Startups > Clio

Clio

Clio helps law firms manage practice operations and client relationships through cloud-based AI-powered workflows.

Series F $1.79B+ total Founded 2007 Vancouver, British Columbia 1224 employees

Clio is a cloud-based legal practice management suite serving solo practitioners and small-to-mid-market law firms globally. The platform combines practice management, client intake, document automation, billing, and trust accounting into AI-powered workflows designed to replace expensive on-premises systems. With over 200,000 legal professionals across 100+ countries relying on Clio, it has become the market leader in accessible, scalable legal software that grew beyond its SMB roots to serve 1,000+ mid-sized firms.

Problem solved

Small and mid-market law firms lacked access to affordable, accessible practice management tools without massive upfront capital investments, forcing them to use outdated on-premises systems or fragmented point solutions.

Target customer

Solo practitioners and small-to-mid-market law firms (1-200+ attorneys) in the US, Canada, and APAC region seeking affordable, cloud-based practice management without enterprise upfront costs.

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Founders

Jack Newton

CEO & Co-Founder

Co-founded Clio in 2007 after identifying the struggles of solo practitioners and small law firms through connections at the Law Society of British Columbia.

Rian Gauvreau

Co-Founder

Co-founded Clio in 2007 with Jack Newton to build cloud-based practice management software for underserved law firm market.

Funding history

Series B $6M January 30, 2012 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series C $20M 2014 Led by Bessemer Venture Partners · Acton Capital Partners

Series D $250M September 2019 Led by TCV, JMI Equity · Unknown

Series E $110M April 27, 2021 Led by T. Rowe Price Associates · OMERS Growth Equity

Series F $900M July 2024 Led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) · Goldman Sachs, CapitalG

Series G $500M November 2025 Led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) · TCV, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Sixth Street Growth, JMI Equity

Debt $350M November 10, 2025 Led by Blackstone, Blue Owl Capital · Unknown

Total raised: $1.79B+

Industries

Legal Tech Legal CRM Software

Pricing

Subscription-based SaaS with tiered plans: EasyStart ($49/user/month), Clio Grow ($59/user/month), Essentials ($89/user/month), Advanced ($129/user/month), and Complete ($159/user/month). Products sold separately or bundled. Month-to-month billing available at higher rates.

Notable customers

200,000+ legal professionals across 100+ countries; over 1,000 mid-sized law firms in the United States; King Law and similar mid-market practices; endorsed by all 50 US state bar associations and 100+ bar associations and law societies in North America.

Integrations

Salesforce, Stripe (implied via SaaS operations), Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Slack (typical for legal SaaS), Zendesk (support), various legal research platforms.

Tech stack

Backbone.js (JavaScript frameworks) Underscore.js (JavaScript libraries) jQuery (JavaScript libraries) core-js (JavaScript libraries) Browser-Update.org (Widgets) Wistia (Video players) MySQL (Databases) Drift (Live chat) Zendesk (Documentation) WordPress (Blogs) Linkedin Insight Tag (Analytics) Hotjar (Analytics) Google Analytics (Analytics) Google Ads Conversion Tracking (Analytics) Facebook Pixel (Analytics) reCAPTCHA (Security) PHP (Programming languages) Google Workspace (Email) Cloudflare (CDN) Marketo (Marketing automation) Twitter Ads (Advertising) Microsoft Advertising (Advertising) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Salesforce (CRM) Amazon Web Services (PaaS) WP Engine (PaaS) DigiCert (SSL/TLS certificate authorities) Amazon SES (Email) Segment (Customer data platform)

Website

clio.com/

Competitors

Smokeball

Purpose-built for small law firms with similar cloud-based practice management, but less focus on AI-powered workflows and mid-market scaling.

Filevine

Offers case management and practice management but targets specific practice areas; less comprehensive in trust accounting and AI integration.

8am MyCase

Cloud-based practice management alternative with different UX focus; competitive on SMB segment but less established in mid-market.

Rocket Matter

Smaller competitor focused on document management and time tracking; lacks Clio's comprehensive suite and AI capabilities.

CosmoLex

Legal accounting and practice management focused; narrower feature set than Clio's integrated platform approach.

Why this matters: Clio has grown from addressing an underserved SMB market during the 2008 recession into a $5B+ company with $300M+ ARR, demonstrating the massive market for cloud-based legal software. Its evolution from pure practice management to an AI-powered platform with connected workflows reflects the broader legal tech trend toward automation and intelligence, making it a bellwether for how legacy industry software gets disrupted by accessible cloud-native solutions.

Best for: Solo practitioners and small-to-mid-market law firms seeking an affordable, cloud-based all-in-one practice management platform that scales from 1 to 200+ attorneys without massive upfront investment or legacy system migration headaches.

Use cases

Solo practitioner transitioning from paper-based records

A solo attorney managing cases across multiple practice areas can consolidate client contacts, calendars, documents, time tracking, and billing into Clio Manage at $49/user/month, replacing scattered spreadsheets and multiple point solutions. Real-time visibility into client matters and automated billing dramatically improves cash flow and operational efficiency without requiring IT infrastructure.

Small law firm automating client intake and follow-up

A 10-attorney firm implementing Clio Grow for client intake and CRM captures leads from their website, automatically qualifies prospects based on practice area, and routes to appropriate attorneys. Eliminates manual intake forms and lost prospects, increasing conversion rates and allowing the firm to scale client acquisition without adding administrative staff.

Mid-market firm standardizing document workflows

A 50-attorney firm uses Clio Draft for document automation across practice areas (contracts, pleadings, discovery requests), reducing document creation time from hours to minutes. Combined with Clio Manage's central repository, this ensures compliance, reduces errors, and allows associates to focus on legal strategy rather than formatting documents.

Growing firm managing trust accounting compliance

A firm handling client trust accounts uses Clio's built-in trust accounting features to automatically segregate funds, maintain audit trails, and generate compliance reports required by bar associations. Eliminates spreadsheet errors, reduces audit prep time, and ensures the firm remains compliant with jurisdiction-specific trust account regulations.

Alternatives

Smokeball Better for law firms prioritizing document automation-first workflows; less comprehensive in trust accounting and mid-market scaling compared to Clio's integrated suite.

Filevine Choose Filevine if you need specialized case management for specific practice areas like personal injury; Clio is more general-purpose and scalable across practice areas.

MyCase MyCase appeals to firms wanting simpler, minimalist practice management; Clio offers deeper integrations, AI-powered features, and more sophisticated billing/trust accounting.

FAQ

What does Clio do? +

Clio is a cloud-based legal practice management suite that combines client intake, contact management, calendaring, document management, timekeeping, billing, trust accounting, and AI-powered document automation into a single integrated platform. It's designed to help law firms from solo practitioners to 200+ attorney firms manage operations, collaborate with clients, and scale their practices without expensive on-premises systems.

How much does Clio cost? +

Clio offers tiered subscription pricing starting at $49/user/month for EasyStart, with higher tiers including Clio Grow ($59/mo), Essentials ($89/mo), Advanced ($129/mo), and Complete ($159/mo). You can purchase individual products (Manage, Grow, Draft) separately or bundle them. Month-to-month billing is available at higher rates than annual commitments.

What are alternatives to Clio? +

Top alternatives include Smokeball (document automation-focused), Filevine (specialized case management), MyCase (simpler practice management), Rocket Matter (document and time tracking), and CosmoLex (accounting-focused). Each targets slightly different firm sizes or practice areas, but Clio remains the market leader in scalable, comprehensive cloud practice management.

Who uses Clio? +

Clio serves over 200,000 legal professionals across 100+ countries, including solo practitioners, small firms (1-20 attorneys), and over 1,000 mid-sized firms (50+ attorneys). It's endorsed by all 50 US state bar associations and 100+ bar associations and law societies in North America, indicating wide adoption and bar approval.

How does Clio compare to Smokeball? +

Both are cloud-based and target law firms, but Clio offers a more comprehensive, integrated suite with stronger trust accounting, billing, and AI-powered document automation through Clio Draft. Smokeball emphasizes document automation as its primary strength. Clio scales better to mid-market firms, while Smokeball appeals to firms prioritizing template-based document workflows.

Can I use just one Clio product or do I have to buy the bundle? +

You can purchase Clio Manage, Clio Grow, and Clio Draft individually at separate price points, or bundle them for integrated workflows. Most firms start with Clio Manage (practice management and billing) and add Grow and Draft later as they scale.