Law Office of Vernon Brownlee Reduces Consultations From 30 Minutes to 10 With Clio

It pays to keep up with client expectations

Vernon Brownlee started his own solo practice at the start of 2022—offering criminal defense services that range from murder charges to DUIs.

He first launched with another practice management solution, but quickly realized he needed something that would be more efficient, offer more automations, and would ultimately help him respond quicker to clients.

How Clio Grow’s intake automation has accelerated Vernon’s business

Responsiveness is everything

Vernon knows that criminal defense is an area of law that is highly competitive. Even if a client signs up for a consultation, if they don’t get a confirmation or any indication of what to expect, they’ll quickly move on to the next firm.

“By making it as easy as me clicking a button to say, ‘Hey, your appointment is confirmed, please fill out this form,’ it keeps the client engaged enough to make the initial contact. That’s why I’ve been able to secure more clients—I’ve been more responsive to those initial consultation requests.”

Better, client-winning intake

When Vernon first started, his previous software required a lot of manual work that took too much time when responding to client inquiries and capturing their details in his system.

“Let’s say I’m in court, and someone tried to schedule a consultation with me. They wouldn’t get an intake form, they wouldn’t get in your schedule, they wouldn’t get any confirmation. I would have to manually create that contact, gather all their information, and then put it into my system. Clio automatically does all that.”

More efficient, informed consultations

“Clio automatically creates appointments, books them in my calendar, and I have a standard email form that I can send automatically. The intake form automatically uploads the client’s information to the system. If they don’t fill out a form, Clio will send them a reminder.”

“Going into that consultation, I can see it—I’m prepared. I’m pretty much a step ahead.”

Efficiency is in the details

Vernon’s biggest priority is saving time. Having to do something over and over again only slows him down.

“With Clio, once you set your forms up—you decide what you want, what you don’t want—after that, it’s automatic. When my client signs a document, it automatically uploads where I want it.”

Even clients notice the difference

Clio has improved Vernon’s client management systems in a way that benefits him—and his clients.

Monitoring for too much business?

The dashboard in Clio Grow shows Vernon exactly how much business is coming into his firm. He sees what clients he’s engaged, those pending engagement, and how much potential revenue he’s looking at for his firm.

Clio also gives him a sense of when he’s able to take on more, or when he’s reached his limit.

Expert training and support

With his last software, there was no hands-on training.

“You just get the software and you figure it out on your own. With Clio, I had three training sessions. I was able to play with the features before I even got in them. It was so simple and straightforward.”

Planning for more growth

With Clio Grow, Vernon has been able to capture so much more business—without the need to put any money toward advertising—while Clio Manage helps him manage his busy caseload. His next step is to hire at least two more staff members within the calendar year, and he’s hoping that Clio will make it easy for his firm to seamlessly communicate about cases, while helping with organization and managing clients.