Clio

Clio legal AI is built into a full practice management system. Clio is software for running a law firm, and over the last couple of years it has added AI for case analysis, legal research and drafting. It started in 2008 as a cloud practice management tool. Today the same system that holds a firm’s matters, clients, calendars, bills and trust accounts also powers AI that can read a case file, research the law, and draft the first version of a motion or contract.

That combination is the main reason firms look at Clio. Most legal AI tools only see the document you paste into them. Clio’s AI works from what is already inside your practice (the facts of the matter, the filings, the correspondence, the billing history) and pairs it with a legal library of more than a billion documents from over 100 countries.

What Clio legal AI actually does

The AI work happens in Clio Work. You open a matter, and it reads across everything in it to pull out the key facts and claims, flag risks and missing information, and build a timeline of the case from your documents. For research, it finds authority that matches your jurisdiction and your matter rather than just your search terms, and every answer links back to its source. A built-in citator checks that the authorities it gives you are still good law.

Litigators can use it to review discovery and pleadings, spot weak citations in an opposing brief, and draft motions grounded in the case facts. Transactional lawyers can review contracts, pull out key terms, and catch missing clauses or unusual language before a deal closes. Drafts can be finished in Clio Work itself or in Microsoft Word.

Inside Clio Manage, Clio legal AI handles the routine side of practice: drafting client updates, prioritising tasks, flagging risks on matters, and preparing billing. Clio’s position is that the lawyer stays in charge. You review and approve everything before it goes to a client or a court.

The practice management side

Underneath the AI is a full practice management system. Clio Manage covers case and matter management, calendaring, tasks, document management, time and expense tracking, billing and payments, and legal accounting with trust and operating account reconciliation. Accounting is included in every plan, so smaller firms don’t need a separate bookkeeping tool. There is a secure client portal, and mobile apps for iPhone and Android, so lawyers can track time and check matters away from the office.

Clio Grow adds client intake and CRM: capturing leads, booking consultations and following up with prospective clients. It’s an add-on, and it comes included in the Elite plan. Clio also connects to more than 300 other apps, including Outlook, Gmail, Dropbox and Box.

Clio pricing and plans

Clio pricing starts with one published figure: the Starter plan begins at $49 USD per user per month and covers the core practice management features with accounting built in. The Core, Signature and Elite plans are priced on request. Clio legal AI features are included from the Core plan upward rather than sold as a separate add-on. You can try Clio Manage free for 7 days without a credit card, and subscriptions can be cancelled at any time, with cancellation taking effect at the end of the current monthly or annual term. Plans and prices change, so check the official Clio pricing page for the current figures in your country.

Security and privacy

For a law firm this matters as much as features. Clio says data is encrypted in transit and at rest, the platform is SOC 2 Type II certified, and it meets GDPR requirements. Clio Work also states compliance with CCPA and HIPAA and processes client files under zero data retention agreements. Clio says firm data is never used to train AI models.

Who it’s for

Clio sells to every size of legal practice, from solo lawyers to mid-sized firms and large legal teams, and it is used in more than 130 countries. Clio legal AI makes the most sense for firms that want their case management, billing and AI in one place instead of stitching several tools together. If you only need an AI writing assistant, or you are not a legal professional, a general-purpose tool will be cheaper and simpler.

To see how it stacks up, browse the other AI legal tools in our directory, see our picks of AI for lawyers, or put Clio side by side with another tool on the Compare AI tools page.

Clio is made by Themis Solutions Inc., which is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and was co-founded by Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau. You can find the product and a free trial on the official Clio website.