You can ask for matters and contacts to be created, updated, and closed from anywhere in Clio. In the top right, click the Clio icon in your header bar to open the prompt panel, or ask in a Clio Work conversation. You can also use the prompt box at the top of the Today page. Then use natural language to describe what you want.
This article provides suggested prompts for working with matters and contacts, and links to the manual steps so you can see the details available to you.
Important: This article describes unified Clio. Unified Clio is available to firms in stages, so your account may still use the old experience. To switch to the old experience, open the user menu. Then select Switch to the old experience. Your data and settings are the same in both experiences.
Tip: The more you know about how Clio organizes matters and contacts, the more precise your requests will be. Each section below links to the manual steps so you can see the fields available, such as the responsible lawyer, practice area, and related contact roles. Using these fields consistently keeps your firm's records organized.
Create matters
Describe the client, the type of matter, and who is responsible, and Clio prepares the matter for your approval. If the client may already exist in Clio, Clio can check for a matching contact before creating a new one, and may ask whether a new contact is a person or a company.
- Create matter example: Create a new personal injury matter for Jane Doe about a slip and fall at a grocery store, with me as the responsible attorney.
- Create matter with details example: Create a matter called Doe v. Fresh Market for Jane Doe in the Personal Injury practice area, located in Vancouver, with the client reference number PI-2026-014.
If you do not provide sufficient details, Clio may automatically assign a logical option, or it may ask follow-up questions. When Clio has all the details, you can provide your approval once for the single request, approve that Clio takes action anytime you prompt in the particular conversation, or reject it to start again.
A matter holds more details than you may think to include in a request, such as the responsible lawyer, the originating lawyer, the practice area, the location, and a client reference number. To understand what each field means and how your firm's matter numbering applies, see Create Matters.
Complete related tasks manually
- Set up a matter from documents: Prefill matter details from an uploaded document.
- Set matter access and notifications: Control who can see the matter and who is notified.
- Create and manage matter stages: Move a matter through the stages your firm has set up.
- Duplicate matters: Start a new matter from an existing one.
Create contacts and link them to matters
You can ask for people and companies to be added as contacts, and linked to a matter with a role, such as opposing counsel.
- Create person example: Create a person contact for Maria Lopez with the email maria@example.com and the mobile number 555-555-5555.
- Create company example: Create a company contact called Lexicon Court Reporters with the email billing@lexiconreporters.com.
- Link contact example: Add Fresh Market Insurance to the Doe matter as the opposing party.
If you do not provide sufficient details, Clio may automatically assign a logical option, or it may ask follow-up questions. When Clio has all the details, you can provide your approval once for the single request, approve that Clio takes action anytime you prompt in the particular conversation, or reject it to start again.
A contact can have several email addresses and phone numbers, and the client portal needs a unique email address for each contact. To understand these and other contact details, see Create Contacts.
Complete related tasks manually
- Set billing preferences for a contact: Choose how and when a client is billed.
- Add related contacts to a matter: Add everyone connected to the matter, with their roles.
- Add employees to a company contact: Connect people to the company they work for.
Update and close matters
Ask for a change to a matter's status, description, client, responsible attorney, or practice area. You can also ask Clio to check for loose ends before you close a matter.
- Update status example: Change the status of the Smith matter to Closed.
- Update details example: Change the responsible attorney on the Lee matter to [Attorney Name] and update the description to "Contract dispute with former supplier."
- Check before closing example: Before I close the Smith matter, list any open tasks, upcoming calendar events, unbilled time, and draft invoices.
If you do not provide sufficient details, Clio may automatically assign a logical option, or it may ask follow-up questions. When Clio has all the details, you can provide your approval once for the single request, approve that Clio takes action anytime you prompt in the particular conversation, or reject it to start again.
To see how matter statuses work, and which details you can edit, see Change Matter Statuses and Edit and Duplicate Matters in Clio Manage.
Complete related tasks manually
- Change matter statuses in bulk: Update the status of many matters at once.
- Edit matter properties in bulk: Change the same detail on several matters at once.
- Update matter names and numbers: Apply your firm's numbering scheme to a revised matter.
Add custom field values
If your firm tracks details in custom fields, you can ask for values to be added to a matter or contact.
- Update custom field example: On the Smith matter, set the custom field Opposing counsel firm to Lee & Park LLP.
Use the custom fields your firm already has so that values stay consistent. To see how they are set up and applied, see Clio Manage Custom Fields and Apply and Update Custom Fields in Clio Manage.
Up next
- Create Activities, Events, Notes, and Tasks using Clio's AI features: Add notes, tasks, calendar events, time entries, and expenses to a matter.
- AI-generated Matter and Contact Summaries: Get a quick overview of a matter or contact.
- Prepare Invoices, Payments, and Trust Requests using Clio's AI features: Review unbilled time and prepare billing for a matter.