By Legal Futures Associate Clio
Although it may be an old saying, ‘Time is money‘ is a reality for Willem Cloet, a busy lawyer at the Brussels-based law firm Cloet & De Witte. For lawyers like Willem, time spent on administrative tasks and inefficiencies is time away from working on cases for clients and bringing in revenue.
“Every hour that I don’t have to use on time tracking or other administrative tasks—it is money,” he says.
A Belgian law firm with a team of five people, Cloet & De Witte serves clients in various practice areas, including business law, real estate contracts, commercial law, and criminal law. To manage their operations efficiently, the firm needed time-saving software catering to everyone’s needs.
Fortunately, in 2021, Cloet & De Witte adopted Clio Manage, which helped them streamline their operations and save significant time and money—over 20 hours and thousands of euros a month.
Why Clio is the right solution for Cloet & De Witte
Cloet & De Witte have used various legal software systems in the past, but they found other legal software options frustrating, clunky, and inefficient. However, they were able to instantly see the benefits of using Clio’s cloud-based, cost-effective, and convenient legal software.
Old, outdated systems were holding them back
Before Clio, working with other software systems meant Willem had to spend time dealing with VPNs, toggling between systems, and navigating outdated programs that didn’t allow for efficiency. Eventually, this left Willem feeling frustrated.
“We used a different Belgium software and they forced us to use a system where you must log in on the virtual desktop where the software is running. So, it was remotely running, but it was not in the cloud. It was not on my computer, but you had to log in and then use a VPN.”
Switching to Clio was simple from the start
Feeling frustrated, Mike, the firm’s chief technology officer, found Clio. The firm started with a seven-day free trial and found Clio user-friendly immediately.
“We didn’t even need the tutorial or explanation, we started using it straight away.”
By the end of the week-long trial, the firm was ready to make the switch. They bought licences for their employees and moved forward with Clio.
Cutting legal billing time in half
Willem and his firm have improved their productivity and saved time by using Clio. They use it for connecting emails, time recording, and billing. Clio’s Quick Bill feature has helped Willem to reduce his billing time by half. He can now send about ten bills in only half an hour, whereas he used to send only five bills in the same time—cutting their billing time by 50%.
Clio has also made it easier for Willem to track and manage profitability across the firm. For instance, when working with a junior associate, he can easily check if they are on target for billable hours with just two clicks. If necessary, he can adjust the work accordingly.
Savings and 2 extra billable hours a day
Remember: time is money, which means that the incredible time savings Clio offers also add to financial savings.
As Willem explains, when the firm spends less time completing time recording and administrative tasks, they effectively save money, too. Clio allows the firm to add two billable hours a day by cutting down on administrative tasks.
“One or two hours a day makes 20 hours a month which roughly helps our firm save thousands each month” he explains.
“I adore Clio’s speed, flexibility, accessibility, and easy-to-work features.”
Connectivity and integrations add value
Willem was impressed with the Clio software’s simple log-in and intuitive interface after his firm started using it. “It’s straightforward to use. Edit matter. New matter. Bills. Agenda. It couldn’t be more clear than that.”
Clio’s connectivity and integrations between programs were instant wins for Willem, especially in terms of emails. Although Willem and Mike use different platforms for their email and calendars, both work seamlessly with Clio.
“I can easily link to Google Calendar or Google Drive. Mike uses Outlook calendar. He’s a Microsoft guy, and I’m a Google guy, but it doesn’t matter. I can link my Google Calendar. He can use his Microsoft Outlook agenda,” says Willem.
This connectivity makes work more accessible and efficient for everyone at the firm. “We sometimes work with multiple lawyers on one matter, and handing out tasks or sharing court dates linked to Google Calendar or Outlook agenda is so easy,” Willem adds.
“It’s useful to have this connection between applications, such as Google or Microsoft Calendar, emails, and Clio. That’s a big feature and a big advantage.”
Work from anywhere via the cloud
Clio’s cloud-based software, which allows him to work from practically anywhere, is another significant advantage for Willem.
“With Clio,” he explains, “if I have another laptop or I’m in another location, I can easily work on the same files, on the same interface, without having to log in on the virtual network, like I had to with the previous software.”
“Since Clio is cloud-based and has a good web interface that is always running and always on during the whole day, it doesn’t matter where I am.”
Clio makes everything painless for the whole firm
Clio’s cloud-based system and industry-leading security features reassure Willem and the firm.
“Clio never crashes. There are no viruses and hackers, which is a big advantage,” he says, having heard about the stressful and expensive experience of people who had their local server hacked.
“Using a cloud-based system like Clio, along with Google Drive, which is also very well protected, helps avoid these risks.”
“The fact that Clio serves hundreds of thousands of lawyers worldwide offers me more peace of mind regarding data storage, cyber security, and GDPR—and a better service than I could have imagined with any other Benelux partner for similar software packages.”
A cost-effective solution
Clio delivers significant value to Cloet & De Witte—but that doesn’t mean it costs a lot. According to Willem, it’s quite the opposite.
Clio offers software packages from €49 per user/per month. You don’t need to spend hundreds or thousands of euros to get legal software that helps your firm with document management, billing, invoicing, and task management.
Clio provides award-winning 24/5 support to your firm, along with multiple training resources accessible at your fingertips. Additionally, Clio offers data migration and onboarding services that are included in your package deal at no extra cost.
Most importantly, Clio does not require you to sign any contracts or lock-ins. You can cancel your subscription at any time.
“Clio is not expensive compared to other systems and good value for money.”
Why Clio for Belgium law firms
Willem and the Cloet & De Witte team needed software that offered the interface, features, and support necessary to help the Belgian firm work more effectively and efficiently. Clio has proven itself to be the right solution.
“I’ve worked with three or four other software, all Benelux-based, or Benelux-developed, software, and they are all less efficient,” he says.
While he understands that switching with their legal practice software can be daunting, Willem suggests that other Benelux firms considering adopting Clio give it a go and try it firsthand.
“Try it. Just take the seven-day trial and see for yourself. You will see that it’s light-years ahead of Belgium software.”
“If I would use Benelux-based software, I would be less efficient, that’s for sure.”
