Clio

In a recent New Jersey Law Journal article titled “Law Office and Trust Account Management”, the challenges of trust accounting are summarized succinctly by the author, Christy Burke:

Trust accounting management is very tricky territory for lawyers — and often they get tripped up negotiating its obstacles. Basically, as an attorney managing trust accounts, you are serving as steward of your client’s money. Any improper use or incomplete tracking of those funds can, and most likely will, get you into a lot of trouble.

Penalties for mismanaged trust accounts can include consequences such as damage to the lawyer’s reputation or disciplinary reprimands. On the most serious end of the spectrum, when the mismanagement is deemed intentional and is actually a theft, severe repercussions such as disbarment or jail time could follow, and of course there is always the possibility that the client will sue the attorney for damages.

At Clio we recognize trust accounting is one of the leading causes of malpractice claims, and as such have ensured that Clio integrates a fully functional trust accounting system. As Jeffrey Allen, the technology editor of GP|Solo magazine, observes:

Recently, Allen notes that there has been an influx of Web-based Software-as-a-Service solutions for lawyers, some of which include trust accounting modules and functionality. Given the mobile nature of today’s professionals, Internet-based solutions certainly offer an attractive option for convenience’s sake. Not all products are created equal, though, and there is a wide range of functionality and products to choose from.

One such product is Clio, a Web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) product created by Vancouver-based Themis Solutions. Clio was introduced on October 1, 2008, specifically targeting the solo and small-firm attorney market. Prior to its release, Allen had suggested to Themis’ founders Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau that Clio should include a trust accounting module. Themis agreed with Allen and created the module, which was fully intact by the time of their product launch.

It’s great to be mentioned in an article on trust accounting – thanks to Christy for the mention, and to Incisive Media for publishing the article. The full article is available for download here (PDF).