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We’ve just wrapped up tabulating results from our 2009 Customer Satisfaction Survey. This annual survey is one of the most important methods we have for gathering information on two key questions we’re always asking ourselves: are our users thrilled with Clio and what would our users like us to add to Clio over the coming year?

While we gather information from our users every single day through our toll-free support and suggestion line and our integrated feedback system, this annual survey is a more structured, formal way for us to gather feedback from our ever-growing customer base. We’re proud to share some of the highlights of the survey here.

Would you Recommend Clio to Others?

This is perhaps the most important question we ask in the survey, as it reflects a user’s overall satisfaction with a product better than any other single question. We’re thrilled with the response we received to this question: over 95% of our users would recommend Clio to others.

How did you Find Out About Clio?

In contrast to our 2008 Customer Satisfaction Survey, this year most of our users found out about us via recommendations and word-of-mouth, whereas last year most of our users found us via Google searches and blogs. We suspect that as our user base grows, word-of-mouth and personal recommendations will continue to be significant drivers of new users to Clio.

We’re pleased to see many of our users are happy enough with Clio to recommend it to their colleagues. Lawyers are also great for letting their colleagues and friends know when they’ve found something that makes their lives easier, so thank-you for spreading the word about Clio!

What Practice Management System (if any) did you use Prior to Clio?

The vast majority of users upgrading to Clio from an existing practice management system used either Time Matters or Amicus Attorney. A smaller percentage of users were migrating from PCLaw, TimeSlips, and Practice Master.

How Would you Rate Clio’s Ease-of-Use and Intuitiveness?

We try hard to make Clio an intuitive, easy-to-use product, and over 90% of survey respondents were either “Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied” with Clio’s ease-of-use.

What Areas of Law do you Specialize in?

In our 2008 Customer Satisfaction Survey we found that Clio users were biased somewhat to practice areas such as civil litigation, criminal law, family law, and wills & estates. In the past year we’ve seen Clio’s user base diversify substantially, as we’ve seen significant growth in practice areas including bankruptcy (sadly, perhaps a sign of the times), commercial, real estate, corporate, criminal, personal injury and intellectual property law.

Winners of a $100 Amazon.com Gift Certificate

We thank all the Clio users that took the time to answer our survey, and we’ve randomly selected three respondents as winners of a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate. Congratulations to Georgiana Stewart, Susan Schmitt-Creech, and Jennifer Green!

We’re honoured that – for the second year running – Clio has been selected by TechnoLawyer as one of the “Best in Show” at the ABA TECHSHOW 2010. At the ABA TECHSHOW we announced Clio’s e-mail integration feature, which generated a large amount of buzz among existing users and prospective users that had been waiting for this key feature to be introduced in Clio.

Clio’s co-founder Jack Newton will be speaking on “The Ethics of Cloud Computing” at this week’s LegalIT 4.0 in Montreal. LegalIT is Canada’s largest legal technology conference, and is hosting speakers from across Canada and the US. Jack’s talk will cover the basics of cloud computing and explore the latest developments in the ethics of cloud computing, including the North Carolina’s recent Proposed Formal Ethics Opinion approving the use of cloud computing in law offices.

Other speakers at this year’s LegalIT include Craig Ball, Dominic Jarr, and Connie Crosby. LegalIT is also lucky to have Ben Stevens – AKA “The Mac Lawyer” – speaking on a range of topics related to Macs and iPhones in law offices. We’ve also learned this is Ben’s inaugural visit to Canada – welcome Ben!

We’ve just received some great news: the North Carolina Bar Association, the first in North America to study the ethics of using cloud computing or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in a law firm, has finished drafting a proposed Formal Ethics Opinion that explicitly allows for the use of cloud computing in a law office.

The question put specifically to the NC Bar centered on a firm’s proposed use of Clio to manage its practice online:

Is it within the RPC for an attorney/law firm to use online (“cloud computing”) practice management programs (e.g., the Clio program) as part of the practice of law?  These are instances where the software program is accessed online with a password and is not software installed on a computer within the firm’s office.

In its proposed Formal Ethics Opinion, the response is as follows:

Yes, provided steps are taken effectively to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of confidential client information and to protect client property, including file information, from risk of loss.
…

Although a lawyer has a professional obligation to protect confidential information from unauthorized disclosure, the Ethics Committee has long held that this duty does not compel any particular mode of handling confidential information nor does it prohibit the employment of vendors whose services may involve the handling of documents or data containing client information.  See RPC 133 (no requirement that firm’s waste paper be shredded if lawyer ascertains that persons or entities responsible for the disposal employ procedures that effectively minimize the risk that confidential information may be disclosed).  Moreover, the committee has held that, while the duty of confidentiality extends to the use of technology to communicate, “this obligation does not require that a lawyer use only infallibly secure methods of communication.”  RPC 215.  Rather, the lawyer must use reasonable care to select a mode of communication that, in light of the circumstances, will best protect confidential communications and the lawyer must advise effected parties if there is reason to believe that the chosen communications technology presents an unreasonable risk to confidentiality.

The proposed Formal Ethics Opinion is also pragmatic in its assessment of cloud computing security:

In light of the above, the Ethics Committee concludes that a law firm may use SaaS if reasonable care is taken effectively to minimize the risks to the confidentiality and to the security of client information and client files.  However, the law firm is not required to guarantee that the system will be invulnerable to unauthorized access.

While a properly secured cloud computing provider can be one of the safest ways to store client data, the Ethics Committee has the practical insight that no system is immune to compromise: just as any physical office can be broken into, with enough time, money and resources any electronic system can be compromised. It is not reasonable to ask attorneys using a cloud computing provider to prove that a system is invulnerable to unauthorized access, as it’s an impossible goal. As Carolyn Elefant points out in her response to the committee, the use of technology within a law firm - cloud computing or otherwise – should be viewed in a risk minimization framework.

We’re thrilled to see such a balanced and insightful Proposed Ethics Opinion from the NC Bar. It will be published for comment in the next issue of the North Carolina Bar Journal, and published as a final opinion once comments have been received and addressed. We’ve also included the full opinion below and on JD Supra.

We also hope the NC Ethics Opinion serves as a useful precedent for other Bar Associations examining the ethics of cloud computing, and hope that the American Bar Association will address the ever-increasing call for guidance on cloud computing by providing its own Ethics Opinion as a model opinion for state bars to adopt.

NC-FEO-2010-7

At last week’s Louisiana Solo and Small Firm conference in New Orleans, one of the things I was struck by was how New Orleans-based lawyers look at cloud computing in a completely different light post-Katrina. Prior to Katrina hitting, cloud computing might have been regarded as a cost-effective and convenient alternative to traditional, on-premise software and servers. However, after Katrina, one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history, struck New Orleans, it became apparent hosting data in the cloud was not just a convenience, but something that could play a crucial role in any law office’s business continuity plan.

Many lawyers told me stories of returning to their offices or homes to find their computers, servers, and paper files destroyed after being submerged in several feet of water for days on end. Worse, for many their on-premise backup system (an external hard or tape drive) was also destroyed by the hurricane. For others who were lucky enough to have escaped the most damaging effects of the storm, being forced away from their computers and files while a mandatory evacuation order was placed on the city left them unable to work or stay on top of their caseload.

Ernie Svenson, author of the excellent Ernie the Attorney blog and a New Orleans-based lawyer, commented on the profound effect Katrina had on his view of cloud computing:

Katrina was, for me, as instructive as it was disruptive.  Having to leave town quickly and then roam around from city to city for a few weeks forced me to think about how to set things up to minimize disruption in the future.  It struck me then, and the more I’ve thought about it the more I realize, that having key information placed out in ‘the cloud’ with a trusted source is the key to minimizing disruption.  More importantly, it’s the key to productivity.  The Internet did not go down because of Katrina; although it was inaccessible in New Orleans for several weeks.  The Internet was designed to survive serious catastrophe (hence the reliance on packet switching as opposed to circuit switching).  All of my key information is backed up to the cloud or stored there primarily.

I can trust the cloud in a disaster much more than I can trust any local storage system, and I’ll never let myself forget what Katrina taught me.

- Ernie Svenson

As Ernie points out, the cloud is built for reliability and fail-over. In fact, the internet as it exists today is an evolved form of ARPANET, a US military network designed from the ground up to survive nuclear attacks.

Five years after Katrina we’ve had a volcanic ash cloud shut down air travel in Europe for over a week, leaving millions – including many lawyers – stranded overseas. Those using traditional installed software might be forced to take an unwanted vacation since their computers, software, and data are inaccessible, but those who have embraced the cloud have found that working remotely is as simple as finding a laptop and an internet connection.

The cloud, with its inherent durability, redundancy, and remote accessibility, should be a key component of every law firm’s business continuity planning.

Clio’s co-founder Jack Newton has recently been interviewed on a range of topics surrounding Clio, including cloud computing, mobile lawyering, the iPad, and the ethical considerations around cloud computing.

In the first interview is a “10 Minutes With Jack Newton” segment by Rob Amereen of Legal IT Professionals. Rob asks Jack about his thoughts on the growing Legal SaaS market, the future of the iPad and other mobile devices in the legal technology industry, why Software as a Service will also be adopted by larger law firms in the future, the confidentiality issues surrounding cloud computing, and more. Listen to Jack’s interview with Rob Amereen here.

The second Q&A session is with well-known author, blogger and legal management consultant Ed Poll on his LawBizBlog. In this interview Ed asks Jack about the benefits of putting one’s practice “in the cloud”, about the security and privacy implications of cloud computing, and what advantages cloud computing holds over traditional, installed software. Listen to Jack’s interview with Ed Poll here.

Clio’s co-founder Jack Newton will be speaking on “Can a Practice Management System Help?” at the 2010 Louisiana State Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference, held April 15-16 at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans, LA.

If you’re attending or in the New Orleans area, please drop by the conference or let us know you’re interested in meeting up – we’ll be in New Orleans until Saturday.

In light of the North Carolina State Bar’s ongoing examination of the implications of Cloud computing, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly has published a guest article by Asheville-based attorney Sara Hanley on the importance of careful due diligence and trust when selecting any service provider to the legal industry. Having delved into the relevant legal rules and precedents, Sara offers a pragmatic argument that suggests all personnel and products used to support a practice should support the lawyer’s duty to take reasonable care in protecting client confidentiality. To this end, Sara proposes that, the State Bar, and industry as a whole, arrive at some general consensus regarding best practices and standards of care in order to guide the due diligence process. Given the value and convenience that ‘the Cloud’ has afforded her firm, Place & Hanley, Sara hopes that the N. C. State Bar review process will help to educate and advise other firms on how to realize benefits from cloud-based software in a manner that is ethical and compliant. As Sara puts it:

Cloud computing offers a way of storing and accessing case and client information in a secure manner that is convenient and valuable for lawyers and their clients. Given the appropriate level of due diligence, cloud-computing providers that adhere to a reasonable standard of care should be afforded the same trust as the wealth of other service providers and third parties we all depend upon on a day-to-day basis.

We thank Sara and all those who took the opportunity to weigh-in on this important discussion.

It has recently come to our attention that the North Carolina State Bar has been asked to provide a proposed formal ethics opinion on the use of “the Cloud” or web-based services in the legal profession.

North Carolina is among the first Bar Associations to formally consider the ethical implications of Cloud-based services, and this opinion will likely serve as an important precedent for other Bar Associations. This inquiry affords all legal professionals a unique opportunity to have a voice in shaping an ethics precedent that could potentially influence the pace of technology adoption and the availability of innovative technology options throughout the legal industry.

North Carolina-based attorneys, users of Clio, and any other interested parties should submit comments and feedback to the North Carolina bar via Alice Mine, Legal Counsel to the Ethics Committee by April 9, 2010:

Alice Neece Mine
amine@ncbar.gov

Assistant Executive Director
208 Fayetteville Street Mall
PO Box 25908
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611-5908
Telephone: 919/828-4620
Fax: 919/821-9168

According to our understanding, the committee will be examining a number of factors as they relate to the use of web-based technologies and their implications with respect to client confidentiality. Specific considerations will likely include:

• The minimum technical standards which could be deemed to constitute reasonable care
• Acceptable media and technologies with which to store and transmit client data
• Precedents related to mainstream adoption of technology, including cellular phones and hosted storage

In addition to the above, the committee will be considering a number of additional factors based on all comments received from the legal community and other interested parties. Comments are not limited to members of the North Carolina State Bar, so please feel free to notify any party you may feel could be influenced by the outcome of this opinion.

The ethics review process is an important step in the mainstream adoption of technology in the legal profession, and the above should not serve as a caution against the use of web or cloud based technologies. Instead, this call for response serves as an opportunity to express the value and appropriateness of “the Cloud” for modern practice, and ensure that the ethical position of the bar considers and includes all available technologies.

Clio and a consortium of its peers will be submitting a response on behalf of the legal-specific cloud providers to help supply a technical foundation and industry agreement on what we jointly feel should constitute minimum technical standards, and acceptable technology to ensure client confidentiality. In our combined view, web-based technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity for legal professionals to affordably access tools that support the protection of client confidentiality with the best digital security available.

We hope you’ll join us in submitting a response and helping to shape the face of technology in the legal profession.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.