Clio

We just returned from an exciting few days at LegalTech New York (LTNY).

We decided against having a booth at LTNY, as we wanted the freedom to catch the events, and to connect with the great people that have helped to make Clio a success – solos, small firms and the many people dedicated to Legal Technology. Instead, we opted to run a bit of an experiment: using Twitter as the primary vehicle for meeting people and getting the word out about Clio. We’re glad we did!

For those not familiar with Twitter, it’s often referred to as a “micro-blogging” platform; anyone can post a short message (under 140 characters) via Twitter’s website, a mobile device, or a desktop client such as TweetDeck.

The blogosphere has been alight with excitement (and skepticism) about Twitter and how it fits into the legal space. Bloggers such as  Kevin O’Keefe, Bob Ambrogi, Carolyn Elefant and Susan Cartier Liebel have all weighed in on the lively discussion about Twitter.

At LTNY, the session that easily generated the most buzz was the Twitter panel moderated by Monica Bay (@commonscold) featuring Matthew Homann (@matthomann), Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe), and Chris Winfield (@chriswinfield). The attendance certainly affirmed that there is a tremendous amount of interest in Twitter; so much that big companies like LexisNexis (@mhtweets) and Thomson Reuters (@westlaw) have even started to get in on the fun. It was interesting to hear how so many of the panelists felt that Twitter had, in a real way, changed their lives and how they communicate.

So how did Twitter change our lives? At LTNY our big announcement was the release of ClientConnect, which enables Clio users to securely share information with clients, collaborate on documents, and send bills (and also receive payments) online. At the beginning of LTNY we tweeted about the fact that we were available for one-on-one demos, and requested that anyone interested in Clio or ClientConnect Direct Message us on Twitter to set up a meeting.

The result? We received such an overwhelming response we wished we had more time. The entire two days of LTNY were spent in demos with potential users, existing users, and the legal media showing them what Clio can do. We even found out existing users of Clio, such as Jason Molder (@jasonmolder), were at the conference, and were able to meet up with them for a feedback session. Keeping in touch with Twitter is unlike any other technology we’ve ever used because it’s so immediate, and so location-specific (check out the #LTNY search tag for a blow-by-blow stream of what was happening at LTNY). Twitter opens up possibilities that e-mail just can’t. We also had a fantastic time at the LTNY tweetup (Twitter meet-up) organized by Lisa Solomon (@lisasolomon).

We had what was easily one of the most successful and exciting tradeshows we’d ever attended – and we didn’t even have a booth. We just showed up with a laptop, some free time, and a Twitter account: @goclio.