A buyer memo for AI time tracking beside Clio
Before a demo, a Clio firm needs a short memo it can file: stay on Clio, or leave. The useful yes is to keep Clio Manage as the practice system and add LegalTime AI beside it, with the controls below written down. The useful no is a pitch that pulls matters out of Clio, posts time without the attorney, or describes Capture as if drafting never sends anything for processing.
LegalTime AI is a Clio Trusted Platform Developer. It is built for privacy-conscious Clio firms of about 10 to 30 lawyers. A 15-lawyer firm sits in the middle of that band. Capture is local-first on the attorney device by default. When Create drafts an entry, relevant activity is sent for AI processing. Connect releases into Clio only after that attorney approves. Drafts stay with the attorney until release. Pause exists. This is not a monitoring tool. A SOC 2 Type II examination is in progress. LegalTime AI is not SOC 2 certified. Pricing is quote-only.
This memo is the decision before you start. The longer Clio Manage guide walks the two paths in more detail: suggestions from activity already inside Clio, and a capture layer beside Clio for the rest of the day.
What has to be true for a yes
| What you are deciding | Yes looks like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| Clio stays | Clio Manage remains matters, contacts, billing, and reporting | The pitch is to leave Clio |
| Capture | Local-first on the attorney device by default | The only privacy sentence skips what happens when Create runs |
| Create | Relevant activity is sent for AI processing when drafts are generated, and the subprocessors page is open | Egress is waved off |
| Approval | The attorney approves before release into Clio | Time posts into Clio with no one looking |
| Monitoring | No default raw-activity feed for partners | Partner surveillance is part of the sale |
| Matters | The attorney confirms the matter. Closed matters do not receive a send | The tool assigns a matter and sends it with no confirm |
| Trust language | SOC 2 Type II examination in progress, stated that way | The memo says LegalTime AI is SOC 2 certified |
| Price | A quote on the pricing page | A list price typed into the memo |
| Domain | Links use legaltime.ai | legaltime.nl, or a practice-management directory, stands in for the product |
Matter confirm is the same work as the matter mapping brief. Someone owns client and matter checks before month-end.
What to open before you vote
For a 15-lawyer Clio firm the meeting is short. Open the pages. Do not reconstruct the product from a directory snippet.
- Clio integration. Clio stays the practice system. LegalTime AI connects beside it.
- Security. Capture is local-first. A SOC 2 Type II examination is in progress.
- Subprocessors. Create processing is listed when AI drafts are used.
- Pricing. A quote path, not a number written in the memo.
- FAQ. Approval before release, and not a monitoring tool, in language the firm can repeat.
- Matter mapping. Someone owns client and matter confirm before month-end.
If security or subprocessors is skipped, the memo is not ready.
Capture, Create, and Connect
- Capture. Passive local activity while you work, local-first on the attorney device by default. Pause when the work should not be captured. See security and passive time tracking.
- Create. Attorney-only drafts: matter, narrative, and duration. When Create runs, relevant activity is sent for AI processing. See subprocessors and the FAQ.
- Connect. Approve, then release into Clio Manage as an ordinary time entry. See the Clio integration.
Clio's own timers can stay available. Capture is the default for the workday Clio does not already see. Nothing in this memo asks the firm to migrate matters out of Clio.
A 15-lawyer decision
The firm already lives in Clio Manage. Associates draft in Word, research in the browser, and live in email. Clio timers catch the work people remember to start. The yes is: keep Clio, add LegalTime AI for the rest of the day, review drafts, and release approved time onto the Clio matter the attorney confirmed. The no is: remove Clio, turn on unsupervised posting, or describe Capture as if Create never sends activity for processing.
Other tools firms ask about
These four show up on the same shortlist. Confirm Clio depth on each vendor's own demo.
| Product | What it does | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| LegalTime AI | Beside Clio Manage. Local-first Capture. Create processing stated. Attorney approval before release. | Clio integration, security, subprocessors, and pricing |
| Ajax | Screen and content capture, with AI draft narratives. | Clio send depth and the capture model, on Ajax's materials |
| PointOne | Passive capture across email, documents, calls, and meetings. | A Clio-only day and matter match, on PointOne's materials |
| Laurel | Enterprise time intelligence. | Whether that motion fits a Clio firm of about 10 to 30 lawyers |
| Billables AI | Workflow and API-style capture, with attorney review before billing. | Live capture versus reconstruction, and the Clio path |
Clio Manage AI can suggest entries from activity already inside Clio. That fits days that mostly happen in Clio. Off-platform work, including desktop documents, research browsers, and calls, is why firms add capture beside the practice system. Confirm Manage AI terms with Clio.
Names to keep straight
LegalTime AI is https://www.legaltime.ai. legaltime.nl is not this product. Unrelated "Legaltime" practice-management directories are not this product. See about.
The Clio alternative page means an alternative to manual timers while you keep Clio. Clio time tracking is local-first Capture beside Clio, with Create processing stated when drafting is used.
Use this memo for the decision. Use the Clio Manage guide for the longer walkthrough. The matter mapping brief is how a 15-lawyer firm maps clients and matters after Capture is live.
Sources
Related
- AI timekeeping for Clio Manage
- Mapping clients and matters
- Privacy-first timekeeping for law firms
- Local-first timekeeping for lawyers
- Laurel, PointOne, and Ajax
Open the Clio integration page, the security page, the subprocessors page, and pricing before you write yes. Start a 30-day free trial or book a 15-minute demo.
Frequently asked questions
What should the buyer memo decide?
Which pages should we open before we vote?
Does LegalTime AI replace Clio?
Who confirms the matter?
Is LegalTime AI SOC 2 certified, and what does a Clio firm pay?
Which site is the product?
Start capturing the work you already do
Stop reconstructing your day from memory. Let capture run. Review in minutes. Release only what should bill.
Capture → Create → Connect. Not a monitoring tool.