‘We Grew With Clio’: How Sterling Law Uses Clio to Serve 19,000 Clients

‘We Grew With Clio’: How Sterling Law Uses Clio to Serve 19,000 Clients

For nearly a decade, Sterling Law has leveraged Clio’s law practice management software to improve firm efficiency and streamline administrative tasks for growth and client satisfaction. Sterling Law takes a modern, innovative approach to delivering legal services, and it shows.

Founded in 2009 with a primary focus on immigration law, Sterling Law has expanded and flourished in multiple areas. The London-based firm has grown to a robust team of nearly 50 partners, solicitors, paralegals, and staff. It now offers advice to clients in a wide range of legal areas, from immigration to corporate start-ups to intellectual property (IP). Named a Legal 500 firm, Sterling Law has almost 19,000 clients on its books.

As Senior Partner Ruslan Kosarenko and IP Solicitor Katsiaryna Pazniak explain, the foundation for this expansion and success has been the firm’s focus on innovation and effective use of modern legal technology.  

Early adopters: taking a chance on innovative technology

Before adopting Clio, the firm was burdened by manual processes for billing, quality control, compliance, and workflow management, causing bottlenecks in signatures and compliance tracking.

“At the time, we were using another system, which we found slightly backward, and not all features were available, not everything worked,” Ruslan explains.

So, when Ruslan came across Clio at a conference in 2017, it caught his attention. The firm decided to give the software a try, and since then, both the firm and Clio have grown, innovated, and unlocked ways to serve clients better.

“When we first started, there were no add-ons, no additional apps available,” Ruslan says. “It was just pure Clio. But Clio modernised the system and added many features, and it made our lives easier.”

Ruslan explains that the process was smooth and simple for the firm from the start.

How Clio helps empower Sterling Law’s growth

Sterling Law leverages Clio’s cloud-based technology and automation to streamline operations, save time, and enhance focus on client service and firm growth. Partners like Ruslan also use Clio to oversee activities more effectively, boosting quality control and work standards.

Below, Ruslan and Katsiaryna highlight key ways Clio has driven the firm’s improved operations and growth.

1. Significant time and effort savings

Clio’s features significantly streamline administrative tasks at the firm, saving time and effort. As Ruslan explains, from a firm management perspective, Clio’s impact on the firm’s daily operations has been monumental.

“Practical things like payments, sharing documents, requesting signatures, integration with emails—all those practical, everyday things, they’re all there in Clio. And they’re so easy to use, everything is automated. You basically don’t need anything else.”

2. Simplified document management, all in one system

Traditionally, legal document management can be cumbersome, but Clio’s legal document management software makes the process efficient and smooth at Sterling Law. Clio’s all-in-one system eliminates the need for third-party document storage or signing tools at the firm. For immigration and IP cases like those handled by Ruslan and Katsiaryna, it’s simple to upload, store, and sign documents directly, streamlining client interactions.

“It makes our job so much easier and pleasant because you’re not involved in all this administering and saving, uploading, and downloading all this stuff. Everything is there. It’s just amazing,” Ruslan highlights. 

3. Transparency and ease of compliance

Clio’s automated compliance features, like document storage, have eased Sterling Law’s regulatory processes, simplifying audits and reducing compliance-related stress for the team.

“All employees and regulators have access, if required, to all the records, and we don’t need to make any effort when we’re required to provide any information or find something,” Ruslan says. “Everything is just there, just a click of a button.”

4. Customisable features and integrations for multiple practice areas

As a growing firm, Sterling Law needs technology that benefits solicitors across all practice areas. For immigration-focused partner Ruslan, Clio’s custom fields, integrated payments, e-signatures, and compliance tools are invaluable, centralizing all documents and actions for seamless operations.

“In terms of immigration, Clio has many useful features: payments, document signatures, everything. The system covers all the necessary things in terms of compliance, in terms of KYC, client onboarding, and saving all the documents in one place,” he says.

Clio’s features reduce costs and complexity by eliminating the need for external software. For Katsiaryna, who manages IP cases, Clio’s automated uploads and DocuSign integration enable seamless remote sharing and tracking of trademark drafts, streamlining operations beyond the office.

“The DocuSign integration is crucial for me and for the management of the IP case,” Katsiaryna notes.

5. Effortless firm onboarding

Clio also simplifies the process of onboarding new solicitors and staff to the firm, saving time and effort both from a training perspective and for the new hire.

“Onboarding new colleagues is so easy,” Ruslan says. “When a new lawyer starts, all I need to do is just provide an email, click one button, and add. That’s it. The lawyer will immediately receive a link. They complete the information, which takes exactly two minutes.”

6. Reliability and adaptability to support firm growth and expansion

Over the years, Sterling Law’s growth and expansion beyond the initial firm have been supported by Clio’s technology. So, as Ruslan explains, when starting new ventures, the firm immediately put its confidence in Clio.

“We have two start-ups spinning off from us, and they’re in the legal field as well,” he says. “We did not have to consider which CRM to use: it was immediately Clio. We didn’t even think of looking at other providers. We know that our sister law firms will be using the same system.”

Why Clio is the solution for everyone at the firm

For a firm like Sterling Law with many solicitors and different legal practices within the firm, Clio offers solutions that simplify workflows and meet the needs of everyone on staff.

1. For partners: real-time reporting for efficient law firm management

Clio’s reporting features give partners like Ruslan real-time insights into billing, staff activity, and firm operations, enhancing quality control and management. Instant access to essential data allows partners to focus more on core activities.

“Clio helped us grow; I can be sure of that immensely because, in terms of administrating, supervising, and monitoring, the system does it for you,” Ruslan says. “All the reports and other features available to senior management and partners help a lot.”

2. For solicitors: a user-friendly solution without technical challenges

As Katsiaryna points out, ease of use is crucial for solicitors when using technology—but not all tech tools are as smooth and intuitive as Clio. 

“I feel so lucky and privileged that our system actually works and does not create a hurdle for lawyers because this is who you really need to serve. Your lawyers need to be comfortable with what they’re using. They need to have zero tech issues,” she says. 

3. For the whole firm: flexible workflows for maximum efficiency

As a modern law firm, Sterling Law needs a system that allows for flexible workflows and remote functionality. Fortunately, Clio’s cloud-based software fits this bill.

“We’re based in central London, but in terms of mode of working, we’re hybrid,” Ruslan says. 

“We have a few solicitors who were able to work from home, not only during Covid, but during other periods when they needed to, and some of the colleagues are on a permanent hybrid arrangement. I think it’s so convenient. You don’t need to be using it from the office only.”

Modern software to support a modern firm’s growth

For close to a decade, Clio has played a vital role in Sterling Law’s efficiency and growth, allowing the firm to manage operations effectively, scale with new sister firms, and focus on what matters most—its clients.

With this in mind, Ruslan’s advice to his competitors is to—humorously—suggest that they delay their switch to Clio so that Sterling Law can maintain the competitive advantage that using Clio gives his firm.