Win more criminal defence clients with faster, smarter intake
Generate and convert leads fast with Clio Grow — so your criminal defence law firm is first to respond when prospective clients reach out about a charge, AVO or police matter.
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Close more clients when timing matters most
Follow up with leads, win past clients back, and stay top of mind with personalised emails — sent right from Clio Grow. For criminal law practices that rely on referrals and repeat clients, faster, more consistent follow-up means more retainers.
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Tailor intake forms to different criminal cases
Create custom online intake forms for every type of criminal matter your firm runs — drink driving and traffic offences, assault, drug matters, AVOs and intervention orders, sexual offences, fraud and Commonwealth offences. Capture the details that actually matter for each matter type from the very first contact.
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Know the status of every potential client
See where every prospective client sits in your pipeline at a glance, and automatically create tasks and reminders so no new criminal matter falls through the cracks, even when your team is in court half the day.
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Onboard new clients from anywhere
Retain and onboard new criminal law clients from anywhere with online intake and e-signatures in Clio Grow. Send bills electronically and accept online card payments in AUD for retainers and fixed fees with Clio Payments, including direct deposit to your trust account where applicable.
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Create criminal case documents — and access your matter files from anywhere
Track the details every criminal matter requires with custom fields, then use Clio's document automation to produce briefs, sentencing submissions and client letters in minutes, not hours.
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Organise criminal matter details
Build criminal-law custom fields to track charges, court details, prior convictions, antecedents and bail conditions. Create separate field sets for different matter types - drink driving (BAC reading, range, prior offences), drug matters (substance, quantity, supply vs possession), or assault (charge classification, complainant details, AVO status).
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Automate document preparation
Pull information from custom fields directly into templates to automatically generate sentencing submissions, pleas in mitigation, character reference requests and standard client correspondence with Clio's advanced document automation.
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Lodge and serve documents without the hassle
Manage briefs of evidence and police disclosure: Upload and organise briefs of evidence, police facts, witness statements and disclosure material against the matter. Tag and search across documents, share securely with counsel, and keep a clear audit trail of when material was received and when it was reviewed.
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Access criminal matter files from anywhere
Keep evidence, client correspondence, court documents and disclosure organised against each matter in Clio or via a document storage partner like Box, Dropbox or OneDrive. Access matter files from chambers, court or home on any device with Clio's legal document management.
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Stay on top of every court mention, hearing and deadline
Whether it's a Local Court mention, a committal, a sentence hearing or a client conference, Clio's criminal case management software keeps every critical date in front of your team.
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Know your schedule
Organise your calendar by matter, set custom reminders for mentions and brief due dates, and connect Clio to Microsoft 365 or Google Calendar so every diary across your criminal law practice stays in sync.
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Know what needs to get done
Build detailed task lists for every type of criminal matter — from a single drink driving plea through to a multi-week trial — so your team always knows what's due, when and who's responsible. Clio's task management software makes complex matters manageable across your criminal litigation law firm.
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Built for every type of criminal law matter in Australia
From summary offences in Local and Magistrates' Courts to serious indictable matters in District and Supreme Courts, and Commonwealth matters in the Federal Court - Clio adapts to the way your firm actually practises criminal law.
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Drink driving and traffic offences
Custom fields for BAC readings, prior convictions and licence history. Templates for typical pleas, character references and submissions on penalty.
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Assault and domestic violence matters
Track charge classification, AVO or intervention order status, complainant details and bail conditions. Set up workflows for plea, defended hearing or fitness applications.
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Drug matters
Capture quantity, substance, supply versus possession, and prior history. Manage briefs of evidence and disclosure across straightforward possession matters and complex importation cases.
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Indictable and Commonwealth offences
Manage long-running indictable matters across mention, committal, arraignment, trial and sentence. Custom fields and templates for Commonwealth matters under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
Testimonials
What Australian criminal defence firms are saying about Clio's criminal law software.
Criminal case management software FAQs
What is criminal law software?
Criminal law software is the system of record and communication hub for a criminal defence law firm. It keeps contact details, evidence, briefs of evidence, court dates and client communications organised against each matter, and streamlines billing and trust accounting, so a criminal law office runs efficiently from one platform. Clio is cloud-based criminal law office software trusted by Australian defence firms – your matters and documents are accessible from court, chambers or home.
What does criminal case management software do?
Criminal case management software keeps your matters organised and automates the repetitive admin involved in running a criminal law practice, reducing duplicate data entry and manual diary work. It helps you store and search briefs of evidence, police facts, photos, video and disclosure against the right matter, and manages billing, trust and Legal Aid accounting in one place. With cloud-based criminal law software like Clio, criminal lawyers can access their files securely from court, chambers or home.
Does criminal law software help with collections and trust?
Yes. Clio gives Australian criminal defence firms several ways to make payment easier for clients and follow-up easier for the firm — including online card payments via Clio Payments, payment plans for clients who can’t pay a full retainer up front, and trust accounting that supports state-based regulator requirements.
Is Clio secure?
Yes. Clio invests in cybersecurity, undergoes regular independent security testing, is ISO 27001 certified, and handles personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Learn more.
Does Clio offer CRM software for criminal defence lawyers?
Yes. Clio Grow is our client intake and CRM solution and can be tailored for criminal defence law firms. It simplifies intake, lead tracking, appointment scheduling and follow-ups — all of which count when prospective clients are looking for representation quickly. Clio Grow integrates with Clio Manage (our practice management software), giving criminal defence lawyers a single system to manage matters, automate documents, track communications and oversee cases from first call to final outcome.
Is Clio suitable for my criminal law practice?
Clio is criminal defence lawyer software used across firms of every size – from solo practitioners running their own criminal law practice to multi-office firms with mixed civil and criminal caseloads. Custom fields, custom matter types and document automation let you shape Clio around how your criminal litigation law firm actually works. Whether you handle traffic offences, indictable matters, Commonwealth offences or a mix of all three, Clio adapts..
Does Clio offer templates for criminal law documents?
Clio supports document templates for every common criminal matter document – pleas in mitigation, sentencing submissions, character references, brief requests, client correspondence and standard letters. Templates connect directly to Clio’s document automation workflow, so common documents are produced in minutes.
What are the main types of criminal law matters in Australia?
Criminal law in Australia is split between Commonwealth and state/territory jurisdictions – each state running its own statutes and procedure rules. The work generally divides into summary offences (such as drink driving and minor assault matters, heard in Local or Magistrates’ Courts) and indictable offences (serious assault, drug, sexual and homicide matters, heard in District, County or Supreme Courts). Clio lets criminal defence firms set up custom matter types, workflows and document templates for every category of offence they handle.
What's the best criminal case management software for an Australian law firm?
The best criminal case management software depends on your firm’s size, mix of work and budget. A solo criminal defence lawyer needs something cloud-based, mobile-accessible and quick to set up. A multi-lawyer criminal litigation law firm needs stronger workflow automation, trust accounting and reporting. Clio scales from solo practitioner to multi-office firm, with Australian-specific trust compliance and document automation built in. Try Clio free for 7 days to see whether it suits your practice.
Which courts does Clio support for criminal matters?
Clio is court-agnostic and works across every level of the criminal court hierarchy.
- In Australia: Local Court (NSW), Magistrates’ Court (VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, NT, ACT), District Court / County Court, Supreme Courts in every state and territory, the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia.
- In Singapore: the Magistrates’ Courts and District Courts (within the State Courts), the General Division of the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
- In New Zealand: the District Court (including the Youth Court), the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme