themis Solutions Inc. (http://www.goclio.com) is pleased to announce that it has partnered with prominent attorney and best-selling author Jay Foonberg (www.foonberglaw.com) to deliver an innovative new Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course focused on how to ethically manage a law practice.  Themis President Jack Newton and Mr. Foonberg will present the CLE, “Ten Steps to a Happy and Successful Practice,” at the Wisconsin Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Conference tomorrow, October 30th.

The CLE course is officially entitled “How to Ethically Manage a New Practice to Enhance Client Relations, Increase Efficiency and Results, and Avoid Ethics and Malpractice Complaints.”  Newton and Foonberg are offering the CLE free-of-charge to Bar Associations because they believe strongly that new and solo lawyers must learn how to avoid unnecessary malpractice and ethics complaints, as well as to leverage technology to properly manage a law practice.

Foonberg is a founder of both the American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) and California’s Law Practice Management sections, the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm section, and NALEM (National Academy of Law, Ethics and Management).  He is well known for authoring several widely-read practice management books, including How to Start & Build a Law Practice, which continues to be the #1 bestseller for the ABA.

According to Foonberg, “Today’s new lawyers are at a crossroads.  Technically speaking, it is critical for them to learn two systems of practicing law: paper-based and digital.  They typically receive minimal training in practice management or client relations in law school and are therefore vulnerable to making errors that can lead to costly ethics complaints and malpractice suits.  On a national basis, approximately 91% of the complaints filed against lawyers likely never would have been filed had the lawyer properly treated the client.  This CLE course directly addresses these concerns, providing practical solutions that can be immediately applied.  We have decided to offer this CLE course free-of-charge to Bar Associations because we strongly believe this important information needs to reach as many lawyers as possible.”

Jack Newton, creator of Clio, the leading web-based practice management system (www.goclio.com), is an expert in legal technology and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications for solos and small firms.  The combined expertise of both Mr. Newton and Mr. Foonberg render them uniquely qualified to increase lawyer productivity while decreasing client complaints.

Newton remarks: “Throughout his established career, Jay Foonberg has led the charge for new and solo attorneys to learn practice management and client relations skills to help them manage their law practices effectively. When we developed Clio, we had the same goal in mind.  In 2008, the findings of the Law Society of British Columbia compelled us to create a web-based system that would reduce or eliminate compliance problems and complaints that troubled small firm lawyers. Clio was the product of this effort.  New lawyers and solos are particularly ‘at risk’ for malpractice since they often lack the management, technology and support infrastructure often used by mid-size and large firms. Clio offers new lawyers, solos and small firms an affordable, easy-to-use, easy-to-deploy practice management solution that assists in not only preventing malpractice and compliance issues, but provides a technological edge that can help the lawyer deliver timely and superior service to clients. This CLE course gives new and solo attorneys the distinct advantage of client relations and technology knowledge they need to run their practices with greater confidence and less exposure to risk.”

For more information on the CLE course “How to Ethically Manage a Law Practice”, visit: www.goclio.com/brochures/FoonbergClioCLE.pdf or contact info@goclio.com or jayfoonberg@aol.com.

About Themis Solutions and Clio
Themis Solutions Inc. is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Its flagship product, Clio, is the leading web-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) practice management system for solo and small firm attorneys.  Secure and easy-to-use, Clio provides case/matter management, time tracking, billing/reporting, client contact and document management, task scheduling, trust accounting, and performance metrics for independent lawyers to benchmark their business goals.  Visit www.goclio.com, e-mail info@goclio.com or call 1-888-858-CLIO. 

About Jay Foonberg
Jay Foonberg is an attorney and bestselling author who has written several practice management and client relations books including the ABA’s #1 bestseller, How to Start & Build a Law Practice, as well as How to Get and Keep Good Clients and The ABA Guide to Lawyer Trust Accounts.

Foonberg is also a much sought-after speaker and has led seminars and taught client relations, malpractice prevention, ethics and ethical client development. He is the only person to have taught CLE in all 50 states and on every continent including Antarctica as well as Europe, South America and Asia in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Mr. Foonberg has earned numerous accolades including:

  • The Harrison Tweed award from the ABA-PLI Consortium on Continuing Legal Education for being the Most Outstanding CLE Educator in the United States
  • The Sam Smith Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Law Practice Management Section of the ABA
  • Don Riklis award for Lifetime Achievement by the General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division of the ABA
  • Law Student Division of the ABA for Life Time Achievement.
  • Lou Goldberg Award as the Most Outstanding Attorney-CPA in the United States by the American Association of Attorney-CPAs.

For more information, visit www.foonberglaw.com or e-mail jayfoonberg@aol.com.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/aba-bestselling-author-jay-foonberg-and-clio-president-jack-newton-partner-to-teach-new-and-solo-attorneys-how-to-ethically-manage-a-law-practice/feed/ 0 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/aba-bestselling-author-jay-foonberg-and-clio-president-jack-newton-partner-to-teach-new-and-solo-attorneys-how-to-ethically-manage-a-law-practice/ Crash Course In SaaS & Cloud Computing From A Tech Savvy Paralegal http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/p4duBD2-eAA/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/crash-course-in-saas-cloud-computing-from-a-tech-savvy-paralegal/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:24:10 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=473 Although much of the dialog around cloud computing in the legal context is typically focused on the attorney crowd, it’s important to involve the ecosystem of other legal professionals that are equally curious about the changing technology landscape. Accordingly, we were pleased to read an excellent educational piece written from the perspective of paralegal Kim Walker, titled “Paralegals Take a Walk on The Cloud”, which appeared recently on Law.com. Both accessible and informative, Kim’s analysis provides an unbiased overview of the risks and benefits of “the Cloud”, graduating readers through the basic meaning of the terms and acronyms, conceptualizing the underlying technology, and offering a few tips to ensure prospective “Cloud” adopters are versed on matters of security and data ownership. According to Kim:

As a paralegal in the 21st century, you are required to keep abreast of all the latest technology, how it works and how it can benefit your firm and clients. Technology is changing business as usual in the law firm every day. But cloud computing is storming onto the scene, and your knowledge of the way cloud computing works will ensure either blue skies or gray skies for you.

For any legal professional contemplating a move to “the Cloud”, or just interested to keep informed of the evolving world of legal technology, we highly recommend giving Ms. Walker’s article a read.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/crash-course-in-saas-cloud-computing-from-a-tech-savvy-paralegal/feed/ 1 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/crash-course-in-saas-cloud-computing-from-a-tech-savvy-paralegal/ Clio Presents on SaaS, Attends ABA GP Solo & Small Firm Conference In Sunny Los Angeles http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/jt88jZH5um4/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/clio-presents-on-saasattends-aba-gp-solo-small-firm-conference-in-sunny-los-angeles/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:01:12 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=469 A little over a year ago we anxiously attended the GP Solo & Small Firm Conference in Santa Fe where we officially launched Clio to an encouraging audience of solo and small firm attorneys looking for ways to optimize their practice by putting it on the web. This year, on the heels of our successful first anniversary, we’re happy to be in attendance once again, this time at the historic Biltmore Hotel in sunny Los Angeles. We’re also honored to have Clio’s President, Jack Newton, present on the topic of Software-as-a-Service, and ensuring data security in “the Cloud”.

As usual the administration of the GP Solo division have done a great job of organizing the conference, and have included a roster of great speakers and entertaining events. We’re looking forward to the rest of the conference, and have enjoyed meeting all of the small firm attorneys that have dropped by to say “Hi” and taken a look at how Clio can help to simplify their practice.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/clio-presents-on-saasattends-aba-gp-solo-small-firm-conference-in-sunny-los-angeles/feed/ 1 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/clio-presents-on-saasattends-aba-gp-solo-small-firm-conference-in-sunny-los-angeles/ User Review Spotlight: Aaron Hall http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/cNEjdTUF7R8/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/user-review-spotlight-aaron-hall/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:29:26 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=462 Aaron Hall of the Twin Cities Law Firm has published what we consider to be one of the most comprehensive and insightful reviews of Clio to date. His review joins the other User Review Spotlights from  Jason Molder, Brian Powers, and Brian Pedigo.

Aaron approached us back in January stating he’d like to write a review, but wanted to use the software in-depth for an extended period before writing his review. We granted his request, and as such his review is based on Aaron’s review of Clio is based on his experiences in using Clio in a live, working, production environment for ten months. The ten-month period Aaron used Clio was an exciting stretch for us – we had only launched the product officially two months prior, and over the subsequent year would continue to release hundreds of bug fixes, polish items, and substantial new features, such as ClientConnect, Clio Express, QuickBooks Integration and Clio Sync to our users.

We encourage you to read the entire review, but here we’ll summarize some of the Aaron’s key findings on Clio. Aaron first points out one of Clio’s key features, Clio Express:

The most unique aspect of Clio is that it is available online and offline (not connected to the internet). Being able to access your law firm software online is great for attorneys who own multiple computers, when attorneys work away from the office, or for access with an iPhone or BlackBerry. Even though Clio is primarily available online, it has software that makes it available offline, which is great if you are on a flight or otherwise temporarily away from the internet.

On invoicing:

Invoicing on Clio is simple. Clio tracks bank accounts (operating accounts) and trust accounts. Clio can export to Quickbooks for those with more advanced accounting or invoicing needs.

Clio’s ClientConnect feature enables online bill-paying for your clients. You simply send your clients a link to an outstanding invoice, and the client can pay the invoice via PayPal or other online payment systems.

On the iPhone interface:

On the iPhone, Clio is accessed using the web browser. However, the website interface is completely customized to the iPhone, which means menus are large, simple, and easy to use.

On our support and responsiveness to customers:

I have called and emailed Clio a few times and always received quick, knowledgeable, and thoughtful responses.

Last winter, another attorney and I suggested some ideas to Clio. They implemented a number of the ideas. Their responsiveness was impressive. It is obvious that Clio is listening to its users and quickly improving its online software. The difference between Clio last December and Clio today is significant. I could not recommend that small firms use Clio last December, but now Clio seems to be the best option for small firms.

And finally, Aaron’s comparison of Clio to traditional desktop-based practice management software:

Clio is simple and intuitive to new lawyers, attorneys who despise computers, and techies alike. This is a stark contrast to PC Law, Pro Law, Time Matters, and all of the other traditional software applications I’ve used.

Select Clio if you want basic practice management software that is easy, saves time, has useful features, and provides online access from anywhere with an internet connection. Select traditional law firm software if you want a complex system with thousands of features and options, significant customization, and software that runs on your server. Clio probably isn’t ready for the demands of a firm with over 20 attorneys. But Clio is great for small firms and solos. Especially noteworthy, Clio won’t require a computer support person or training for personnel.

Aaron, thanks for the kind comments and insightful review. His review also mentions several areas we can improve or streamline Clio and, as always, we’re taking notes and already starting to integrate some of his suggestions into this month’s updates. Click here to read Aaron’s entire Clio Review.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/user-review-spotlight-aaron-hall/feed/ 0 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/user-review-spotlight-aaron-hall/ Clio Releases Full Outlook Synchronization, Enhanced Reporting, and QuickBooks Integration to Celebrate First Anniversary http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/K8EX9Irh3HI/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/clio-releases-full-outlook-synchronization-enhanced-reporting-and-quickbooks-integration-to-celebrate-first-anniversary/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:55 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=449 clio_1st-anniversary-bannerOne year ago today we launched Clio with the goal of providing the best practice management experience on the web. An ambitious goal, yes, but one we’re tirelessly committed to realizing. In our first year we’ve brought on hundreds of firms, ranging from solos to 10+ person firms, who are collectively managing over 150,000 contacts, 20,000 matters, and 25,000 documents on Clio. Our growth has exceeded even our wildest expectations, and we’ve been inspired by all the great people we’ve met that have chosen to run their practices online with Clio.

We’ve also been humbled by a host of accolades from the media, including being picked as one of the “Top Ten Tech Stars” by Bob Ambrogi at LegalTech New York and selected as “Best in Show” by Mazyar Hedeyat at the ABA TechShow. Most importantly, we’ve connected with our customers – a newly launched Clio Buzz page provides a sampling of the kind feedback we receive from users every day.

We’re celebrating our first anniversary by releasing a bevy of new features to our loyal customer base. New feature’s we’re releasing today include two-way Outlook synchronization of Outlook contacts, tasks and calendar items, several new reporting options, and integration with Intuit’s QuickBooks.   Since our initial release one year ago, we’ve incorporated dozens of improvements based on customer feedback, as well as major new features such as ClientConnect, an extranet for clients to access legal documents and pay bills online; Clio Express, a desktop and offline-capable time tracking application; and a Trust Accounting module.

We’re also celebrating by giving our blog readers a special discount code to receive $25 off their first paid month as a new Clio subscriber – click here to sign up and use discount code “HAPPYBIRTHDAY“.

Highlights of Clio First Anniversary Edition

  • Outlook Synchronization: Two-way synchronization of Outlook contacts, calendar items and tasks – items entered or updated in Outlook will appear in Clio and vice versa.
  • New and Improved Reports:
    • Client Ledger– detailed financial record of all current and past activity associated with a particular client
    • Productivity by Lawyer – overview of billable work and recovery rate of each attorney associated with an account
    • Work in Progress (WIP) – detailed listing of client work in progress
    • Accounts Receivable (A/R) – status of all outstanding receivables listed by client/matter
    • Additional Reports: Billing History by Client, Client Summary, Trust Ledger, Trust Listing, Productivity by Client, Matters Opened
  • QuickBooks Integration

Clio Makes a Splash in its First Year

In its first year, Clio made a great impression at some of the major legal technology conferences.  At LegalTech New York 2009, the largest legal technology conference in the world, Bob Ambrogi hand-picked Clio as one of the Top Ten Tech Stars of the show.  Watch the video.

Clio then had an excellent showing at the ABA TECHSHOW in March 2009.  Mazyar Hedayat, an Illinois attorney (and Technolawyer correspondent), ranked Clio #1 on his TechnoLawyer “Best in Show” list , having chosen Clio as his favorite product at the show.

Themis, the company behind Clio, has also been successful at helping to address the needs of a frequently overlooked segment of the market – solos and small law firms.

  • Clio’s First Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey indicated that 100% of lawyers using Clio would recommend the product to other lawyers!
  • Clio has formed an Advisory Board which includes luminaries such as Jay Foonberg, author of How to Start and Build a Law Practice, which has been the ABA’s best-selling book for 30+ years.
  • Clio’s Advisory Board also includes Christoph Janz, a successful entrepreneur with 12 years of experience in the software and Internet businesses, and David Edmonds, who has 20+ years’ experience introducing and commercializing cutting-edge technology products and services.
  • Mr. Foonberg and Themis President Jack Newton are teaching a CLE Ethics course at Bar Associations across the country (detailed brochure here).
  • Clio will be officially launching a Partner Program in the near future.

In our first year we’ve made great strides to enhance and refine Clio’s feature set, while still ensuring it remains easy-to-use and accessible to all lawyers.  This has been a terrific year and we see an exciting road ahead.  All success aside, we will keep our focus where it has always been: to provide an excellent product and superior customer support experience to our subscribers.

Specifications and Pricing
Clio is operating system-independent and can run on PC, Macintosh and Linux computers.  It supports Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Safari and Google Chrome.
Clio is affordably priced by monthly subscription.  Pricing is $49/month for lawyers and $25/month per support staff member. This cost includes all technical support, maintenance and upgrades.

About Clio
Secure and easy-to-use, Clio provides case/matter management, time tracking, billing/reporting, client contact and document management, task scheduling, trust accounting, and performance metrics for independent lawyers to benchmark their business goals. Clio also provides a customized client extranet, Client Connect, an extranet for clients to access legal documents and pay bills online.

About Themis Solutions
Themis Solutions Inc. is based in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada.  Its flagship product, Clio, is the leading web-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) practice management system for solo and small firm attorneys.  The company was co-founded by Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau.  Visit www.goclio.com or call 1-888-858-CLIO.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/clio-releases-full-outlook-synchronization-enhanced-reporting-and-quickbooks-integration-to-celebrate-first-anniversary/feed/ 5 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/10/clio-releases-full-outlook-synchronization-enhanced-reporting-and-quickbooks-integration-to-celebrate-first-anniversary/ Driving Towards a New Paradigm http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/n4Opno43JmM/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/09/driving-towards-a-new-paradigm/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:49:13 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=439 Last week Jordan Furlong published an insightful post titled “The Electric Law Firm” which ponders how the forces shaping the electrification of the automotive industry may come to bear on legal practice. Referring to a recent special edition of The Economist dedicated to the electrification of motoring, Jordan likens the commodization of certain legal services to the redundancy of petrol-based services in an electric automotive economy. With a fleet of battery driven vehicles poised to hit the roads in the coming years, the petrol distribution network is struggling to find ways of continuing to derive value from electric vehicles by tailoring their services to the needs of this burgeoning industry. One prominent proposal suggests commoditizing the vehicle itself, and revamping the service network to supply batteries on a pay-as-you-go basis, such that, like cellphones and razorblades, you pay for the service, not the tool. Similarly, in the context of legal services, the rise of low-priced alternatives to using a lawyer, such as online documents and forms, is pushing the legal industry to revisit how and where it derives its value. According to Furlong:

The day might soon arrive when firms publish and automate their legal knowledge, document assembly and document review process free of charge, over the internet, to anyone who wants them — but will charge a monthly retainer fee for the personal judgment, advice and representation that animates those documents and processes and provides real value.

Jordan’s article is a provocative read, and struck a special chord with us here at Clio, since we feel that many of the same forces are working to shape the basic economics of the software industry. With increasingly powerful web-based applications luring growing numbers to the cloud as their platform of choice, consumers are growing less willing to shell-out for traditional applications, expecting instead to get the tool as a perk of using the service.

This basic re-thinking of the automotive, legal and software industries may eventually pronounce the irrelevance of more traditional business models, but is paving the way towards redefining value in the new economy.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/09/driving-towards-a-new-paradigm/feed/ 0 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/09/driving-towards-a-new-paradigm/ Effectively Managing Your Practice Online by Leveraging Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/Tsl56wjXOaI/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/09/effectively-managing-your-practice-online-by-leveraging-technology/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:05:34 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=433 North Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly has recently published a case study highlighting the Law Offices of Place & Hanley, a firm that is leveraging Clio to manage their practice and to deliver superior service to their clients.

Sara Hanley, a partner in the firm, outlines the approach she and her partner, Randall Place, have to delivering better and more efficient service by leveraging technology:

Not only do Randall and I strive to meet the legal needs of our clients, but we must also run the office and manage our employees. Between e-mail, document-processing and the need for frequent remote access, technology has become a necessary part of our daily work. Therefore, we are always looking for ways to build efficiency and increase productivity by implementing technology and legal software applications.

With offices in North Carolina, West Palm Beach, and North Fort Myers, Place & Hanley not only faced all the typical practice management challenges, but also had to deal with a geographically distributed firm. Their search for an ideal technology solution led them to consider web-based alternatives, and ultimately to Clio:

The keystone of our technology is a Web-based practice management system called Clio, which is developed by Themis Solutions Inc., a Canadian software company.

We discovered Clio in late 2008 while looking for a Web-based solution that could support the demanding requirements of our practice. Within minutes of activating our trial account, our entire firm was up and using the software with relative ease, storing contacts, case information, appointments and documents.

Time entry is simple, which was a welcome change from the cumbersome manual methods we had been using. And, where it used to take us three to four days to generate our bills, with Clio the whole process takes less than two hours — clearly a significant return-on-investment and a huge gain in terms of time that is now available to assist clients.

Best of all, regardless of where I am, provided I have my laptop, I can access Clio and work as effectively as if I were sitting at my desk.

The full article PDF is available for your viewing here and on the Clio JD Supra site. The article  is a worthy read for any lawyer considering how technology can help make them more efficient and streamlined.

]]> http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/09/effectively-managing-your-practice-online-by-leveraging-technology/feed/ 3 http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/09/effectively-managing-your-practice-online-by-leveraging-technology/ Cloud Coverage http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/official_clio_blog/~3/Xw1wGG37p38/ http://www.goclio.com/blog/2009/09/cloud-coverage/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:24:04 +0000 The Clio Team http://www.goclio.com/blog/?p=425 With Labor day nearly upon us, solos and small firms everywhere are readying themselves for the hectic pace of fall, and looking for new practice tools to help them hit the ground running. For those back-to-work shoppers who find themselves puzzling over the merits of practicing in “the Cloud”, several recent articles do an excellent job of presenting the important considerations and benefits of selecting a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution:

Resonating with our earlier discussions on security, privacy and data availability, Niki Black published an informative article on the Lawyerist that addresses many of the commonly expressed concerns over data security and privacy in “the Cloud”. In it, Niki recommends that lawyers “resist the urge to overreact to emerging technologies”, referring to a 2008 NY State Bar Ethics Committee conclusion dealing with email confidentiality that found no objection to the inclusion of context-driven advertising provided there was no material departure from conventional privacy policies. Niki’s full article on the Lawyerist can be found here.

Those seeking a great executive tutorial of what to look for in a SaaS product, should check out Mazyar Hedayat’s article titled INFRASTRUCTURE: In The Cloud which was featured in the September issue of Law Technology News. The article provides a succinct educational overview of the critical criteria worth considering before committing to any SaaS solution, and does a thorough job of presenting the many excellent alternatives available on the market. Check it out here. The article also features Clio as a “SaaS” case study:

The growth of leading provider Clio typifies the penetration of SaaS in the market. Like other leaders in this space Clio features calendaring, tasks, trust accounting, and document storage. The company has also enabled online payment via PayPal as well as secure client collaboration and a desktop billing widget. Clio may also be looking into self-directed (”automatic”) billing.

Mobile warriors may also be interested to read Chris McKinney’s balanced analysis of the pros and cons of adopting a SaaS solution for practices that demand a great deal of accessibility. His article, Cloud Computing for Mobile Lawyers, was recently published on Law.com and covers topics of frequent concern such as cost, mobility, collaboration, security and offline access. Chris’ practical and fair analysis makes the article a worthwhile read for anyone curious about what SaaS has to offer. The full article is available here.

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