In Clio Manage, roles control what each user can access and do. Every firm user needs at least one role, either a standard role or a custom role. The right role gives each user the access their work requires and keeps confidential client data protected.
Important: A user with more than one role receives the permissions of the most permissive role.
Tip: Learn about permissions in Clio Grow in Manage Users in Clio Grow.
Understand standard roles and custom roles
Clio Manage includes five standard roles, and you can create custom roles for anything they do not cover. Standard roles work as a starting point for new firms and as templates for custom roles. Each role below lists its core functions and its non-configurable permissions.
Note: Non-configurable permissions are built into standard roles and carry over when you use a standard role as a template for a custom role.
Administrator
Assign this role to managing partners, or to anyone who needs full access to all firm settings, user management, and data. Administrators have maximum access, so several of their permissions are non-configurable.
Important: By default, only users with the Administrator role can open the Firm Feed tab on Today. To give other users access, create a custom role and enable View account firm feed under Firm Settings. You can assign roles immediately after you create them.
What an Administrator can do:
- Manage contacts, matters, and documents.
- View all firm activities and financial information.
- Manage users and roles.
- Access and configure all firm settings.
Non-configurable permissions:
- Accounts: View, create, edit, delete, export, and manage transactions and bank accounts.
- Activities: View all categories, bulk edit bills, and billed items.
- Calendars: Manage all calendars.
- Conflict Checks: Create, view, and manage conflict checks. Administrators can also view the conflict check report, which bypasses matter and contact visibility permissions.
- Dashboard: View firm dashboard.
- Documents: Unlock user-locked documents.
- Matters: Administer stages and templates, manage billing preferences, and block users.
- Payments: Manage Clio Payments, including payment plans and charges. Administrators can also administer merchant accounts, view tax forms, and sign up.
- Reports: View, create, download, and manage report presets and schedules.
- Settings: Manage bill syncs, billing, documents, expenses, firm settings, grants, and matter numbering.
- Tasks: Manage, bulk edit, and bulk delete tasks.
- Transactions: View, edit, export, and manage all transactions, including trust transactions.
- Workflow Automations: Manage classic workflows.
Accounts
Assign this role to users who need access to the trust and operating accounts and who record transactions.
What the Accounts role can do:
- Manage matter financials.
- View activities for Accessible matters.
Non-configurable permissions:
- Accounts: View, create, edit, delete, export, and manage transactions and bank accounts.
- Matters: Manage billing preferences.
- Transactions: Export and manage trust transactions.
General Access
Assign this role to most legal professionals, such as lawyers and paralegals. It gives a baseline for managing matters, tracking time, and working with clients.
What the General Access role can do:
- Contacts management: Create contacts, Edit contacts, Delete contacts, and Export contacts.
- Matter management: Create matters, Edit matter properties, Delete matters, Export Matters, and View matter timeline.
- Timekeeping: View activities for Accessible matters.
Non-configurable permissions:
- Conflict checks: Create, view, and manage conflict checks.
Billing
Assign this role to a bookkeeper or accounting staff member who manages firm finances, including bill payments and account transactions.
What the Billing role can do:
- View matter financials.
- View activities for All activities.
- Create, manage, and view bills and trust requests.
Non-configurable permissions:
- Accounts: View bank accounts.
- Activities: Bulk edit.
- Matters: Manage billing preferences.
- Payments: Manage plans, create charges, and view tax forms.
- Settings: Manage billing.
- Transactions: View, edit, and manage.
Reports
Assign this role to managers who run firm-wide reports to analyse data and who need no other administrative settings.
What the Reports role can do:
- View activities for Accessible matters.
Non-configurable permissions:
- Dashboard: View firm dashboard.
- Reports: View, create, and download reports, report presets, and report schedules.
When to use custom roles
Custom roles give administrators precise control over user access to firm and client information. Standard roles cover common responsibilities, and custom roles add permission sets for your firm's security, compliance, and workflow needs.
Note: Custom roles are available on all plans. The number of custom roles increases with the plan tier.
Create custom roles for your firm to:
- Define precise access: Grant users access only to the data and features their work requires, so no user holds more access than their responsibilities call for.
- Streamline user management as your firm grows: Assign each new user a preconfigured role that matches their responsibilities instead of adjusting permissions one user at a time.
Tip: Custom roles help your firm protect client confidentiality and meet its professional conduct obligations. Limit who can view, edit, delete, or export sensitive records, such as contacts and bills, to the users whose work requires it, and enable record filtering. Limited access reduces risk and protects data integrity.
Sample custom roles to get started
Start a custom role from a standard role as a template, or build one from scratch. The examples below are common starting points.
Partner
Create this role for partners who need access to their matters, contacts, and matter financials to practice without administrator settings.
Key permissions:
- Edit contacts and Delete contacts
- Edit matter properties
- Create matters and Delete matters
- View matter timeline
- View matter financials
- View account firm feed
- View activities for Accessible matters
Junior Paralegal
Create this role for a user who manages matters and contacts day to day without access to sensitive administrative actions.
Key permissions:
- Create matters, Edit matter properties, and View matter timeline
- Create contacts and Edit contacts
- View activities for Own
Billing Manager
This role gives access to financial data and reporting without full administrator permissions. The Billing standard role works as a template.
Key permissions:
- Create bills and trust requests and Manage draft bills and trust requests
- View activities for All activities
- Bulk actions for transactions and accounts
- Export Matters
Accountant
This role gives an accountant limited, read-only access to firm contacts and billing information. The Accounts standard role works as a template.
Key permissions:
- View activities for Own
- View matter financials
- View bills and trust requests
Up next
- Assign and Unassign Roles: Assign a standard or custom role to users in your firm.
- Create and Manage Custom Roles: Build a custom role when no standard role fits.