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In a new white paper, internationally respected legal technology expert Brett Burney offers five reasons lawyers should be in “the cloud.” He also demonstrates how cloud computing, or Software-as-a-Service (Saas), offers benefits to lawyers without disregarding their ethical responsibilities.

Key points of being in “the cloud” include:

• A higher standard of protection than most law firms can provide with on-premise solutions
• A higher standard of communication privacy than email
• More economical than maintenance, upgrades and licenses for desktop (traditional) software
• Data is easily accessible yet secure
• “Less is more” approach to features so you worry less about learning it and focus more on your practice

Burney lays out a strong case that cloud computing meets standards for client confidentiality, professional conduct and ethics found, as echoed by the Proposed North Carolina Ethics Opinion and the Arizona Ethics Opinion on offsite back services.

Still uneasy, or curious? Go ahead and read the full white paper (PDF), and let us know what you think.

Previous User Review Spotlights have come from practicing attorneys using Clio, like Aaron Hall, Jason Molder, Brian Powers, and Brian Pedigo. Today we’re pleased to showcase a user review from a paralegal.

Ana Pierro is a senior paralegal with over 15 years of experience in a number of areas, including: insurance defense, plaintiff’s personal injury and product liability, asbestos litigation, securities litigation, compliance, regulatory work and more recently government affairs. She also has a blog, The Paralegal, and she recently posted a review of Clio.

She writes that Clio

did not require me to download anything onto my computer, which can take up a lot of memory.

Being that Clio is a web-based application the only thing you need in order to access this practice management system is an Internet connection. As a paralegal that is always on the “go” this is an important aspect of any practice management I choose. I like to know that no matter where I am, as long as I have an Internet connection I am able to access my calendar, my billing, my to do lists and any documents I need on the go.

One of the more interesting uses she has found for Clio is as a “diary” for phone conversations she has with clients. She explains:

There is a communications tab that allows you to record phone call notes.  The way I used it was more like a “diary.”  If a client called wanting to know what was going on in his/her particular case, all I had to do was open up communication under a particular client I had a “history” of the case in front of me and was better able to discuss it with the client without having to dig up the actual folder on my computer or even have to look up the actual paper file (which I still keep.  Trying to get out of that habit).

Not only can paralegals like Ana access information from anywhere using Clio, but they can keep records of phone conversations at the ready which can help enhance customer service.

You can read her complete review here: Clio: Practice Management at your Fingertips. And if you’re a Clio user and would like to write a review, we’d be happy to highlight your review on this blog – just let us know about your review by e-mail at info@goclio.com or via Twitter at @goclio.

Cloud computing continues to be a topic of discussion throughout the legal industry, so we’ve decided to introduce a new resource to our website: White Papers.

White papers, generally speaking, are another way to help educate and inform people about the practical issues, implications and uses of any number of areas. Finance. Medicine. Technology. Even marketing.

Our aim is to continue to educate and inform the legal community on practical issues related to cloud computing. You may be more comfortable in the cloud with your personal tasks, be it uploading photos to Walgreens to pick up with a gallon of milk on the way home, or responding to a reunion invitation or conference registration online.

By understanding the benefits, and risks, associated with cloud computing in the practice of law, you can experience that same level of comfort, and keep your focus on being a zealous advocate for your clients.

Today Clio’s co-founder and President Jack Newton will be giving talk entitled “The Security and Ethics of Cloud Computing” at the North Carolina Bar Association. Topics covered in the talk include:

• Security best practices for cloud computing
• Privacy best practices for cloud computing
• The current state of cloud computing ethics opinions

If you’re interested in having Jack speak at your local bar on cloud computing, practice management, or any of the other topics in the “Cloud CLE” series, please feel free to drop us a line.

Today we’re pleased to announce with Google a deep integration between Clio and Google Apps.  Tighter integration with Google Apps has been something our users have been asking for an on increasingly frequent basis, and we’re happy to address that demand with today’s announcement.

The integration has three major components:

• Synchronization of Clio contacts and calendar entries with Google Apps contacts and calendar entries. Contacts and calendar entries entered or modified will automatically be synchronized with Clio and vice-versa.
• E-mail integration between Clio and Google App’s Gmail for Business via Clio’s newly-released “email dropbox” functionality.
• Google Apps Marketplace integration. Google Apps users can now easily add Clio to their Google Apps accounts. Benefits include single-sign-on (so users only need to enter a password once to access both Google Apps and Clio) and access to Clio via Google’s universal navigation bar.

Let’s take more in-depth tour of what the integration means for users. First of all, Clio now offers bidirectional sync for both contacts and calendars with Google Apps. This means that changes or updates you make to your contacts or calendars in Clio will automatically be synced to Google and vice-versa. You can see a screenshot of the calendar sync functioning below:

Clio’s recently-released e-mail integration also works seamlessly with Google Apps’ Gmail for Business. E-mails can be easily linked to matters or contacts via Clio’s “e-mail dropbox” functionality.

Clio has also become the first legal application to join the Google Apps Marketplace. The Google Apps Marketplace makes it easy for Google Apps administrators to install new applications into their domains. We’ve also streamlined signing onto Google Apps and Clio with what’s called ”Single Sign-On”. Single Sign-On means you only need to sign in once to access both Google Apps and Clio. Additionally, Clio has been incorporated into the Google Apps universal navigation bar, meaning Clio is only a click away any time you’re using Google Apps:

We’re extremely excited to announce this deep integration with Google Apps. To add Clio to your Google Apps domain, simply visit Clio’s Google Apps Marketplace listing.

We’ll be holding our second Clio Meetup this Wednesday, October 13th in “the Triangle”. We invite all Clio users, fans and partners to join us for drinks and appetizers at the 6 Plates wine bar. Clio’s co-founder and President Jack Newton will be hosting the event. Drinks and appetizers are on Clio!

Where
Six Plates Wine Bar
2812 Erwin Rd
Durham, NC 27705

Map

When
Wednesday, October 13th
7:00pm – 9:00pm

Who
Clio’s users, fans and partners are welcome. Bring a friend!

The event is listed on our Facebook page.