We recently helped a busy family law office set up and use Clio software, resulting in significant positive outcomes. The results included improved productivity, reduced errors, time savings, enhanced client engagement, and streamlined communication. Here’s how our Clio-certified paralegal expertly tailored Clio to its full potential, ensuring a precise alignment with the client’s requirements.
Implementing Automation Features
Repetitive tasks and processes were identified for automation, such as invoice generation, reminders, and case status updates. Our paralegal created automation rules that streamlined these processes, resulting in significant time savings and an overall enhancement in efficiency. For example, a notable rule was established to automatically generate monthly invoices for recurring services, eliminating manual intervention and ensuring seamless client communication.
Template Development
Frequent legal documents were identified through collaborative efforts, and customized templates aligned with the client’s practice areas were created. These templates, including custom fields, assigned billing types, and hourly rates, offered a highly- personalized solution. For instance, a specialized matter template for family law cases in Florida incorporated custom fields to capture statutory deadlines and other jurisdiction-specific requirements. This strategic approach empowered the client to effortlessly initiate new matters with pre-configured settings, significantly saving time and ensuring consistency across their legal documentation.
This streamlined template system facilitated time-efficient matter creation and contributed to generating accurate and consistent documents. Notable examples include templates for engagement letters, retainer agreements, and other standard documents, eliminating the need to start from scratch for each new case and optimizing overall workflow efficiency.
Integrating External Applications
Clio was seamlessly integrated with external applications to optimize the client’s workflow further. This involved linking Clio with accounting software, resulting in the smooth synchronization of financial data and eliminating the cumbersome task of manual data entry. Document management systems were also integrated, facilitating efficient document sharing and collaboration among clients and colleagues. This integration enhanced overall productivity and significantly reduced the likelihood of errors that may arise from managing multiple systems simultaneously.
Client Portal
A customized client portal, reflecting the client’s branding, was set up utilizing Clio Connect for secure client communication and collaboration. The portal setup included the creation of secure logins for clients. The client’s staff was then trained on how to use Clio Connect effectively, facilitating seamless document sharing, messaging, and invoice management with clients. This improved client engagement and streamlined communication, enhancing the overall client experience.
Billing
Billing processes were optimized using the evergreen retainer option, which automatically replenishes retainer balances as invoices are generated. Trust requests were implemented, simplifying the collection and management of trust funds. By configuring Clio to send out trust request notifications to clients and tracking the status of trust transactions, billing processes were streamlined, and accurate financial management was ensured.
Reporting
Leveraging Clio’s reporting capabilities, insightful reports on billable hours, revenue, case outcomes, and client retention rates were generated. By customizing the reports to the client’s specific needs, they provided valuable data that enabled the client to make informed business decisions and track their performance effectively.
Document Management
Collaborating with the client, a standardized folder structure for organizing case-related documents was designed. This template-based approach ensured consistency across matters and improved accessibility to essential documents, saving time and reducing the chances of misplacing important information.
Automated Rules
Automated tasks based on matter types within Clio were created. By understanding the client’s specific practice areas and jurisdictional requirements, automation rules were created to populate deadlines and tasks based on the matter type automatically. For example, in family law cases, where statutory deadlines are crucial, these automated tasks ensured that the necessary deadlines were automatically set, reducing the risk of missing critical dates and improving overall case management efficiency.
Equivity’s partnership with Clio, alongside our paralegal’s efforts, has transformed the practice’s operations. The integration of Clio’s tools, from automation to template development, improved efficiency and elevated client engagement. The practice is now positioned for sustained success with optimized billing, insightful reporting, streamlined document management, and automation.
Interested in learning more about how Equivity and Clio can help your practice? Contact us directly at 800.679.5315 for more information.
Michelle, Equivity’s Assistant Marketing Director, brings over 20 years of marketing experience and holds a degree in International Business. For more insights and updates, connect with Michelle on LinkedIn.