How FidLaw’s revenue increased by 50% after adopting Clio
FidLaw managing director Francesco Meduri and head of business strategy Giuliana Antonelli explain how their business underwent a quantum leap thanks to Clio’s easy-to-use client and case management, straightforward billing, and at-a-glance financial reporting capabilities
Francesco Meduri and Giuliana Antonelli first met while working for a corporate services provider before deciding to set up their own legal operations. Today, they operate a thriving Feefo Platinum Trusted Service award-winning umbrella group, employing 26 staff across their three firms. Notable Notaries specialises in notarial services, FidLaw provides full-scope legal services, while FidCorp offers professional corporate secretarial, accounting, payroll and other business advisory services.
And Clio plays a vital role in helping managing director Francesco Meduri and head of business strategy Giuliana Antonelli manage each firm’s operations. “We’ve undergone a quantum leap thanks to Clio’s easy-to-use client and case management, straightforward billing, and at-a-glance financial reporting capabilities.”
How FidLaw unified its firms’ operations under a single paperless source of truth
Before implementing Clio, the three firms used a combination of paper-based archives and digital notes with Lotus Notes. They soon realised this approach was unmanageable. “It was becoming impossible to manage three firms’ worth of documents in separate places. We needed to unify everything in a central online portal.”
Meduri and Antonelli knew there must be a better way to operate. Sustainability was a key priority, so they decided to search for a centralised digital solution that would allow them to ditch paper-based archives once and for all.
And when Antonelli came across Clio Manage, she instantly knew it was the system for them. The fact that Clio’s legal software is endorsed by the Law Society of England and Wales was extremely appealing for FidLaw — a key selling point, adds Meduri.
“Implementing Clio allowed our group to go entirely paperless. We’re immensely proud to offer a traditionally paper-based service in a sustainable way.”
Keeping the firms’ financial targets on track
Running three firms simultaneously is a mammoth task, and they quickly realised that Clio’s benefits extend far beyond paperless document management alone. Clio’s reporting, including the dashboard functions, has allowed Meduri to understand where they are in terms of the firm’s profits and productivity.
Meduri has now regained his Saturday mornings. Before Clio, he’d spend this time poring over each firm’s finances in dense Excel spreadsheets. Now, Clio makes it easy to manage FidLaw’s financial data so he can stay on track. By generating the data within the platform into reports, he’s able to gain insight which can then be used to drive change and results within the firm.
To make the firm’s financial process even more streamlined, FidLaw’s internal finance department has also integrated Clio directly with Xero, meaning no more dreaded data entry or reporting inaccuracies. Clio allows the firm to have everything connected — nothing slips through the cracks, which ensures a stable billing workflow.
“Clio provides instant daily snapshots into how each firm is performing. I can see their turnover, get detailed reports in minutes, and dig into each fee earner’s performance. It’s perfect.”
Maximising cash flow through Clio Payments
Not only were they using Clio’s reporting tool and billing process, Meduri quickly adopted Clio’s payment functionality, which streamlined their billing and payment process even further, allowing them to get paid 50% faster. He’s delighted with the “quick and easy” setup, and also loves how much time has been saved with month-end reconciliation.
By using Clio’s online billing and payment solutions, FidLaw no longer needs to deal with the hassle of physical envelopes and paying postage.
“We love how it’s all part of the one solution, and sending bills with payment links included was so seamless. It has improved our cashflow and saved us a great deal of time in reconciling the ledgers and in facilitating billing and collections.”
Software that supports staff in their roles
Clio’s ease of use enables the firms to deliver an award-winning client experience. Fee-earners manage everything from within Clio. Clients don’t have to bounce around from one team to another — they deal with a single point of contact at all times.
Since implementing Clio, the firm has grown in size and had little to no employee turnover. Clio supports every single member of staff — it makes the team’s workflows easier to manage, and its cloud-based collaboration capabilities mean staff can work from wherever they like.
Clio played a vital role in enabling FidLaw to maintain productivity while staff worked from home during the pandemic. It has also enabled the firm to continue working with members of staff who relocated to Italy, Spain and Cyprus.
“My team handles everything in Clio. It’s so smooth. They’ve been able to take on more cases without any additional stress, or move without having to find a new job. In fact, we’ve only had two people leave our firms in the past decade.”
Clio is the beating heart for FidLaw’s revenue growth
FidLaw has experienced a significant boost in the group’s annual turnover after joining Clio. Since implementing Clio, Antonelli states the firm’s revenue “increased significantly from 2019 to 2022. FidLaw is also seeing promising growth in 2023, with a further increase in revenue in its first quarter.”
FidLaw expressed that these figures come directly from the firm’s optimisation dashboard set up within Clio, and is proud to show how much Clio impacts its revenue. “Implementing Clio was a breakthrough moment for our organisation,” comments Antonelli.
“Clio is the beating heart at the centre of all three firms’ operations. It’s allowed us to take on more cases, hire more staff, and boost our finances — all while reducing time-consuming manual effort. We literally couldn’t operate without it.”
Win firm awards with the support of Clio
FidLaw integrated Clio’s cutting-edge client portal on its website, which has significantly boosted the firm’s client engagement. Antonelli expresses how pleased the firm is to have achieved its mission of providing excellent client service while being as sustainable as possible.
“Having progressed from paper-based to paperless practice by using Clio, ensuring clients’ data is secure and private with the lowest carbon footprint possible.”
Clio for Clients helped Notable Notaries win the prestigious Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award in 2021, 2022 and 2023. This award highlights the vital role Clio plays in helping FidLaw deliver an exceptional experience for all its clients.
“Our clients love being able to follow the progress and status of their matters online from Clio’s secure portal, which is accessible through the members’ login area of our website”.
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