Ask Research Questions in Clio Work

Conducting authoritative legal research ensures your case strategy is grounded in verified primary and secondary sources. The Ask a Research Question workflow allows you to do this by connecting your queries to the Clio Library, returning cited case law, statutes, regulations, and secondary materials specific to your jurisdiction. 

Ask a research question with Vincent

The Ask a Research Question workflow provides answers supported by authoritative legal sources from the Clio Library. You can perform both general research and matter-specific research. 

1. From Clio Work, click Vincent in your navigation panel.
2. Optional: Select a matter using the Select Matter dropdown if your question relates to a specific case, or skip this step to perform general research. 
3. Select the Research dropdown and choose Ask a Research Question. 
4. Enter your specific legal research question in the text box. 
   • Optional: Update the jurisdiction below the text box and select OK to confirm.
5. Select the blue arrow submit icon to start the query.
6. Optional: Review Vincent's suggested phrasing and select it to submit if it improves the clarity of your original question.
7. Review the generated response and the list of citations in the Legal Authorities panel.

Ask research questions in conversations

You can ask a research question during any active conversation with Vincent, regardless of the workflow you started with.

• Contextual research: If you are analyzing a document, Vincent may recognize your follow-up questions as research-based and automatically reference the Clio Library.
• AI suggestions: Vincent may suggest research questions based on its analysis of your uploaded files or the facts of your matter.
• Seamless transition: Type your research question into the persistent text box at the bottom of any active conversation.

Understand the research memo

When Vincent responds to research questions, it produces a structured legal memo organized into the following sections: 

• Short response: A concise answer to your question in one paragraph, identifying the core legal standard or requirement.

  Tip: The Short response is designed to give you a quick answer. If you are working under time pressure, start there and use the Legal Authorities panel to verify the cited sources before relying on the conclusion.

• Summary: A more detailed synthesis of the key statutes, case law, and principles that govern the question.
• Background and relevant law: A comprehensive breakdown of the governing legal framework, organized by sub-topic. Vincent cites specific statutes and explains the application
• Case law: Analysis of relevant appellate decisions, including how courts have interpreted and applied the governing standards.
• Analysis: Application of the legal principles to the specific question, separating distinct legal paths where the answer depends on factual circumstances (e.g., domestic violence versus harassment).
• Exceptions and caveats: Limitations, alternative standards, procedural risks, and scenarios where a different rule may apply.
• Conclusions: A final synthesis with specific statutory and case citations summarizing the legal answer.

Review legal authorities

In Clio Work, the Legal Authorities panel serves as Vincent's verification mechanism and your due diligence tool. You can verify the accuracy of the AI's response by accessing the source documentation directly from the Clio Library. This panel appears on the right side of the conversation after submitting a research question. 

1. Click Legal Authorities below Vincent’s response to the question if the panel is not immediately visible.
2. Review source components for each listed authority:
   • Document title: Select the title to open the document in Clio Library for review.
   • Source summary: A summary of the document and its relevance.
   • Excerpt (Proof of source): The direct quote or excerpt from the document that is relevant to Vincent’s response. This direct citation proves the AI's answer is grounded in verifiable legal text.
3. Optional: Select the copy icon in the top right corner of a listed source to copy its title, summary, and excerpt. 
4. Use the quick filter subtabs to organize results: All, Cases, Stat. and Reg., Rules and Procedures, Administrative Decisions, and Secondary.

Modify the list of sources

You can exclude specific legal authorities from Vincent's responses and regenerate the answer. 

1. Find a research question in your conversation and click Legal Authorities below the response.
2. Click Modify List.
3. Using the checkboxes, deselect any document(s) that you do not want referenced in the response.
4. Click Apply > Confirm to regenerate the response.

Up Next

• See Build Arguments in Clio Work to move from research to a structured legal position by syncing your case facts with cited authorities. If your work involves transactional document review, see Analyze Legal Documents in Clio Work.