TrustRadius Insights
Clio is a powerful practice management software that has attracted users who were dissatisfied with their previous software, such as …
Starting at $49 per user/per month
View PricingOverview
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…
Recent Reviews
Reviewer Pros & Cons
Pricing
Starter
$49
Cloud
per user/per month
Clio Grow
$59
Cloud
per user/per month
Boutique
$69
Cloud
per user/per month
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Product Demos
FULL FACE of CLIO | DEMO ( yes peripera is included )
YouTube
NEW STREET PASTEL S/S 2020 EYESHADOW PALETTE by CLIO | review + mini demo
YouTube
DUPES? CLIO RUSTED ROSE vs ROMAND ROSEBUD GARDEN
YouTube
Review Of Clio Law Firm Practice Management Software - Best Legal Billing Software? (New 2020)
YouTube
Renault Clio Seat Belt Problem - Demo 1
YouTube
Clio Kill Cover Cushion Demo
YouTube
Product Details
- About
- Tech Details
- FAQs
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.
Clio Video
Watch this 2-minute explainer video to see how Clio can transform your law firm.
► Get started with Clio today: https://www.clio.com/
Clio eases the day-to-day of over 150,000 legal professionals spanning 90 countries with intuitive time tracking, billing, matter management,...
Show More Clio Technical Details
| Deployment Types | Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 5.6.
The most common users of Clio are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
Comparisons
Compare with
Reviews and Ratings
(85)
Community Insights
TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
- Business Problems Solved
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
Clio is a powerful practice management software that has attracted users who were dissatisfied with their previous software, such as MyCase. Users have migrated to Clio due to its robustness and ability to solve issues with case management and client development tracking. It serves as a central tool for managing client contact and document databases, integrating with calendaring, sorting matters, recording time, and preparing bills. The software's ability to manage new leads and potential clients through Clio Grow has been particularly useful for the intake department, allowing them to track contact information, notes, and even offer electronic document signing and automated intake forms. Clio Grow's Kanban style board provides a visual representation of each prospective client's status in the intake system, facilitating efficient lead management.
Clio's versatility makes it suitable for various types of legal practices, ranging from small 2-lawyer firms to mid-large firms. It handles a wide range of functionalities like case management, calendars, document signing, time tracking, billing, and payment acceptance. Users appreciate its scalability and consider it a reliable solution that grows with their firms. However, some users have found certain basic features lacking in Clio, such as calendar functionality, appointment notification, and usable client note capabilities. As a result, they have resorted to using alternative software like Google Docs.
For specialized legal practices like mortgage servicer's in-house counsel groups or immigration law firms, Clio has proven valuable in managing matters, documents, case notes, contacts, tasks, reminders, and calendared events. It streamlines administrative tasks such as integrations and billing processes for immigration cases while ensuring professionalism throughout the billing process. With over 200 clients relying on Clio for accounting and billing purposes alone and others using it for comprehensive case management needs within the firm, it has become an integral tool that supports efficient client communication and document storage.
Clio's appeal extends beyond individual lawyers or teams; it serves as a central software that entire organizations can utilize to manage cases, scheduling, document automation and storage, client communication, and more. Its accessibility and easy information retrieval have proven valuable for distributed organizations where telecommuting employees or those in different office locations can access necessary data effortlessly.
While Clio has received praise from many users, there have been instances where users faced challenges. Some users expressed disappointment with Clio Grow, mentioning issues with form integrations and limited form customization options. Additionally, there have been concerns raised about the search function, particularly content search within documents. Users have experienced issues with documents not populating in searches, leading to inefficiency in finding relevant information. Users have reached out to Clio for support through chat and phone calls but have had challenges in getting their issues resolved promptly. They have even resorted to performing screen shares to demonstrate glitches in Clio's system and provide examples of weak search functionality. Unfortunately, support from Clio has been slow in assisting and responding to users' concerns. As a result, some users are considering exploring other document management systems that can offer more effective and timely support.
Despite these challenges, many users have praised the mobile app of Clio, finding it user-friendly and convenient for accessing important information on the go. The ability to search for specific content within documents has also been highlighted as an important feature for users when choosing a document management system. However, the aforementioned issues with document search functionality have caused frustration and inefficiency in locating specific documents.
In conclusion, Clio has proven itself as a robust practice management software that addresses a wide range of needs for legal professionals. From case management and client development tracking to lead management and billing processes, it offers valuable features for solo practitioners, small firms, and mid-large firms alike. However, there are areas where the software falls short, such as calendar functionality, appointment notification, client note capabilities, and document search efficiency. These drawbacks have led some users to seek alternative solutions or explore other document management systems that can better meet their specific needs. Additionally, improvements in customer support response times would enhance the overall user experience with Clio.
Convenient Timekeeping: Several users have found Clio's timekeeping feature to be convenient and easy to use, allowing them to track their billable hours effortlessly by simply pressing a button.
Intuitive Interface and Billing: Many reviewers have praised the new interface of Clio for being user-friendly. They specifically mentioned that the billing feature is intuitive and makes the billing cycle for clients easier, ensuring bills get paid and retainers get replenished with ease.
Extensive API Integrations: Users appreciate Clio's extensive API software integrations, which allow for robust customization of the practice management solution. The developer partnership program has been highlighted as very good by many customers.
Difficulty in Document Management: Some users have expressed difficulty in using the software for document management, stating that it is easier to create Word templates and use Word instead. They find the process cumbersome and inefficient.
Limited File Management Capabilities: There are suggestions from users to improve the software's file management capabilities by allowing easy access to files with certain tags, similar to Mac's tag structure. This would enhance organization and streamline file retrieval.
Lack of Robust Project Management Tools: Users desire the addition of more advanced project management tools to enhance their workflow within the software. They feel that current features are lacking in terms of task tracking, collaboration, and overall project organization.
Users recommend the following actions when using Clio:
- Utilize the onboarding team to fully understand the benefits of Clio and ensure a smooth transition. Get buy-in from the entire team and manage expectations accordingly.
- Take advantage of the free trial, request a demonstration, and talk to current users to evaluate Clio's interface and features. Consider alternatives if not technologically inclined.
- Make use of Clio's one-on-one tutorials for a comprehensive understanding of the software. Create demos and explore its various features to unlock its massive time-saving potential.
By following these recommendations, users believe that Clio can effectively meet their legal practice needs, improve organizational efficiency, and provide valuable support through its online help staff.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-4 of 4)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
January 20, 2023
Incredibly expensive for software that fails so miserably at so many fundamental core functions.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Clio's billing and trust functions are very reliable.
- 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.
There is no premium support I found
Yes
In our first month of using clio, we reported multiple bugs, I think about 10. Some of the bugs are critical bugs that affect data integrity. We are not allowed to see the status of the bugs that were reported, or even to get a list of the different bugs we have reported.
I cannot. To the best of my knowledge, this has not ever happened.
October 17, 2022
Clio makes big promises to small firms. Don't fall for it.
Score 2 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
- Document Merge
- Big Promises
- Simple processes become complex
- 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.
- Doc merge (use MS Word instead)
- 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.
Clio made us a lot of promises they've been completely unable to deliver on. They said the calendar would notify clients of upcoming court dates and help us track tasks. They promised they'd streamline our processes. Instead, we're just stumbling around a dysfunctional interface and hoping that at some point someone decides we're important enough to respond to.
Yes
Google Drive, but we've been unable to phase out Drive since major portions of Clio simply do not perform. The core functions, the parts we were told Clio really excels at, are still on drive after a brief attempt to get those parts of Clio to work. It's not just that Clio has a terrible interface; we've researched them and talked to support about them, and the few people we can actually reach just tell us that what sales promised us is impossible, but we can submit a feature request so that can be ignored.
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
Clio was supposed to be great. Sales promised us the moon.
Liars.
Liars.
Stick with Google Drive. It doesn't do everything, but it does what it does well, and it's free. Clio is hella expensive for something that only does 1/5th of what it promises.
I am not aware of the option. But why should I have to pay for that? Support your product. Better, make it not need much support. User-centered design is not a new science.
Yes
No
- Everything
Yes
As poorly as the rest of the software
November 20, 2017
The "gold standard" cloud based law practice management software
I am a sole practitioner, so it is used by my whole organization. I convinced a friend, who is a partner in a collection law firm who does not do collection work, to try Clio. He, his paralegal and his secretary use Clio separate and apart from all the other attorneys, paralegals and staff in the firm without problem. Of course there is some duplication (conflicts databases), and he has another partner handle files for him when he is on vacation who who does not have Clio, but those are small inconveniences.
- Timekeeping. All I have to do is open Clio in the morning and press the "start timekeeping" button if I am too lazy to type in a few words.
- Billing. The new interface is really easy to use.
- Calendar. I use two calendars for deadlines, etc. My G-Suites calendar and 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?
- Case notes. This feature may be useful for high-volume practices, but I never use it.
- Positive -- I can see how far ahead or behind of budget I am in terms of WIP, invoicing and collections.
- Positive -- super-easy timekeeping .
- Positive -- easy invoicing
No
Yes, when I got locked out after upgrading my OS. The problem was resolved after two or three emails and a call from Clio customer service.
November 03, 2017
Why I love Clio
I work in the defense litigation department for a mortgage servicer. We use Clio for our in-house counsel group to manage our matters. This allows us to keep all documents, case notes, contacts, tasks, reminders, and calendared events in one place. We also use it to calendar and as a document repository.
- Clio allows me to drag and drop documents from emails without having to upload and save.
- Clio allows for extensive organization of all the different material associated with a litigated file.
- Clio has a massive space to store our documents. We have never experienced slowness, or a down day, or missing docs.
- Reporting features. Although Clio has made several recent adjustments, and additions --- the ability to pull only specific info for reporting purposes is still extremely basic and not very user-friendly.
- It would be nice to be able to change what is actually placed on the dashboard.
- It has definitely helped with organization and time management.
We were able to save an initial investment of over $100,000 by using Clio, and annually about $25,000 after initial setup.
No
We have never needed it. In the 3 years that we have been using Clio we have had very rare problems or issues. Most kinks can get worked out just by reading their suggestions. The Clio team has been extremely responsive when we did have questions.
When we had wants or needs that the Clio platform did not have, we asked for it and Clio returned!! Clio will take what you want seriously and incorporate your requests into new developments. I can't say enough good things about it. It was the best business decision we made a few years ago.