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Newsletter SignupSome say that lawyers and numbers don’t mix. Well, perhaps that’s because they never seem to be in the same place at the same time… at least until now. At this year’s Clio Cloud Conference, my third, the dominant dialogue focused around key performance indicators. You know, those figures that CEOs, CFOs, and COOs typically worry about to measure the efficiency and profitability of their companies.
Why is Clio discussing numbers at a conference full of lawyers? Well, before you conclude that Clio isn’t “reading the room” like a bad comic, allow me to share a possibly shocking statistic. In an 8 hour work day, the average attorney is only collecting on 1.4. This number comes from Clio’s “Average Utilization Rate” calculation, later factoring in variables like discounts offered to clients and failures to collect from the same. If that number doesn’t grab you, it might interest you to know that the average billable rate (now at $230.00) has fallen behind inflation as pinned to the consumer price index for the last 6 years. Or said another way, your hard work is buying you less lifestyle.
Attorneys on ave collect for only 1.4 hrs out of 8-hr workday. Need more clients and/or more efficiency #ClioCloud9 pic.twitter.com/YXzTNxBSJP
— Tracy Jensen (@bytracyj) September 19, 2016
If you find yourself saying WTF (welcome to figures), you’re not alone. Metrics and numbers like these were touted by Clio CEO and founder Jack Newton during his keynote. He dropped number after number from their report to a packed house of legal minds. The initial reaction was shock followed shortly by “yeah, that sounds about right.”
Where does this information come from and why is Clio distributing it?Answering the first part, this information has been collected from Clio’s cloud-based law practice management software and was sifted and sorted into the Clio Legal Trends Report. The source data is from real practitioners who subscribe to Clio’s software platform, with approximately 150,000 users and 60 billion in billing running through it. In case you’re wondering, confidential information is not used and users are free to opt out.
As for the why, Jack stated in an interview us that Clio wants to continue being a trusted source of information to their users. Armed with information like where’s the best location for my practice, how much should I charge my clients, and how profitable is my firm compared to others, the hope is that lawyers will make better data-driven decisions. In terms of a bottom line, Clio wants to help their users be more profitable. They are planning to turn this information into a more comprehensive annual report on October 17th of this year.
More of what’s happening at #ClioCloud9 with @goclio ‘s CEO & Co-Founder @jack_newton hosted by @bobambrogi pic.twitter.com/n9nIYTpnLC
— Legal Talk Network (@LegalTalkNet) September 20, 2016
If your head is flooded with numbers, fear not. Clio Cloud Conference is still offering its multi-track educational seminars. In addition to Clio University (Introductory and Master), this year’s attendees were able to glean digestible nuggets from tracks like Legal Technology, Business of Law, Health & Well-Being, and much more. In addition to a deep-dive on the metrics, we feature many interviews about those educational sessions below. Tune in below for instant takeaways from Clio Cloud Conference 2016.
Clio CEO and founder Jack Newton stops by to talk with host Bob Ambrogi about their Clio Legal Trends Report, making data driven decisions, and future developments for Clio. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: The Power of Data Driven Law
Andrew Arruda, CEO and co-founder of Y Combinator-backed ROSS Intelligence, stops by to talk with host Victor Li about the use of artificial intelligence in the practice of law. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Artificial Intelligence and the Law
Marketing specialist Samantha Collier stops by to talk with host Patrick Palace about the do’s and dont’s of using social media to promote legal practices. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: How My Client Landed a Million Dollar Client Through Facebook
Bryan Wilson, the Texas Law Hawk, joins Above The Law’s Joe Patrice, LegalZoom’s Chas Rampenthal, and Legal Talk Network’s Laurence Colletti to discuss personal branding and benefits/pitfalls therein. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Texas Law Hawk Gets Loud About Marketing
Recording at #ClioCloud9 with @TexasLawHawk hosted by @JosephPatrice @Chasramp @LaurenceEsq …there’s some yelling! pic.twitter.com/4ebO64afQx
— Legal Talk Network (@LegalTalkNet) September 20, 2016
Ed Walters, CEO and co-founder of Fastcase, stops by to talk with ABA Journal’s Victor Li to talk about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and how the law will adapt to accommodate these technological advancements. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Changing Law for Thinking Machines
Ramón Abadin, immediate past president to The Florida Bar, and Stephen Embry of Frost Brown Todd LLC join host Adriana Linares to discuss why attorneys need to attend conferences despite the time and expense. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: How Cons Can Improve Your Practice
Clio lawyer in residence, Joshua Lenon welcomes PrimaFacie founders and brothers Jacob Betzold, James Betzold, and Michael Betzold about their immigration forms tool integration with Clio. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Integration with Immigration Forms Solution PrimaFacie
Adams Contracts Consulting LLC founder and president Ken Adams sits down with host Laurence Colletti to discuss the inefficiencies of traditional contract drafting and what can be done to fix and automate that process. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Traditional Contract Drafting Is the Worst
Andrew Legrand, founding partner of Spera Law Group, LLC, sits down with host Laurence Colletti to talk about automating your law practice through specialized time-saving software designed to perform repetitive tasks for you. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Supercharge Your Firm with Zapier
Hosted by Clio lawyer in residence Joshua Lenon, this round table discussion with Clio’s partnership coordinator Andrea Stevenson, director of sales Ryan Sydor, director of product design Ernie Bin, and customer support manager David Perry covers the prep-work that went into the Clio Cloud Conference. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Preparing for the Clio Cloud Conference
Hosted by Above The Law’s Joe Patrice, this episode features Procertas founder Casey Flaherty and principal attorney Darth Vaughn talking about how deficiencies in tech knowledge impact the efficient and effective delivery of legal services. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Tech Competence in the Modern Law Firm
Bloomberg Law general manager Melanie Heller joins Above The Law’s Joe Patrice for a discussion about how small firms can compete with Big Law. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Leveraging Tech to Compete with Big Law
Recording with #ClioCloud9 Keynote Melanie Heller hosted by @atlblog ‘s Joe Patrice @MelHellerNYC @JosephPatrice pic.twitter.com/XrkHByvika
— Legal Talk Network (@LegalTalkNet) September 20, 2016
Hosted by Clio’s lawyer in residence Joshua Lenon, this episode features Kimberly Motley, the first and only foreign litigator in Afghanistan, and her adventures bringing justice to those who would otherwise not have it. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Practicing Abroad as a Foreign-Trained Lawyer
Intuit’s small business ecosystem evangelist David Leary sits down with Victor Li to talk about lessons lawyers can learn from accountants regarding technology and being more profitable. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: What Lawyers Can Learn From Accountants
Clio’s vice president of global sales Steven Silberbach and vice president of business development George Psiharis join hosts Kimberly Sanchez and Adriana Linares to discuss using business metrics to run your law firm, the value of Clio’s ability to work with other software packages, and startling facts learned from their legal trends report. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Exploring Clio’s New Law Firm Index Report
Clio co-founder and COO Rian Gauvreau stops by to talk with host Joe Patrice about Clio’s Legal Trends Report and how that information can be used to run a better more profitable legal practice. Listen Here: Clio Cloud 2016: Sharing Legal Trends Gathered with Clio
Starting our #ClioCloud9 interviews with @RianGauvreau and @JosephPatrice. ?? pic.twitter.com/L4SZb9DOAX
— Laurence Colletti (@LaurenceEsq) September 19, 2016
After receiving his J.D. and MBA, Laurence Colletti went into solo practice with emphasis in general business and commercial real estate. He has always carried a strong passion for web-based media with a particular interest in podcasting and video. Laurence leverages his legal background against that passion to help bring sophisticated, relevant content to Legal Talk Network podcasts. You can follow Laurence on Twitter at @LaurenceEsq.
