Clio

Yes, today Apple is launching their much talked-about tablet. The other big news of the day? We’re launching the official Clio Facebook page!

Over the past year we’ve been hearing an increasing number of our customers asking us “hey, hey, where’s your Facebook page – I want to become a fan!” – and we’ve listened. Today we’re launching the Clio Facebook page as a home base to build a growing community and fanbase. Become a fan and get the latest news on Clio, announcements of upcoming webinars and training events, and special offers available only to our Facebook fans.

We’re also proud to be showcasing the latest Facebook applications and technology developed by the great folks over at JD Supra. The Clio Facebook page:

• automatically streams our blog and JD Supra document portfolio,
• allows visitors to sign up for our monthly newsletter
• publishes a daily social transcript of tweets on any subject (at time of writing, all tweets for “goclio”), and
• features a custom-built About Clio section, complete with press mentions, a tour of Clio’s software offerings, and the ability to sign up for Clio.

Over the years JD Supra has built up a tremendous expertise in the use of Facebook for legal professionals, and we’re extremely happy to be launching the Clio Facebook page with JD Supra’s leading-edge technology and expertise. Aviva Cuyler, JD Supra’s founder, comments:

As a legal content distributor, we’ve been building our own pages on Facebook – and now we are turning that skill set (for custom apps) and knowledge base (how to make the most of Facebook) into a product offering for legal professionals. We’re proud to have created Clio’s page – we see, daily, Facebook’s amazing ability to facilitate meaningful connections between firms and the people they want to reach through the viral spread of information.

We encourage you to become a fan of Clio’s Facebook page and, if you haven’t already created one for your firm, perhaps you should start thinking about it.

There was a time not so long ago when leaving the office marked an abrupt end to productivity. Long hours and late nights were a necessity not only to make ends meet, but also to be close to the technology that made billable work possible. This is all changing, and at a pace that’s almost dizzying. While BlackBerries and laptops have been around for years, most mobile warriors would likely agree that, although these tools provided some basic essential connectivity under urgent circumstances, only recently have mobile devices, and the infrastructure that supports them, matured to the point where practical mobility is truly a reality. As Nicole Garton-Jones points out in a recent Slaw.ca post entitled Practicing Law on the Road: the Role of the Cloud and the Emergence of the Virtual Law Firm, the convergence of cloud computing, advanced mobile devices, and ever-increasing mobile data speeds are making the long-held dream of a “virtual firm” a reality.

The number of game-changing mobile innovations to reach the market since 2007 is truly staggering, and the most recent batch of announcements out of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) suggests that the revolution is set to continue for the foreseeable future. The release of Google’s Nexus One Android-based smartphone offers a serious challenge to the primacy of Apple’s much-envied iPhone, and further converges the already blurry line between computer and phone, and making it ever-easier to achieve unfettered productivity while away from the office. Phones are no longer just wireless analogs of their desktop counterparts, they’re word processors, dictation machines, email clients, internet access devices, web browsers, navigation tools, timekeepers, expense trackers, file browsers, organizational tools, and game consoles among other things. The list is literally endless, and new applications are only limited by the creativity of the developers behind them – something always working to the advantage of the lawyer on-the-go.

But, the innovations don’t stop at smartphones; Apple’s rumoured tablet is said to be ready for unveiling next week, and all early reports indicate that the device is aiming to raise the portable computing bar to new heights. Despite much speculation about what the device might offer, there remains little agreement other than over the belief that the device will once again revolutionize the mobile world.

We’re excited about the many ways cloud computing and mobile technology will combine to create what we believe will be a new era of go-anywhere computing. We’re also committed to continuing Clio’s evolution with the mobile legal professional in mind, with the aim to promote increasing freedom, efficiency and mobility via the rapidly advancing mobile computing landscape.

2010 is already shaping up to be a momentus year for cloud computing – especially in the legal profession. Last week’s mention of the State Bar of Arizona’s recent favorable opinion regarding the use of online services for client collaboration speaks to a growing acceptance of web-based services as a part of regular practice – a point iterated again this week by David Whelan of the Law Society of Upper Canada on the popular Slaw.ca blog, and most recently by Joshua Poje in his article “The ABCs of Cloud-Based Practice Tools” which was published on the ABA’s Law Practice Today. David’s article titled “Where’s Your Stuff” is a great read for cloud novices and veterans alike, highlighting the more opaque details of what cloud computing actually means, along with the important considerations that should be made prior adopting any web-based service. Chief among these are the security and reliability implications involved with migrating to service-based applications such as backup policies, data portability, service level agreements (SLAs), and client confidentiality. Similarly, Joshua Poje examines the gamut of advantages and concerns revolving around the trend towards the cloud, including the topics of mobility, functionality, service and support. Moreover, Joshua details a thorough list of available SaaS tools, and a comprehensive list of questions that any prospective SaaS user would be wise to consult.

We’re definitely excited to see the SaaS star rising into mainstream acceptance, and are encouraged by great articles such as those by David Whelan and Joshua Poje, that are helping to add an objective voice to the web-based software discussion. As David puts it:

SaaS isn’t one-size-fits-all. Elements of your practice will be more or less conducive to using SaaS, depending on how you practice and how comfortable you are with placing your client and work information in the ether. You may decide to use SaaS just for e-mail and calendaring, with everything else installed on your local computer. However you decide to use SaaS applications, they are an exciting new and mature option for many law offices.

If you haven’t already, we encourage everyone to add Slaw.ca and the ABA’s Law Practice Today to their list of regular reading, and recommend giving both Mr. Whelan & Mr. Poje’s articles a read.

A recent post on Slaw.ca (which was recently selected as the best overall legal blog by Dennis Kennedy’s Blawggies) by practice management guru Dave Bilinsky brings to light one of the first ethics opinions to be issued on the topic of preserving client confidentiality when offering client file access online. The opinion, which was issued by the State Bar of Arizona, considers the implications of using online “storage and retrieval systems” such as FTP sites, and online collaboration portals like Clio ClientConnect to securely exchange sensitive client records via the internet, stating that:

Lawyers providing an online file storage and retrieval system for client access of documents must take reasonable precautions to protect the security and confidentiality of client documents and information.

In his review of the opinion, Mr. Bilinsky aptly points out that, while electronic file storage/transmission was deemed permissible by the State Bar of Arizona,  the crux of the opinion centered around “satisfying the duty to take reasonable security precautions”, and urging lawyers to “consider firewalls, password protected schemes, encryption, anti-virus measures, etc.” when designing a secure collection of systems to protect their client information.

As suggested in the ethics opinion, and in our previous posts on the topic of online security, its important for legal professionals to recognize themselves as important components of the total security equation, and accordingly “take the necessary time and energy to become competent or alternatively consult available experts in the field.” Click here to read the full article by Mr. Bilinsky on Slaw.ca.

Today is the best day of the year to change the way you manage your practice. At Clio we’re often asked when the best time to switch practice management systems is, and year-end is a natural time to draw a line between usage of your old system and the new. You and your staff are returning from a refreshing break and are amenable to looking at doing things in a new way.

While we can’t promise success with the rest of your resolutions, one change we can promise will deliver results to your practice in 2010 is adopting a practice management system. This is a change that will help you practice efficiently and effectively, avoid malpractice complaints, and get more done in less time.

Look at this New Year’s Day as an opportunity to introduce true change in the way you manage your practice. Adopt a practice management system (it doesn’t have to be Clio – just something you’re happy with!). If you’re using a practice management system you’re not satisfied with, make a switch.

Happy New Year from Clio.

With the holiday season fast approaching, we at Clio wanted to take a moment to thank all of our subscribers and followers for helping to make 2009 a truly exceptional year. Thanks to your support Clio has grown beyond our expectations, both in acceptance and scope, and we couldn’t have done it without the benefit of your insightful feedback and generous advocacy. Without you, many of the great new features added over the course of 2009 such as ClientConnect, our client collaboration portal; Clio Express, our offline time tracking widget; and Clio Sync, our Outlook Synchronization tool, might never have been realized.

Looking back over the passing year, we’re proud to have been honored with several major accolades including being named a “Top 10 Ten Tech Star” by Bob Ambrogi at Legal Tech New York; one of the “Best in Show” by Mazyar Hedayat at the ABA Techshow; and, most recently, the first web-based provider to win a Law Technology News Award for Practice Management. We can only hope to earn similar success in 2010, and remain dedicated to continuing Clio’s evolution, and delivering on our vision to provide the best possible practice management experience.

We’ve got many exciting new things in store for the coming year, and look forward to another  year of “the Cloud” storming the legal profession.

Season’s greetings and best holiday wishes from all of us at Clio!

The ABA’s Law Practice Management section’s most recent Digital Edge podcast focuses on “Cloud Computering for Lawyers“. Hosted by Jim Calloway of the Oklahoma Bar and Sharon Nelson of Sensei Enterprises, and welcomes Erik Mazzone and Ben Schorr of Roland, Schorr & Tower as guests.

The podcasts focuses on the pros and cons of cloud computing, and pits Erik as the “Cloud Champion” against Ben as the “Cloud Curmudgeon”.

The guests begin by defining what exactly cloud computing is. Although it’s one of the hottest topics around in computing these days, it’s a poorly understood topic, and both Ben and Erik do a great job of giving some insight on what cloud computing really is.

Ben points out that cloud computing is simply a virtualized or abstracted computing service that is hosted remotely, over the internet, and points to Gmail and Clio as two examples of cloud computing.

Erik echos Ben’s point, but also reinforces the fact that cloud computing applications are generally accessed exclusively through the browser, which removes a great deal of complexity from the end-user’s perspective.

Ben, who writes an excellent blog that touches on his concerns around around cloud computing, point out what he sees as some of the key concerns around cloud computing:

• Lack of control. Ben feels that having complete control of his data requires that it be hosted on-premise, and by using cloud computing he’s giving up too much control of his data.
• Geography. Ben is concerned that data will be hosted or transferred to jurisdictions such as China
• Reliability. If the internet goes down, can he get to his data?

Erik does an excellent job of countering some of Ben’s concerns, and notes some of the biggest advantages of cloud computing:

• It allows lawyers to focus on practicing law rather than managing technology. Erik feels one of the strongest selling points for cloud computing is that it lets a lawyer focus on running a law firm rather than installing, configuring, upgrading, backing up, and securing software and hardware.
• Lower costs. Cloud tools eliminate the need for large up-front licensing fees and IT consulting costs typically associated with traditional server- and desktop-based software.
• Eliminates the upgrade treadmill. Upgrades are rolled out transparently and continuously, eliminating the time and expense typically associated with upgrading desktop software.

Erik and Ben agree on certain key “best practices” to look for in a cloud computing provider:

• Data export capabilities. To help minimize risk of data loss, look to the ability to perform offsite backups from a cloud computing provider.
• Data escrow. The hosts commend Clio’s innovative data escrow provision as another feature that helps minimize risk of data loss.
• Geographic redundancy. Make sure the provider is performing backups frequently and are backed up to multiple, geographically redundant locations.
• Encryption. Ensure communications with the cloud computing provider are encrypted.
• Terms of Service. Ensure to review the cloud computing provider’s Terms of Service and that the terms contained therein are agreeable.

The podcast does a great job of outlining overall concepts and the pros and cons relating to cloud computing. Download it and give it a listen. For more details on some of the aspects of security, data availability, terms of service and backup-related issues raised in the podcast, be sure to check out our own 10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Software-as-a-Service series.

We’re thrilled to announce that Clio (www.goclio.com), a web-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product for solo and small law firms, has won a Bronze LTN Award for excellence in practice management software.  Practice management is one of the most competitive product categories and Clio was the only brand-new product to have placed in the top three.  The LTN Awards, sponsored by Law Technology News (LTN) magazine, recognizes the best technology in the legal industry.  LTN’s subscribership voted to determine the winners of these prestigious honors.

Clio is the only SaaS product to win a spot in the practice management category and we could not be more proud to accept this award.  Clearly, the legal industry is realizing the benefits of running a law practice online, and our solos and small firm customers have made their voices heard by voting for Clio.  We are exceedingly grateful to LTN and its readership for this accolade.

Monica Bay, Editor-in-Chief of LTN, remarks, “Especially in these trying times, it’s encouraging and exhilarating to see such leadership and innovation in our legal technology community.  Congratulations to all the individuals and organizations that continue to inspire all of us!”

Clio wins this award in extremely good company, sharing the podium with two longstanding practice management veterans: Gold award winner STI (Tabs/Practice Master) and Silver award winner Lexis Nexis’ Total Practice Advantage.

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. 

About Clio
Clio, a comprehensive web-based practice management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product, is specifically designed for solo practitioners and small law firms using PCs and Macs.  It can be accessed from any Internet-enabled computer or mobile device.

Secure and easy-to-use, Clio provides case/matter management, time tracking, billing/reporting, client contact and document management, task scheduling, trust accounting, and performance metrics for independent lawyers to benchmark their business goals.  In addition, Clio includes ClientConnect, a secure portal for document sharing and collaboration with clients, and Clio Express, an offline time capture application.

About Themis Solutions
Themis Solutions Inc. is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Its flagship product, Clio, is the leading web-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) practice management system for solo and small firm attorneys.  The company was founded by Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau.  Visit www.goclio.com, e-mail to info@goclio.com or call 1-888-858-CLIO (2546).

About the Law Technology News Company/Product Awards
In 2009, the editors of Law Technology News asked the publication’s more than 40,000 subscribers to identify products and vendors that represented outstanding achievement in legal technology in 25 categories for its seventh annual awards program.  The awards, selected based on subscriber online voting, will be presented at LegalTech New York on February 1, 2010. . Information on the awards and winners will be featured in the March 2010 issue of Law Technology News and on the magazine’s Web site at www.lawtechnologynews.com.

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/.