Clio vs. SimpleLegal

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Clio
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
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.
$49
per month
SimpleLegal
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
SimpleLegal in California offers their flagship application for legal time tracking and billing.
$600
per month
Pricing
ClioSimpleLegal
Editions & Modules
EasyStart
$49
per user/per month
Clio Grow
$59
per user/per month
Essentials
$89
per month per user
Advanced
$129
per month per user
Complete
$159
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ClioSimpleLegal
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAll pricing tiers have a 7-day free trial. Discount available for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ClioSimpleLegal
Best Alternatives
ClioSimpleLegal
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

BQE CORE
BQE CORE
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies

No answers on this topic

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Enterprises

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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ClioSimpleLegal
Likelihood to Recommend
6.9
(27 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
7.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.4
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ClioSimpleLegal
Likelihood to Recommend
Clio
Clio allows our law firm to track all aspects of a matter, such as documents, emails, time entries, tasks, and notes, in one place. This is ideal for our mid-sized law firm, which handles general litigation, personal injury, and family law. A feature we appreciate is the client portal's secure way to share updates, documents, and invoices.
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SimpleLegal
SimpleLegal is easy to use and easy to understand for everyone in the legal department. Their customer service is typically quick to respond and solve any issues that may arise on the customer side as well as the vendor side (CounselGo). There has been a bit of customer dissatisfaction since being acquired by Onit but the enhancements and roadmap continue to look promising.
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Pros
Clio
  • Provides an interface with NextChapter Bankruptcy.
  • Provides an interface with the forms on our website and landing pages to allow for easy transmission of potential clients into our Clio system from these sources with little human intervention.
  • Its billing, invoicing and payment integration makes the billing cycle for clients easier.
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SimpleLegal
  • SimpleLegal does a great job tracking expenses.
  • SimpleLegal does a great job at creating, tracking and analyzing matters.
  • SimpleLegal does a good job with reporting and analytics.
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Cons
Clio
  • Document management. It's still far easier for me to create Word templates and just use Word.
  • Centralized filing of client files. Like I said, I use Word. I work on a Mac and use Mac's tag structure. Clio should find a way to gather all files that have a certain tag and allow me to access them through Clio. Instead, I use Hazel and DropBox.
  • Case planning and budgeting. I use OmniFocus for project management, a self-created Excel spreadsheet for project budgeting and a cloud-based service for Gantt charts. How hard would it be to add robust project management tools to Clio?
  • Search feature for stored documents and information. Evernote has Clio beat hands-down, but I don't put client-sensitive information (only caselaw) on Evernote.
  • Case notes. This feature may be useful for high-volume practices, but I never use it.
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SimpleLegal
  • Budget tracking.
  • Admin independence (being able to make system improvements/enhancements/changes without needing a SL rep).
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Likelihood to Renew
Clio
We have been able to streamline our task management and everyday office procedures by using Clio to its fullest potential. We have a hire client retention rate because we can easily keep track of leads and follow ups. Clio Draft is saving us time on drafting legal documents and correspondence espondence. Overall, we are able to save time and money on everything tasks
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SimpleLegal
No answers on this topic
Usability
Clio
Clio is intuitive and easy to learn. Even new staff or attorneys with limited tech experience can quickly navigate through tasks, matters, billing, and calendars. This reduces training time and increases productivity, especially in a busy mid-sized law firm. Because it’s cloud-based, Clio can be accessed from any device, anywhere. Whether I am working in the office, at home, or in court, I have full access to my cases, documents, and time entries.
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SimpleLegal
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Clio
When I contact them, I am told that the person who can help me cannot be reached but that I should call back. When I call, I cannot get ahold of anyone who can help. Sales/support does not respond to my emails. Maybe if you are part of a large firm they treat you differently.
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SimpleLegal
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Clio
We did not use any other practice management software, but I did evaluate Rocket Matter as a potential alternative. Rocket Matter does not have the same robust intake software that Clio Grow does and therefore it was not even a plausible alternative for us to implement. Clio is constantly updating and evolving based on feedback from users and that makes it the kind of program that can grow with your business needs.
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SimpleLegal
SimpleLegal was much easier to use and train users on than Time Matters. SimpleLegal had all of the functionality but not as many customizable features as Time Matters.
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Return on Investment
Clio
  • Hard to judge ROI, but it saves us money compared to our old server based system (ProLaw)
  • More accessible from more places. I was able to continue working during a two week trip to the beach.
  • The Client Portal (Clio Connect) is a positive way to send clients document securely, avoids the forwarded email / forwarded attachment problem.
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SimpleLegal
  • Able to track in real-time legal spend against budgets to hold outside counsel responsible while meeting our fiscal demands--rather than wait on Finance report monthly/quarterly/etc.
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ScreenShots

SimpleLegal Screenshots

Screenshot of Our Enhanced reports provide powerful business intelligence functionality like data visualization and the ability to create or adjust your own reports. This Spend by Practice Area report gives you a detailed view of your legal spend by practice area.Screenshot of Our Monthly Legal Spend report automatically displays monthly spend by practice area.Screenshot of SimpleLegal supports both internal and external budgets and offers robust functionality to start your budgeting journey or enhance an existing process.