Clio Work for Criminal Law
Pick a task, copy the prompt, and run it on your matter in Clio Work.
Prompts
Legal Research
Find the sentencing range for a first-offense Class B felony
Transactional
What are the minimum and maximum sentencing ranges for a first-time offender convicted of a Class B felony with no prior record? Explain the difference between determinate and indeterminate sentences, note any mandatory minimums or offense-specific variations, and cite the controlling statutes.
Summarize case law on bodycam footage in DUI stops
Transactional
Summarize recent appellate decisions on the admissibility of police body camera footage in DUI traffic stop cases, focusing on authentication and chain of custody challenges. Explain the evidentiary standard, what foundation courts require, and the common reasons courts admit or exclude the footage. Cite the key cases.
Confirm parole eligibility requirements after a felony
Transactional
What are the main statutory requirements for parole eligibility after a felony sentence? Cover minimum time served, eligibility exclusions, and any required conditions, and cite the relevant code sections.
Check the standard for a motion to suppress
Litigation
What is the standard for granting a motion to suppress evidence when a stop or detention lacked reasonable suspicion? Explain what the defense must show, who bears the burden, how courts weigh the totality of the circumstances, and any key exceptions to suppression. Cite the controlling rules and leading cases.
Find cases applying the plain view doctrine
Litigation
Identify the leading cases that define and apply the plain view doctrine when officers execute a search warrant. Explain the elements required to seize an item in plain view, how courts apply them to the scope of the search, and how state standards compare to the federal Fourth Amendment standard. Summarize each case's key holding.
Explain how to challenge evidence at trial
Litigation
What is the procedure for challenging the admissibility of evidence before and during a criminal trial? Cover suppression motions and hearings, timing and filing requirements, burdens of proof, how to preserve objections at trial, and how evidentiary rulings are reviewed on appeal. Cite the key statutes, rules, and cases.
Document Analysis
Flag compliance risks in diversion agreements
Transactional
Review these diversion program agreements and identify non-compliance risks, ambiguous or inconsistent conditions, and termination triggers, including deadlines and reporting or testing requirements. Provide a table with the agreement section, condition, participant obligation, what counts as a breach, termination trigger, risk level with a short reason, recommended follow-up, and whether attorney review is needed. Flag any missing details we need to assess compliance, such as timelines, who decides, or notice and cure rights.
Index prosecution discovery for the defense
Transactional
Review these prosecution discovery materials and create an index of each document with its type, date, author and recipient, and a short note on how it supports or undermines our defense theory. Provide the results as a table and flag high-value items, such as impeachment material, alibi evidence, suppression issues, chain of custody gaps, or Brady material.
Compare pre-trial motions and rulings
Transactional
Compare these pre-trial filings. For each one, list the motion type and relief sought, the legal standard, the key arguments, the supporting case law and what each case is cited for, and the current ruling status. Provide a single comparison table with one row per filing and pinpoint cites to where each item appears.
Check CJA time entries against the handbook
Transactional
Using the uploaded CJA Compensability Handbook, review all time entries for this matter and flag any that don't comply, including block billing, vague descriptions, and administrative work billed as legal work. For each flagged entry, note who entered it, the Handbook rule it violates, why it doesn't comply, and a specific recommendation to fix it. Provide a report only and don't edit or correct any entries.
Summarize objections and rulings from a preliminary hearing
Litigation
Summarize every objection in these preliminary hearing transcripts and the court's ruling on each. Provide a table with the page and line reference, objecting party, the objection and its basis, the ruling and any limiting instruction, the underlying issue, and whether the issue is preserved for appeal. Flag any objection with no ruling and note what we need to do to preserve it.
Find damaging statements in a deposition
Litigation
Review this witness deposition transcript and pull out any damaging or impeaching testimony, including inconsistencies, prior admissions, bias, speculation, or memory gaps. For each, give the quoted statement, the page and line reference, whether it's a direct admission or an inference, why it matters, and which witness it affects. Group the results by issue in a table.
Find contradictions across witness statements
Litigation
Review these witness disclosures and statements for a robbery and assault trial. Identify inconsistencies within each witness's accounts, contradictions between witnesses, and timeline discrepancies, and treat earlier versions as possible prior inconsistent statements. Provide a table with the witness, the statement and its source, the conflicting source, what differs, and its impeachment value with a short explanation.
Review discovery for gaps and defense issues
Litigation
Review the discovery index and production log, police incident report, probable cause affidavit, arrest narrative, and any motions in the file. Identify missing or incomplete discovery and evidence, rank the gaps by priority, and explain why each one matters. Then prepare a discovery gap checklist, a draft follow-up letter to the prosecutor requesting the missing items and confirming they've been preserved, and a list of third-party records we may need to subpoena and what each would help us prove.
Skills
Skills save the way your firm does a task, so anyone at your firm gets the same result.
Get consistent, high-quality work from everyone at your firm, every time. A skill saves a task you repeat in your firm’s format and standards, so anyone on your team can run it. Use skills for document analyses, client letters, and strategy recommendations.
Compare bodycam footage with the police report
Builds a timestamped chronology from video and records and compares it with officer narratives.
Create This Skill
Create a skill that reviews the body camera and dashcam transcripts, CAD logs, 911 records, and police reports in this matter. It should build a single timestamped event table with the time, source, speaker, and what happened, then list every discrepancy between the recordings and the officers' written narratives. Group discrepancies by officer and by phase of the incident, and include the conflicting statements, their sources, and whether each is a factual, timing, or omission issue.
Calendar dates from a federal criminal docket
Pulls verified dates from a federal criminal docket and turns them into calendar entries and prep tasks.
Create This Skill
Create a skill that, when I ask to check a federal criminal case, pulls and verifies all upcoming dates from the docket, including hearings, conferences, motion deadlines, and trial dates. It should create calendar entries and prep tasks with lead times based on the event type, add reminders for status conferences, and flag any changed or conflicting dates for me to confirm.
Draft a motion to dismiss from one you've filed
Drafts a defense motion to dismiss using a motion the attorney has already filed as the template.
Create This Skill
Create a skill that drafts a motion to dismiss criminal charges using my uploaded filed motion as the template for format, structure, and tone. It should rewrite the arguments to fit the facts of this matter, apply current statutes, court rules, and controlling case law with pinpoint citations, and ask me for any missing details it needs. Provide a filing-ready motion and a separate list of the authorities relied on.
Draft Templates
Draft documents from a prompt, or fill your firm’s own templates with details from the matter.
Get from a blank page to a first draft in minutes. Describe the document, and Clio Work drafts it from your matter’s facts and your jurisdiction’s law. Or turn your firm’s own documents into templates that fill in party names, dates, and terms from the matter.
Draft from a prompt
Draft the mitigation section of a sentencing memo
Transactional
Draft the mitigation section of a sentencing memorandum for a defendant convicted of a non-violent financial crime. Focus on the defendant's cooperation with the government and minor role in the offense, and explain how these facts support a downward variance or a mitigating role adjustment. Write it in a persuasive style and use placeholders for case-specific facts like the offense, loss amount, cooperation details, and criminal history.
Draft a memo supporting a plea agreement
Litigation
Draft a memorandum in support of a proposed plea agreement. Include the factual basis for each element of the charged offenses, the proposed plea terms, a sentencing recommendation with a short rationale, and the defendant's knowing and voluntary acceptance of the agreement and the rights waived. Cite the applicable rules of criminal procedure for the plea colloquy and court approval.
Build a defense strategy from the matter file
Litigation
Build a defense strategy for this matter. Review all documents, notes, and communications in Clio Manage, then write an internal strategy memo that covers the case summary and posture, key disputed facts and a chronology, the elements the prosecution must prove, our strongest defenses and the evidence that supports them, weaknesses and how to address them, a discovery and investigation plan, motion strategy, and next steps. Cite specific documents in the file for each fact and flag any gaps or inconsistencies.
Write a client status letter
Litigation
Review the case overview memo, client interview notes, prior client status letters, discovery index, and pending motions. Draft a client-facing status letter in plain language that explains where the case stands, the motions or issues we're evaluating, the documents or information we still need from the client, and the likely next steps. Keep the tone procedural and measured, don't overstate any position, and avoid unnecessary alarm. Then draft a short internal memo listing upcoming deadlines, missing facts, and immediate action items with owners.
Build your firm templates
Criminal Defense Engagement Letter
Fills the firm's fee agreement with the client, charges, and court. Upload your firm's version, and Clio Work turns the client name, charges, court, case number, and flat fee into fields it fills from each matter. Then review the suggested rule that adds the trial fee paragraph only when the matter proceeds to trial.
Discovery Demand Letter
Sends the firm's standard discovery request to the prosecutor. Upload your firm's version, and Clio Work turns the prosecutor, case number, defendant, charges, and arraignment date into fields it fills from each matter. Then review the suggested rule that adds the body-camera and dashcam request only when the case involves a traffic stop.
Motion to Continue
Starts each continuance request from the firm's standard motion. Upload your firm's version, and Clio Work turns the court, case number, defendant, current hearing date, reason, and proposed date into fields it fills from each matter. Then review the suggested rule that adds the speedy trial waiver only when the defendant has agreed to waive time.
Visualizations
Visualizations make charts, calendars, and diagrams from your matter data.
Build the exact view you need, right when you need it. Describe it in plain language, and Clio Work builds an interactive tool from your matter data, such as a case chronology or a settlement calculator. Download it and share it with clients and colleagues.
Lay out an incident timeline
Lays out the events of the incident minute by minute from every source.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive timestamped timeline of the incident from the police reports, body camera transcripts, and witness statements in this matter. For each event, show the time, a short description, the source, and a confidence level. Flag where sources conflict and summarize the key conflicts and gaps.
Inventory the evidence in a case
Shows each piece of evidence, its source, and its status.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive table of each item of evidence in the discovery for this matter. Include its type, source, date created and received, a short description, chain of custody notes and any gaps, and whether it supports or undermines the defense theory, with a one-sentence reason. Let me filter and sort by type, source, date, and impact, and add a simple summary chart. If the defense theory isn't clear from the file, ask me before building the table.
Compare sentencing exposure across outcomes
Compares sentencing outcomes across charges, pleas, and trial.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive side-by-side chart comparing the sentencing exposure if convicted at trial on each charge with the ranges under each current plea offer, using the applicable state or federal guidelines and the charging documents in this matter. Show the offense level and criminal history used, key enhancements and mandatory minimums, whether sentences run consecutively or concurrently, and the total range. Cite the guideline provisions and flag any assumptions or missing facts.
Compare witness statements
Shows where witness accounts agree and conflict.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive matrix of key facts by witness from every witness statement in this matter. Mark whether each witness's account agrees, conflicts, or is silent on each fact, with page references. Let me filter and sort by witness, fact, and status, and include a short legend.
Put court dates on one calendar
Shows every court date and deadline on one calendar.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive calendar from the docket and court orders in this matter. Include the arraignment, motion deadlines, hearings, trial dates, and speedy trial deadlines, with the source for each date and any related deadlines that depend on it. Show a countdown to the next event and flag any missing or unclear dates.
Show the client their case milestones
Gives the client a plain-language view of court dates, completed milestones, and what they still need to provide.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive Criminal Case Milestone Tracker from approved matter information. Show court dates, case milestones, client tasks, requested documents, and completed actions in chronological order. Add filters for court events, client tasks, documents, and completed items, and let users click any item to see a plain-language explanation of what it is, why it matters, and what the client needs to do. Prominently display the next client action and the next court date. Don't include any privileged information, such as attorney-client communications, defense strategy, or witness assessments, and flag any missing information.
Separate officer actions from the client's responses
Shows officer actions and the client's documented responses in separate lanes from detention onward.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive swimlane diagram of the documented sequence from initial detention through arrest, the advisement of rights, any request for counsel, opportunities to contact counsel, consultation, and later investigative steps. Put the officers' actions and the client's documented responses in separate lanes. Attach source references and flag missing information. Label potential issues as questions for counsel's review, not established constitutional violations.
Build a case chronology for trial
Shows the key events, the documents behind each one, and what is still outstanding before trial.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive case chronology for this matter from the pleadings and documents on the matter. Show the key events, the documents behind each one, and what is still outstanding before trial.
Combine the timeline, scene, and witness accounts in one view
Shows a clickable timeline, a scene diagram, and witness contradictions, color-coded by source reliability.
Create This Visualization
Using visualizations, create an interactive visual of this case. Include a clickable timeline of events that shows the time and source of each event, such as a witness, report, or video, and flags events where sources conflict. Add a simple scene diagram with labeled positions of people, vehicles, and evidence, and a witness comparison panel that highlights contradictions between statements. Color-code by source reliability: confirmed by records, single witness, or disputed.
Docket
Docket searches federal and state court dockets and tracks the cases you follow.
Search US federal and state court dockets without leaving Clio Work. Track the cases that matter to you and get alerts when something new is filed. Research how a judge has ruled on similar motions before your next hearing.
Track a criminal case for new docket entries
Track the case and get alerted when the court enters an order, sets a hearing, or the prosecution files a motion.
Pull charging documents and motions into the matter
Download the indictment, motions, and orders and save them to the matter folder in Clio Documents.
Check the docket before a hearing
Open the register of events to see what has happened and what is upcoming.
Research how a court handled similar motions
Search court dockets for comparable suppression or sentencing motions and rulings, even on cases the firm does not represent.