Speaker 1: I want to quickly talk to you about Clio versus my case law firm management software. So basically, this is a compare and contrast between those two tools. And the bottom line here is we want to see which one is the best. Okay, so here's the overview I want you to pay attention to. The thing is, when you when you think about legal practice management software, you have you have tools that can really help law firms streamline their operations and automate common tasks, right? However, you have different options that are available on the market. So sometimes it can be a challenge to choose one over another, right? So basically, when we compare two widely used legal management software tools, it really helps to look at the functionalities, of course, but also it really helps to look at the customer service also. Because see, the thing is, if you have a software tool that is packed with features over features over features, you got to ask yourself, well, how do they help you in terms of setting up the tool? How do they help in terms of in terms of answering all questions related to the setup? And also when it comes to using the tool itself, this is important because customer service plays an important role. Because if you have a super duper mambo tool that's really great and everything, but you can't use it or your team, your lawyers can't use it, it's really unnecessary. It's really irrelevant. So it's clear, or in my case, the better solution for your legal practice. Let's talk about that. So what we'll do here is we'll actually compare those two on features. We'll look at pricing. We'll look at ease of use. We'll look at customer support and more. And the bottom line here is that you got at the end of the show, you got to ask yourself, OK, which one is best for me based on my objectives, based on my law firm's size, the size of my law firm, based on the level of, I would say, the skills, the tech skills of my lawyers, because some some of those software tools have capabilities that require a little bit of tech skills. I mean, you don't have to have a Ph.D. in coding, but you got to understand a little bit. Things like API, for instance, things like integration, for instance. OK, you got to understand, for example, how to actually like if you have to use the tool, let's say, because those tools are cloud based nowadays. So how do you actually navigate this cloud based ecosystem? OK, so this is really important. So Clio versus my case. Here you go. Welcome back, boss. Thank you so much for being here. You're going to love this conversation. I guarantee. Let's first talk about Clio. So when you think about Clio, I want you to think about a legal technology company that offers law firms cloud based software that handles various law practice management tasks, including your client intake, your contact management, your calendar, and you have document management. Those those four elements are really kind of important, regardless of the size of the law firm. OK, so let me repeat. You have client intake, contact management, calendar and document management. So let's quickly go through the pros and cons of Clio. So like every digital product, there are bound to be benefits and drawbacks to choosing Clio. So first of all, the pros. So when you think about Clio, you have a comprehensive practice management. So Clio really offers a wide constellation of tools designed to streamline various aspects of law practice. And you have billing. The new interface is really easy to use. Calendar, it's simple to use and very efficient. I mean, we have tested it. Fantastic. You have the Clio mobile app extends the platform's functionality to smartphones and tablets, enabling lawyers to work on the move, which in some cases they must. And Clio offers an extensive ecosystem of integrations with popular legal software and third party tools. And Clio billing features include time tracking, allowing you to accurately record billable hours, right? Billable versus non-billable hours. This is the quintessential discussion that that we have in law firms across the country because you got to generate you got to generate revenue. So those are the pros. Let's talk about the cons here. In terms of cause. Document automation can be really improved right now, Clio is really lacking in that department, the cost. So depending on the size of your firm and the features you require, Clio's pricing can be a significant factor. And there were cases where people were complaining about the lack of transparency when it comes to Clio's pricing. And also the complexity. So smaller law firms might find some of Clio's extensive features to be more than they need, potentially leading to unnecessary complexity in their workflows. So it's one of those things where I think of Clio as you got to have a certain critical mass to be able to enjoy Clio's like to enjoy Clio's features. Whilst I'm going to quickly remind you of today's topic, we are having a conversation about Clio versus my case, legal management software. So. Let's talk about Clio pricing. So I want to I want to look right now on the screen so you can see that Clio actually offers four four types of pricing. So this is a quartet of pricing. So you have the easy start, the essential, the essentials. Rather, they advanced and the complete. They used to call it startup, boutique, elite and suite. But they've changed the the name, the naming like recently. Now, one thing I want to say here is that when it comes to the pricing, you are basically you're able to try the software for free for seven days and you can cancel any time, OK, and they're not even asking you for your credit card information. So it's like there's no there's no there's no pressure here. OK, and there's no commitment. Also, one thing I want to say here is that, you know, a lot of folks are complaining about the complexity of and the lack of transparency when it comes to Clio pricing. Now, the way you see it here on the on the on the screen, this is not how it happens in real life, because Clio has this sort of they have those third, they always have those additional charges that come out of nowhere. And we have actually seen that, you know, over and over and over. Sometimes they will give you a discount between eight percent to twenty five percent if you actually accept annual billing. But the thing is that once you switch it, see that that's the thing. When you when you go from annual billing to monthly billing, that's where that's where, quote unquote, they get you because they start charging you some some kind of crazy cost or whatever. And there are cases where Clio might be even charging you to set up your to set up your your your your software. In other words, like the setup, because Clio is not as straightforward as other software tools, you might need some help in setting up the tool, especially if you have a relatively large, large team. In other words, you have multiple lawyers that say in the tens or even in the hundreds, then you might need some some sort of like there might be some some lack of transparency at the beginning. Now, one thing I want to say here is when it comes to pricing, it's always better to contact the customer service, Clio's customer service to actually talk about everything before you before you start. Even if they put on the screen, it will cost you thirty nine bucks per user per month for it, for instance, for the easy start. It's always better to talk to someone from customer service or from sales to have a clear idea about the the the ultimate cost. Now, let's talk about my case. So when you think about my case, my case is a practice management software designed to help law firms streamline their operations, enhance client communication and improve overall efficiency. OK, and so my case is pretty good when it comes to their focus on client centric tools. And so my case wants to simplify the complexities of legal practice. That's how they actually position themselves. The question is, are they for real or are they full of a full of it? OK, let's quickly go through the pros and cons. OK, and so I want to first talk about the pros here. So when you think about my case, the client portal and communication features enable seamless interactions between lawyers and clients, enhancing transparency and collaboration. Thereby, OK, so this is kind of cool. This is really cool because you want to establish that collaborative sort of this sort of camaraderie between the clients and the lawyers and the automated workflows and test management capabilities, streamline routine processes, reducing manual efforts and ensuring that tasks are completed on time and the ability to request retainers directly from clients within the platform simplifies payment processes, enhancing convenience for both clients and law firms. You really want to. This is a big plus because revenue generation is an important element for a law firm. OK, and especially when it comes to billable versus non-billable hours and the efficient storage and sharing of case related documents within matters contribute to better organization and collaboration. That's another plus, especially if you have a large law firm or even a mid midsize law firm and my cases matter templates allow for quick and consistent setup of case profiles, saving time and ensuring essential information is captured. So this is really cool. So those are the those are the pros. What about the cons here? My case is integration options are limited compared to other platforms and their customer support can be improved big time, big, big, big, big time. OK, and they need to design a more user friendly interface. This is the US and US and UI rather the UX and UI could be improved. They need to expand e-payment options also right now. They don't have it. It's not it's sort of a it's a really, really minor. And this should also increase options for customized reports and dashboards. And this goes back to what I said about UX and UI. Also, I want to quickly remind you of today's topic, we are having a conversation about Clio versus my case, legal management software. Let's now talk about my case pricing, and I want you to look right now on the screen here. Here is how the price the price looks like for my case as of the date of this show. So basically you have a trifecta of prices. You have the basic, you have the pro and you have the advanced. And Mike is for all intents and purposes, based on our analysis, has flexible and transparent pricing. We believe that it is more transparent than Clio for that matter. The only thing is that Mike is it's it's a tad more expensive. In other words, when you actually compare and contrast and compare and contrast, you can see that it's a tad more expensive. OK, so you have the basic plan, thirty nine dollars per user per month. This is when billed monthly. Sorry, when billed annually. Thirty nine, the pro plan, you're paying sixty nine dollars per user per month and the advanced plan, you're paying eighty nine dollars per user per month. And this is when you're paying for it, like when the billing happens annually or the billing happens monthly. Expect to have like a twenty five. I mean, a twenty to twenty eight percent increase on the on the on the bill. OK, and what we love about my case, though, is that they are transparent and they stick to it. And they also offer a free trial. So you can try my case for free for seven to twenty one days, depending upon the region you are actually applying from, because they have those geographic sort of, I think, marketing strategy. OK, and one thing we also love about my my case here is that we love the fact that they allow you to change. You can change. You can you can you can upgrade. You can downgrade your plan. Not a problem. They are not as complicated as other software providers. They really are trying to really they when you ask for for them to cancel, they will cancel your plan. Not a problem. There's no commitment. OK, this is this is kind of cool. And what we love about my case here is that you are also able to negotiate with customer service even before you on board. So and this is kind of similar to what I said about clear. Right. You want to make sure you want to negotiate with sales before you on board. That way you have a clear idea about how much you your your firm, your law firm might be paying every single month. Now, let's talk about this, look at the feature comparison here, so clear manage versus my case, so when comparing the features of clear manage and my case, it's really important to keep in mind the specific needs and priorities of your law firm, because every law firm is different depending upon the states you're in, depending upon the practice, depending upon your clients, depending upon the cases you take. You know, you're a lawyer, but you're so on and so forth. OK, take into account the features that are essential to you for your firm's operations. So let's quickly go through a table that has essential features that will be kind of help you decide. OK, now, first of all, when we talk about case management, both Cleo and my case have case management. So this is kind of cool. What about document management? Both also have document management. So basically, whether you take, let's say, regardless of the number of cases you take, you still have the ability to manage your documents. What about time tracking? Both have time tracking. So this is kind of cool because, as I said, as I said to you earlier, time tracking has a direct correlation to revenue. It's a direct correlation to billable versus non-billable hours. And you've got to pay attention to those billable hours, otherwise your law firm will disappear. This is a very competitive industry. And what about payment scheduling? So this is where those two have a little bit of difference. So Cleo doesn't have payment scheduling ability, but my case does. So with my case, you can schedule payments. What about client portal? Both both platforms have client portals. Not a problem. What about trust accounting? Well, my case has trust accounting and Cleo does not. Now, Cleo managed historically is kind of weak in our view when it comes to accounting. They do not like they would rather have you integrate with QuickBooks, Zoho Books, OK, Wave, Zero or FreshBooks instead of having instead of giving you a native accounting capability. So trust accounting, they don't have that. And also conflict check. This is a feature that that is that is absent in Cleo, but a present in my case. Now, if conflict check is important for your law firm, then you know which to choose when it comes to integrations. This is where Cleo really wins the game because Cleo has integrations with over 200 other legal apps, whereas my case has limited integrations. What about support? Well, Cleo does have two for 24 seven support via phone, email and chat, whereas my case has support during business hours via email and chat. So with my case, you're not going to speak to someone on the phone. They don't have that. So if it's if it's important for your law firm to speak to a customer service like a live person, then you want to go with Cleo. What about a free trial? Both both platforms have free trials. Not a problem. What about open API? Well, this is where Cleo also shines because Cleo has an open API, something that my case does not have as a bit of the show. OK, so an API is actually it allows you to actually open up your software to third party software tools, other other tools that you can expand your tech stack. OK, and this is very important. And one thing I need to say also, what about built in CRM? My case does have that, but Cleo doesn't. Cleo, Cleo relies on its open API to sort of beef up its CRM game. OK, so you can actually maybe get a CRM from Hotspot, for instance, or Zoho, for instance, sort of beef up your law firm's game CRM. CRM stands for client relationship management. What about iOS and Android apps? Those two have those two are most important. What about iOS and Android apps? Those two have those two are mobile, not a problem. What about matter templates? Well, Cleo doesn't have it, whereas my case rather does have it. What about client intake forms? Both platforms do have it. What about payment plans? Those two platforms do have it. What about custom reports? Those two platforms do have it. OK, what about trust requests? Those two platforms do have it. So in terms of trust requests, it's important to understand that for trust accounting. I just want to I just want to remind you that Cleo doesn't have trust accounting capabilities, whereas my case does have it. But for trust requests, they both do have it. What about billing capabilities? Those two also have it. OK, so each is missing each of this software is missing some essential features that will be important for managing your legal practice. Right. So it's one of those things where you have to see which one is important to your to your legal practice, which one is not. And based on that, you make you make a decision as to which one is better. One thing I need to say here is that if if speaking to someone on the phone is important to you, then you want to go with Cleo because my case does not have a. Phone phone sort of phone support as of now, on top of that, Cleo does offer 24 seven support, whereas my case is only available during business hours. OK, I mean, I'm just saying I mean, there are other features and you have to look at. But if talking to someone on the phone is kind of critical to you, you know what to to think kind of decision you have to make. So. Thank you so much for your attention, I really appreciate it. And to this conversation, I quickly went through a Cleo versus my case law firm management software sort of comparison and contrast, and I hope you found this very relevant. Thank you so much. God bless you. I'll see you next time. Until then, remember, stay marvelous.