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Why This Firm Chose Clio After Using LEAP for 16 Years

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Collective Family Law Group

  • 2006

    Year Founded

  • 11-25

    Number of Staff

  • 2024

    Started Using Clio

  • Collective Family Law Group, Lawson Street, Southport QLD, Australia

    Location

  • Fixed Fee

    Hourly

    Fee Types

  • Family

    Practice Areas

After 16 years with LEAP, the team at Collective Family Law Group found the software no longer aligned with their firm’s growth and evolving direction. They needed a platform that was truly cloud-based, scalable, and client-focused.

Why the Firm Moved From LEAP

Key challenges with LEAP included:

  • Clunky document handling, particularly for complex family law documents like consent orders.
  • Limited reporting and insights – basic data and inflexible reporting made it difficult to track KPIs, team performance, and client journeys.
  • Escalating costs – licence fees jumped from $220 to $360 per user, making the platform increasingly unaffordable.
  • Contract lock-ins – the firm wanted to move for years, but felt trapped in long-term contracts.

Caralee Fontenele, the firm’s Director, attended ClioCon in 2022 and was immediately impressed.

“I knew straight away—when Clio decided to come to Australia—I wanted to be one of their first customers. And that’s exactly what we did.”

Why the Firm Chose Clio

The firm chose Clio for several key reasons:

  • Cloud-native platform – ideal for a remote-first team.
  • Extensive integrations – tools like VXT, Xero, and Calendly work seamlessly with Clio.
  • Custom workflows – easily tailored to suit the firm’s processes.
  • Real-time updates – plus a secure client portal for sharing documents.
“In Clio, the matter stages work really well. You can set it up to see exactly where each matter is at.” “The dashboard is awesome. You can see all your KPIs and track how the team is performing—it makes managing so much easier“

Levelling up With Clio Grow

Before Clio Grow, the firm manually moved data between platforms, slowing down their intake process. Now, Clio Grow automates it all—saving hours of admin time.

  • Automated lead management – no more manual data entry.
  • Integrated with Outlook and Word – draft documents right from Clio.
  • Streamlined client intake – from newsletter click to new matter, all in one place.
“Once you have it up and running, it works amazingly.“

Customer Support That Stands Out

In Caralee’s previous experience, it was really difficult getting any level of customer service or care-unless it was contract renewal time.

“With Clio, you’re not just another number. They know who you are, and they’re there to help you every step of the way.“

Transitioning from LEAP to Clio

Despite initial concerns about migrating data, the transition went smoothly thanks to a well-planned 8-month timeline.

Key steps in the migration:

  • Identified must-have features and made sure that Clio had them
  • Worked with a migration expert who did the majority of the planning
  • Simple and effective team training with Clio’s dedicated local team

“It’s a big task moving PMS, but it can be done smoothly with the right support.”

What’s Improved Since the Switch?

  • Lower PMS costs – and no more long-term lock-ins
  • Flexible licensing – scale users up or down as needed
  • VXT integration – automated time recording for calls; “It’s a game changer!”
  • Trust Accounting – overall improvements
“There’s less time spent on admin and more time on legal work, which is really helpful.“

  • Whats Next?

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