Solo and small law practices often need administrative help, but in many instances, not full time help.  That’s where I come in.  My team of LegalTypist Digital Assistants (DAs) assists my clients in a variety of tasks, from typing notes to organizing contacts.  We specialize in the legal space and know how to best implement a workflow that gets the work done in a quick and efficient manner.  The best way for me to help my clients achieve their goals is by using Web-based technology.  Thus, the second and maybe the most important part of my job becomes helping my clients upgrade to a digital workflow.  By assisting my clients with the implementation of Web-based technology, I provide them with a secure route to access their information from anywhere, as well as cost savings.  Most importantly, I provide them with peace of mind.

I maintain an extremely high standard of ethics, security and quality in my business, and apply the same standards to the technology I select to help my clients manage their information and meet their business needs.  When I look at technology, I make sure to be proactive about security; I understand my clients’ concerns about their information being safe.

To start, all LegalTypist-recommended technology must be U.S.-based or their data storage devices must be located in the U.S.  Once data travels outside the US, it is no longer covered by U.S. privacy laws.  Additionally, I prefer if a web based technology is backed up using geo-redundant servers, so if anything should happen in a particular region that causes the technology’s servers to go down, my clients can still access their information.  Of course, having dedicated servers which are only physically accessible through strict security protocols are another must.

In 2009, I began researching Clio as a practice management solution for my clients.  Clio not only met all of my rigorous security requirements, but it also proved to be a well-designed and highly organized method for my clients to manage their law practice and easily work in tandem with their off-site assistants.

One such client I recommended to Clio was Jessica Foley.  When I began working with Foley she was paying to use a different web based technology to manage her solo law practice, but she wasn’t happy with the software.  According to Foley, “It didn’t have the right setup for me – it wasn’t user friendly and it didn’t have the ability to link to my Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) account, which was one of the things I really needed in my practice management solution.  In a nutshell, it was hard to use and couldn’t keep all my financials organized.”

I suggested to Jessica that she move to Clio and she has been a happy user ever since.  It took her virtually no time to learn to use Clio.  As she says, “Clio is extremely powerful, and more importantly, intuitive to use.”

Foley uses LegalTypist and her assigned DAs to help her manage her law practice and keep track of all her information.  Foley notes, “Clio really opens itself up to multiple users in one account.  I call into LegalTypist and use their technology to dictate notes and then one of the DAs puts my notes in Clio for me.  My LegalTypist DA also enters in contacts for me and links them to each matter.  They also help me keep my calendar straight.  With my LegalTypist DA and Clio, I can finally keep my practice organized and all my information is in one place.  Clio keeps a running tab of my day – I can glance and see what’s going on.  I can add contacts and link matters to my schedule to make it easy for me to organize everything I’m doing and quickly access everything. I never have to root around for information.”

In addition to being able to link and keep track of all her activities, matters and what is going on in her day, Foley also uses Clio to help her track her time and bill her clients.  She keeps track of her billable time using Clio Express, a desktop application for time and expense tracking, and Clio’s timer feature on her iPhone.  Using these features ensures that Foley never loses a minute of billable time, yet adds no additional work to her day.  At the end of the month, all the timesheet information is right there for Foley to bill her clients.”

I recommend Clio to all of my clients who are looking for a better, more efficient and secure way to manage their law practices.  The best part about Clio is that it ensures you don’t have to worry about not being able to find where you saved your notes or put a phone number – all the information is right there.

As LegalTypist, I pride myself on old-fashioned service expertly paired with the right technology to securely and properly get any US-based law firm’s work done.  Clio’s technology aligns with those goals and that’s why I recommend it to my clients.

Today, we’re proud to introduce our first case study: the Law Offices of Place & Hanley, PLLC, a North Carolina law firm based in Southern Pines.

Clio appealed to Place & Hanley as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that provides time tracking, billing and reporting, client contact and document management, task scheduling, and business intelligence/performance metrics.
“We operate a highly mobile practice where we have to service the legal needs of our clients, as well as run the office and manage our employees,” explained Sara Hanley, partner at Place & Hanley. “Therefore, we are always looking for ways to build efficiency and increase productivity by implementing legal software applications.”

Hanley was thoroughly impressed with Clio’s user-friendly interface and intuitive design. “Within minutes of activating the software, our entire firm was up and using the software with relative ease, storing contacts, case information, appointments, and documents. Time entry was a breeze. And, where it used to take us 3 to 4 days to generate our bills, with Clio, the whole process took less than 2 hours.”

Clio delivered on the issue of affordability as well. As Hanley pointed out, “For an affordable monthly cost we’ve bought ourselves access to Clio, unlimited technical support and upgrades, and we’ve alleviated the need to maintain our own systems or to worry about backing up the information stored in Clio.”
Place & Hanley also selected Clio because of its secure online access to data from anywhere, with bank-grade encryption, frequent backup policy and escrow provision. Additionally, Hanley notes that Clio’s customer service resolved issues quickly and demonstrated commitment to customer’s needs by incorporating her suggestions and requests into the product.

“We’re firmly committed to delivering the best web-based practice management solution for solo and small law firms,” said Jack Newton, President of Themis Solutions. “We will continue to evolve and improve Clio by actively incorporating features requested by our users.”

About Themis Solutions and Clio
Themis Solutions Inc. is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. With cooperation from the Law Society of British Columbia, the company has developed its flagship productCliowhich is aweb-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) practice management systemfor solo and small firm attorneys. For more information, visit www.goclio.com.

About the Law Offices of Place & Hanley, PLLC
The Law Offices of Place & Hanley, PLLC, is a boutique law firm based in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The firm handles cases in securities and commodities litigation, family law and wills/trusts. Place & Hanley serves clients in North Carolina and Florida. For more information, visit http://www.placeandhanley.com/.