Clio

Hot on the heels of our Clio for Android announcement, we’re happy to announce that we’ve brought our mobile interface over to the Palm Pre. Our customers have been requesting a mobile-optimized Clio application for the Palm Pre and Android for several months, and we’re happy to address those requests with these two nearly-simultaneous product launches.

Just like the iPhone and Android mobile applications, the Clio Palm Pre application provides convenient access to all aspects of your Clio data:

• Matters
• Contacts
• Tasks
• Timers (start/stop a timer from your Pre)
• Calendar
• Documents (you can even download documents for viewing on your mobile device!)

Access the Clio application for the Palm Pre via https://m.goclio.com if you’re an existing customer – if not, sign up for Clio here.

We’re happy to announce Clio’s mobile interface is compatible with all Android phones, including the new Motorola Droid.

Similar to our Clio iPhone application, the Clio Android application presents a view of Clio optimized for mobile viewing. Access your matters, contacts (with maps!), tasks, timers, and calendar via a highly optimized, responsive interface to your Clio data.

If you’re an existing Clio customer, you can access the Clio Android interface via https://m.goclio.com/.

Jeff Richardson at the iPhone J.D. blog has highlighted the Clio iPhone application in an article titled “Clio: Practice Management on the iPhone“.

Jeff has been running the excellent iPhone J.D. blog for just over a year now, and in the process has made over 250 posts and reviewed over 125 applications. If you use an iPhone (and many of our readers and users do), iPhone J.D. is an indispensable resource not only for the latest on legal-specific iPhone applications, but also for general iPhone usage tips and tricks.

Clio’s co-founder Jack Newton has authored an article entitled “SaaS Security: Can You Trust Your Data in the Cloud?” for the most recent edition of the ABA Technology eReport.

The article outlines some of the key elements of cloud security and privacy that a law firm should be aware of prior to selecting a Software-as-a-Service provider. The key challenge faced by law firms looking to adopt Software-as-a-Service is the lack of direct guidance from Bar Associations on what due diligence should be performed as part of assessing the security and privacy provisions offered by a SaaS provider. From the article:

For a typical solo or small firm, conducting this due diligence in a buzz-word and acronym-laden field can be daunting. For this reason, this article will endeavor to provide both an introduction to the relevant technologies, as well as assessment criteria for the evaluation of any cloud-based service. If you adopt the best practices outlined below, your data is likely to be more secure in “the cloud” than it would be stored on your laptop or on a server in your office.

Give the entire article a read – we’re happy listen to comments and answer questions in the comments!

Today Google took the covers off of its much-hyped Google Chrome OS. Google Chrome OS’s introduction is a landmark in computing, as it is not only the first new, significant operating system to be introduced in the last ten years, but it is the first completely web application-focused operating system to be released. And it won’t be the last.

What’s significant about Google Chrome OS?

• Every app on Chrome OS is a Web app. No native applications.
• Nothing is stored on your computer.
• The operating system is the browser.
• Fast. Boots in 7 seconds. 3 seconds to login.
• Secure. All your data is encrypted on your machine. If you lose your machine, what little is stored on it (saved passwords, etc.) is completely secure.
• Flash-based – will only support flash-based drives. Hard-disk-based drives are dead.
• Open-source. Other than Linux, none of the other major operating systems are open-source. Google Chrome OS could be the first mainstream open-source operating system.

In a way, Google Chrome OS is the logical conclusion to what has been a profound shift away from desktop applications to “the cloud”. Ultimately, Google Chrome OS is a return to the decades-old concept of mainframes and timeshare computers. All your data is in the cloud. Your security is in the cloud. Your computer ends up being a “dumb terminal” that accesses the cloud. And your terminal is the web browser.

Google Chrome OS may be late to the operating system game, a space that’s already dominated primarily by Microsoft and, to a lesser degree, Apple, but we think it’s well-positioned to make some significant inroads. Why? It’s at the center of what could be deemed a “perfect storm” of factors that will, in a couple of years, make Google Chrome OS seem like a prescient move by Google:

1. Netbooks. In the current economic climate, netbooks (small, lean, web-focused laptops) have seen unprecedented growth. Many people are realizing they don’t need a big, expensive laptop or desktop computer.
2. Cloud computing. Soon, every application you want to use will have a web application equivalent. For some, this is already the case. We have web-based document creation, web-based legal practice management, web-based accounting software, web-based photo editing. If you’re waiting for one of your favorite desktop applications, you won’t have to wait long – it will either be released as a web-based edition, or a competitor will emerge to replace the incumbent with a new web-based application (see the Mint.com and Quicken story, for example).
3. Device Convergence. Laptops are getting smaller and smarter all the time. Mobile phones are becoming more sophisticated. Tablet PCs, like Apple’s rumored tablet, will see increased adoption in the next 2-3 years. The line between laptops, phones, and tablets will start to blur sometime soon, and Google Chrome OS will likely play an important role in this transformation. How Google Chrome OS will fit into Google’s Android strategy will be interesting to see, but they do, without a doubt, have a plan for this.

We’re excited by Google Chrome OS here at Clio. The following overview video gives a great overview of what Google Chrome OS is all about:

Join fans of Clio (www.goclio.com), a web-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product for solo and small law firms, as they vote for Clio to become Law Technology News’ New Product of the Year.  Clio is also nominated in the categories of Case Management for Small/Midsized Firms and Practice Management System of the Year.

Open to all current Law Technology News subscribers, voting ends November 15^th and can be done on the web by clicking here. To sign up for a free subscription of Law Technology News, visit https://www.sunbeltfs.com/forms/lt/subscribe.asp?eid=E90IMS.

Clio was first launched on October 1, 2008 and was the first comprehensive practice management SaaS product to enter the legal software market.  Since then, the product has been widely adopted by hundreds of small firms and solo practitioners in the U.S. and Canada, and has become the frontrunner in what is now an extremely competitive market.  Clio made Top Ten lists at both 2009’s New York LegalTech show and the ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago.

“Clio is thrilled to be nominated in three categories for the 2009 Law Technology News Awards,” said Jack Newton, President of Themis Solutions which developed Clio.  We are grateful for our customers’ loyal support and are hopeful we’ll be able to sweep all three categories for which we are nominated.”

Jack Newton, Clio’s co-founder, will be speaking on 10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Software-as-a-Service at the inaugural MILOfest.

What is MILOfest? From the MILOfest website:

MILOfest is a conference for Mac-Lovin’ Lawyers and their families.

Conceived from a couple of years of successful Mac attorney conferences, MILOfest provides lawyers with practical information for use in their practice. Our goal is to put on the rockin’est conference spotlighting the most cutting-edge uses of Mac computers and software in the practice of law. MILOfest is designed to be relevant to experienced users as well as novices (and wanna bes – we love prospective converts).

If you’re a Mac-using lawyer an not already part of the Macs In Law Offices mailing list, join today. It’s an invaluable resource that covers everything from Apple’s latest hardware updates to legal-specific desktop- and web-based offerings for lawyers.

We’re big fans of Macs at Clio – over half of our development team uses Macs as their primary operating system (we’ve also got Linux and Windows developers), and we’re pumped to be spending a few days in close quarters with other Mac fans.

MILOfest will obviously be attended by the “converted”, but we also hope it will serve as an event that Mac-curious attorneys will attend to investigate Macs as an alternative to Windows. The ever-expanding capabilities of Software-as-a-Service has only helped strengthen Macs as a legitimate alternative as a law office’s operating system. See, for example, Catherine Merino Reisman’s piece on how Clio Serves a Mac User Well on Law.com.

We’re also looking forward to meeting some of our users from Florida and beyond in person. If you’re not attending MILOfest but are reasonably close to Orlando, drop Jack a line and let him know you’re interested in meeting up – he’d love to take you out for a coffee or beer and listen to what you love about Clio and – more importantly – what direction you’d like to see us go in the future.