From Hype to Reality: AI’s Role in the Future of Legal Practice
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly moved from being a futuristic buzzword to a real, practical tool for law firms of every size. From streamlining document review to automating time entries, AI is transforming the way legal professionals work—freeing up valuable time and allowing lawyers to focus on the higher-value, human side of their practice.
At Clio, we believe AI should empower legal professionals, not overwhelm them. That’s why we’ve recently launched Clio Duo—your dynamic, AI-powered partner built right into Clio’s legal practice management software.
Why AI Matters for the Legal Industry
The legal profession has always been cautious about adopting new technologies—and with good reason. Accuracy, confidentiality, and ethical considerations are non-negotiable. But AI has matured to a point where it can deliver real value without compromising professional standards.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping how all industries work and completely transforming for legal professionals work. In fact, according to our 2024 Legal Trends Report, 79% of legal professionals have adopted AI in their law firms in some way, and one in four use it widely or universally in their law practice. That same report found that legal professionals believe that AI will save them time and money while increasing their quality of work and productivity.
For small to mid-sized firms, especially, AI can:
- Save hours of manual work on repetitive tasks.
- Help manage growing caseloads without increasing headcount.
- Improve client communication with faster, more personalised responses.
- Unlock insights from case files and documents that might otherwise go unnoticed.
In short, AI is no longer “nice to have”—it’s a competitive advantage.
Clio Duo
Think of Clio Duo as your behind-the-scenes legal partner, ready to help you complete everyday tasks and helping you transform information into actionable insights. Just launched in the APAC region, Clio Duo takes care of it so you can spend more time on strategic work.
With Clio Duo, you can:
- Stay on top of tasks: Prioritise deadlines with smart suggestions and easily create tasks, notes, or calendar entries.
- Find answers quickly: Extract key details from documents and cases in seconds.
- Respond faster: AI-generated emails and SMS messages help you reply quickly.
- Capture more billable work: Get suggestions for unlogged notes, calls, and emails.
And unlike bolt-on AI tools, Clio Duo is fully integrated into the platform you already use, so there’s no extra training or steep learning curve. It’s simply there – ready when you need it and software your firm can trust.
- Your data is your own: Rest assured, your legal data remains private, protected, and never used to train AI models.
- Privacy at the forefront: Clio Duo only surfaces information you have permission to view, ensuring privacy across your firm.
- Meeting legal compliance: Easily track and review all activity via a secure audit log, supporting your firm’s professional and regulatory obligations.
“We are very encouraged by the progress of Clio Duo’s AI tools, particularly in enhancing administrative efficiency and delivering insightful document summaries. The platform already adds real value to our operations, demonstrating clear benefits in streamlining workflows. Duo is becoming an essential asset in supporting our day-to-day legal work.” – Femke van der Hoeven, Collective Family Law Group
