Local centaur Clio, the world’s leading provider of cloud-based legal technology, opened its annual Clio Cloud Conference (ClioCon) this morning in Austin, Texas, to a sold-out crowd. That centaur designation was earned by Clio reaching $100 million of annual recurring revenue.
Co-founder and CEO Jack Newton kicked off the 12th annual event with an engaging keynote, setting the tone for the two-day conference.
During his presentation, Newton shared high-level insights from Clio’s ninth edition of the Legal Trends Report. This year’s report analyzes key topics, including AI adoption in the legal industry, the growing use of flat fees, law firm spending priorities on technology and marketing, and firms’ responsiveness to prospective clients.
One key finding is that AI usage in law firms has skyrocketed, with 79% of legal professionals now incorporating AI tools into their daily work—a significant increase from just 19% in 2023.
As AI becomes more mainstream in legaltech, Newton demonstrated Clio’s latest AI integration, Clio Duo, in a live demo.
Clio Duo seamlessly integrates advanced AI capabilities into everyday legal tasks, enhancing efficiency and transforming how legal professionals operate on a unified technology platform.
“The launch of Clio Duo marks a defining moment for the legal industry,” said Newton. “We’ve embedded artificial intelligence into the most connected platform in legal at an unprecedented scale. As AI adoption accelerates, we’ve built Clio Duo with precision and protection, laying a foundation for legal professionals to scale their practice confidently.”
Clio Duo acts as an AI-powered legal partner, streamlining law firm operations and transforming data into actionable insights. Integrated into Clio’s flagship practice management product, Clio Manage, Clio Duo improves workflows by providing insights and automating tasks, allowing legal professionals to focus on critical work without switching applications.
With the rapid adoption of AI, Clio’s report warns of potential disruption in how law firms handle business operations. It suggests that up to 74% of hourly billable tasks—such as information gathering and data analysis—could be automated with AI.
“Law firms should consider moving away from hourly billing in favor of more flexible options like flat fees to maintain profitability while benefiting from the efficiencies AI brings,” the report advises.
As Newton concluded his keynote, he left the audience with a clear message: the legal industry is at an inflection point, and technology—especially AI—will determine which law firms thrive in the future.
Clio’s innovations, including the newly launched Clio Duo, aim to empower legal professionals to lead this transformation, stay ahead of the curve, and deliver better outcomes for their clients.
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