How Hybrid Legal operates a fixed fee subscription model
Clio’s cloud-based case management system supports Hybrid Legal’s client-centric payment options
Clio’s flexibility, built-in client portal, and the ability to allow Hybrid Legal to manage its matters, correspondence, time recording, and billing all under one roof stood out.
But most importantly, Hybrid Legal could get up and running with Clio with minimal hassle or expense. This was one of the firm’s primary goals—it didn’t want to sacrifice productivity, profitability, or client satisfaction while implementing legal software.
Established in 2013, Hybrid Legal is a Winchester-based law firm that provides affordable business law services for SMEs, ranging from employment to HR, to intellectual property legal support.
Ryan Lisk, founder of Hybrid Legal, explains how Clio enabled this growing firm to adopt an innovative monthly fixed-fee subscription-based model and deliver maximum value to its SME clients.
“The Law Society approved Clio—that was a big tick. It was also cloud-based, which was exactly what we were looking for, so I did a bit more digging. I soon discovered it was simple to use, had no hidden setup costs, and integrated with all our favourite tools. Implementing Clio was a no-brainer.”
What set Clio apart from the competition
Ryan was looking for a cloud-based, secure, and easily accessible legal case management system that could support Hybrid Legal’s hybrid fixed-fee subscriptions/one-off payments business model, grow alongside the firm, and provide SMEs with a range of client-centric payment options.
However, other legal software providers he first encountered had overly complex layouts and hidden setup fees.
“With most other solutions, you’re looking at spending thousands of pounds to get someone to come over and configure it for you. But Clio’s pretty much plug-and-play. I can’t fault the onboarding process—it was simple and completely bespoke to what our firm required.”
Workflows that nurture and interact with clients
Clio’s multi-product system (Clio Manage and Clio Grow) allows Hybrid Legal to manage its clients’ end-to-end journeys seamlessly.
Ryan and Alan, his business partner, operate in a fast-paced sales environment. Generating new business is incredibly important to sustaining their hybrid business model.
With Clio Grow, Ryan and Alan can easily manage their pipeline, track referrals, identify potential new clients, and determine where opportunities have been won or lost. As soon as new clients filter through Hybrid Legal’s web forms, the clients’ details instantly sync to Clio Grow.
“We follow each prospect’s journey through the pipeline in Clio Grow—it’s fantastic at helping us visualise every opportunity. Once the client has converted, we pass their details straight through to Clio Manage, the all-in-one portal that we use to work on clients’ cases. It’s a seamless and incredibly intuitive collaboration between the two tools”, adds Ryan.
Clio Grow and Clio Manage provide a complete law firm house, keeping every aspect of Hybrid Legal’s operations under one roof.
“Whether tracking prospects, onboarding new clients, collaborating with them via the clients portal, or billing, we do it all within Clio Grow and Clio Manage. Clio is indispensable to our operations.”
Supporting a growing remote workforce
Hybrid Legal has increased its headcount from 5 full-time staff in 2020 to 11, while also expanding the number of self-employed contractors it works with.
Clio has played a pivotal role in helping the firm grow rapidly and supporting its increasingly remote team.
“We first implemented Clio during the pandemic, when everyone worked remotely. It was an absolute lifesaver. I don’t know how we could’ve managed without its cloud-based collaboration capabilities”, comments Ryan.
Today, the firm relies on Clio to support its hybrid working approach.
“Clio means we can be just as efficient while working remotely. It gives us amazing peace of mind—I know I could be sitting on a beach in Barbados doing my work if I wanted to. That’s the beauty of using Clio to support a hybrid working approach.”
Migrating firm data securely into Clio
When Hybrid Legal decided to transition from Hubspot to Clio, the firm was conscious of the potential challenges associated with data migration.
However, Clio offered a seamless migration process that minimised disruption while keeping the firm’s data completely secure.
“I can’t fault the onboarding or migration processes”, says Ryan. “We enjoyed working with Clio’s technical experts. They were knowledgeable and trustworthy, instantly putting us at ease. They kept our data completely secure as it was transferred from Hubspot to Clio.”
Grow your firm with Clio
Adopting Clio has transformed Hybrid Legal’s operations, leading to impressive growth—the firm has grown its full-time staff headcount by 120% since implementing Clio.
Equally importantly, Clio is a vital element of Hybrid Legal’s fixed-fee subscriptions model, which contributes to 60% of the firm’s turnover.
“Within the next five years, we want 90% of our revenues to come from subscriptions. Clio is the most important piece of the puzzle. Clio Grow and Clio Manage allow us to track new leads, convert prospects into clients, collaborate with clients and contractors, get cases over the line, and send accurate, prompt invoices. We’d highly recommend it to any firm out there.”
Clio’s time recording capabilities mean the team can track every billable moment accurately, ensuring no revenue slips through the cracks. Clio’s billing workflows make it simple for Hybrid Legal to create and issue custom, professional invoices.
Not only does this drastically reduce time spent creating invoices, but it has also increased payment collection rates and boosted Hybrid Legal’s cash flow.
Clio has enabled the firm to develop a reliable and effective subscription model that’s both client-centric and profitable.
