Conflict Checks in Clio Manage and Clio Grow

Clio makes it easy for you to do conflict checks as you add new contacts and matters. The conflict check feature forms part of common workflows where a quick conflict check can help you quickly determine whether there is a conflict of interest with a new contact or matter. The feature is designed to be flexible in that you can tailor your conflict checks to be as broad or as specific as needed.

By default, this feature is available to Administrators and those with the “General Access” role assigned (with the limitation that the “General Access” role cannot view the conflict check report). This default ensures that you can maintain matter and contact privacy settings and prevent unauthorized access to confidential information. You can manage permissions to the conflict checks feature by creating or updating custom roles and assigning them to your account users as needed. Learn more here.

Run conflict checks in Clio Manage

In Clio Manage you can run a conflict check from the global search bar, from the main Contacts tab, as you create a matter, or from an existing matter. If you use Clio Grow in addition to Clio Manage, your conflict checks will sync between Manage and Grow.

1. Navigate to the conflict check page using any of the options below.

   • Click the global search bar to open the Search panel, then click Run conflict check.

     Note: If you type a search term in the bar before you click Run conflict check, the term will be added into relevant fields.
   • Go to Contacts, select the Conflict checks subtab, then click Run conflict check.
   • Go to Matters, click the name of a relevant matter, scroll to the Conflicts check section, then click Run conflict check.
   • When creating a matter and after you have added all the matter details, click Save and run conflict check instead of Save matter.
2. In the new page for inputting details, fill in and/or update any identifying information you have for new contacts (e.g., names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses), select how to search (Flex search or Exact search), and where to search in Clio Grow and/or Clio Manage.
   • Refer to Conflict check parameters to understand the details about how to fill fields and select your search options.

3. Optional: Click Add another search to run multiple searches at once. Click Remove on a search to remove it.

   Tip: You can use this option to add adverse parties to your conflict check.
4. Once your search parameters are ready, click Generate results.

5. Review your results.

   • Using the individual search tabs, navigate to each search.

   • For each result, click the Mark conflict status dropdown then choose the relevant option.

     Note: When you select statuses for the results, they will also be organized into their respective subtabs according to their statuses. You can also select multiple results using the checkboxes and assign a status in bulk. Click Add note for a search result to add relevant information about the particular result.

   You can navigate away from your results at any time and return later to continue.

   Note: A conflict check automatically closes after three days to ensure your reports contain up-to-date information. You can duplicate and rerun a closed conflict check.
   Tip: Click Share to copy a link to the results to share with another member of your firm for additional input.
6. Once you have reviewed your results click Close and generate report.
7. In the modal, review the Conflict status for the report and add any comments.
   • The Conflict status is automatically provided according to the statuses you assigned to your individual search results. If you change this status, you will have to acknowledge the disclaimer before you’ll be able to proceed.
8. Click Close and generate report.

Upon completion of this process, you will see a summary page. From this page you can click Share to copy a link to the results to share with another member of your firm, view the search parameters you used, download the PDF report to your computer, and/or add or edit which matter to associate the conflict check with.

Run conflict checks in Clio Grow

In Clio Grow you can run a conflict check from the global search bar, from the main Contacts tab, while doing contact intake, or from an existing matter. If you use Clio Manage in addition to Clio Grow, your conflict checks will sync between Manage and Grow.

1. Navigate to the conflict check page using any of the options below.

   • Click the global search bar to open the Search panel, then click Run conflict check.

     Note: If you type a search term in the bar before you click Run conflict check, the term will be added into relevant fields.
   • Go to Contacts, select the Conflict checks subtab, then click Run conflict check.
   • Initiate a conflict check as you are intaking leads.
   • Go to Matters, click the name of a relevant matter, scroll to the Conflicts check section, then click Run conflict check.
   • When creating a matter and after you have added all the matter details, click Save and run conflict check instead of Save matter.
2. In the new page for inputting details, fill in and/or update any identifying information you have for new contacts (e.g., names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses), select how to search (Flex search or Exact search), and where to search in Clio Grow and/or Clio Manage.
   • Refer to Conflict check parameters to understand the details about how to fill fields and select your search options.

3. Optional: Click Add another search to run multiple searches at once. Click Remove on a search to remove it.

   Tip: You can use this option to add adverse parties to your conflict check.
4. Once your search parameters are ready, click Generate results.

5. Review your results.

   • Using the individual search tabs, navigate to each search.

   • For each result, click the Mark conflict status dropdown then choose the relevant option.

     Note: When you select statuses for the results, they will also be organized into their respective subtabs according to their statuses. You can also select multiple results using the checkboxes and assign a status in bulk. Click Add note for a search result to add relevant information about the particular result.

   You can navigate away from your results at any time and return later to continue.

   Note: A conflict check automatically closes after three days to ensure your reports contain up-to-date information. You can duplicate and rerun a closed conflict check.
   Tip: Click Share to copy a link to the results to share with another member of your firm for additional input.
6. Once you have reviewed your results click Close and generate report.
7. In the modal, review the Conflict status for the report and add any comments.
   • The Conflict status is automatically provided according to the statuses you assigned to your individual search results. If you change this status, you will have to acknowledge the disclaimer before you will be able to proceed.
8. Click Close and generate report.

Upon completion of this process, you will see a summary page. From this page you can click Share to copy a link to the results to share with another member of your firm, view the search parameters you used, download the PDF report to your computer, and/or add or edit which matter to associate the conflict check with.

Conflict check parameters

The parameters for conflict checks are designed to be flexible in order to suit your firm’s unique needs. You can add or remove details to broaden or narrow your check. A search result will be returned if any one piece of information you provide is found anywhere in Clio. The one exception to this rule applies to the names fields of a person search where you can choose between finding results when the full name matches, or when any one of the name fields match.

Depending on where you initiated your conflict checks from, some of the details may already be filled. You can make adjustments to the details as needed.

For each search you can adjust the following

• Person, company, or keyword search: You can choose whether the search is for a person, company, or keyword.
• Name variations: You can add variations for the person’s first, middle, or last name, or for a company name. For a person search, you can select the Search matches for full name check box to limit returned results to those where all provided names match or deselect the check box to return results when even one of the name fields you provide match.
• Label: You can add a label to your search. This label does not form part of the search but can help you identify the search when you generate the conflict check results.
• Additional details: You can add email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, a date of birth, additional names, or other additional information that may be useful.
• Search type: Choose Flex search to allow for results that are similar to your search parameters or Exact search for limiting results to exact matches.
• Search categories: Use the checkboxes to indicate where to search for conflicts.

You can add up to ten individual searches before generating your results, which is useful if you want to do variations of a search, by adding or removing information that you are more or less sure of, or to run searches that are related. These will form part of one conflict check report.

View and export previous conflict checks in Clio Manage

In Clio Manage, you can view a list of the previous conflict checks your firm ran. This list is available in the main Contacts tab > Conflict checks subtab. The list provides information about the conflict check, the associated matter (if any), which firm user ran the check and when, and the status assigned by the firm user. You can also click Export to download the table of the conflict checks that you have run as a CSV file.

To download conflict check report results:

1. Go to the main Contacts tab > Conflict checks.
2. Click View report to download a PDF of the report generated at the time the conflict check was closed.

Duplicate and rerun conflict check

Once a conflict check has been run and results generated, you cannot delete or edit the conflict check. Instead, you can duplicate an existing report, modify the parameters, and rerun the check.

Manage the association between conflict checks and matters

You can create, edit, or remove an association between a conflict check and matter from the conflict check summary page, a matter’s dashboard, or when you create a new matter or edit it.

From the conflict check page in Clio Manage or Clio Grow:

1. Go to the main Contacts tab > Conflict checks.
2. For a conflict check you want to add, edit, or remove a matter for, click the more icon (three vertical dots) in the Actions column.
3. Click Edit associated matter.
   • To add a matter or change the associated matter, click the down arrow and select the matter to associate with the conflict check.
   • To remove a matter, click the X for the matter.
4. Click Save.

From a matter’s dashboard in Clio Manage, you can also link a conflict check to the matter, or quickly navigate to conflict checks associated with the matter where you can then edit or remove the associated matter.

1. In Clio Manage, go to the main Matter tab, then select a matter.

2. In the Conflict Checks section, click Link conflict check.

   Note: If you do not see the Conflict Checks section, make sure that you select it when you customize your matter dashboard.
3. Search to find or click the down arrow, then select the relevant conflict check.
4. Click Save.