How Clio Helps “Make It Click” at OU Law

Kenton Brice, Director of the Law Library, OU Law

Kenton Brice routinely gets an email or a text or a LinkedIn DM that reads, “Professor Brice, it’s finally clicked.” Kenton is the Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law (OU Law). The school works with Clio through Clio’s Academic Access Program (CAAP), which offers free Clio access to instructors, administrators, and students in both clinical and classroom settings.

It’s a perfect match for the digitally-driven culture at OU Law. Kenton sought a software solution that could keep up with the hardware his students were using through its pioneering Digital Initiative. A mobile-friendly, comprehensive platform like Clio’s was perfect for its hands-on learning environment. By making Clio the backbone of its technology curriculum, OU Law provides students with practical exposure to modern legal software, which ensures they graduate ready to innovate and lead.

Or, in other words, that it “clicks.”

How Clio helped

Every student gets an iPad → every iPad needs to be court-ready

OU Law’s Digital Initiative began in 2014 with grant funding for a 1:1 iPad Program. When Kenton came on board soon after, his goal wasn’t just to manage the program, but to make it truly “comprehensive”—to build out a full curriculum that went far beyond the hardware itself. “I came in as the hair on fire before it was gray innovator, and immediately, I was like, ‘We have got to bring tech into the classroom for them to use the entire semester.’”

Access essential case and client information from anywhere

Jumbled versions of different software → One comprehensive solution

Kenton hit the road, and started to connect with legaltech providers. “We had this epiphany that we needed one centralized practice management system so the students could truly understand how to store and draft documents, access templates, and use the case data they collected.”

Connect your firm, cases, and clients in one place

Technology from the 80s → Solutions for modern legal work

When Kenton and a student attended ClioCon in 2019, there was a similar reaction but Kenton joked that this time it was the student whose hair was lit aflame. At the time, OU’s clinic was using an old, server-based case management system, which “was a piece of junk. Like, ‘ was this developed in 1986!?’” After attending, Kenton estimates, every single user session at ClioCon, the student went back to OU and told the faculty that it needed something that’s mobile friendly and cloud-based. Enter, Clio.

See why ClioCon is the preferred conference of thousands of legal professionals

Dependent on desktop → Ready to work from anywhere

“With Clio, we got the mobile experience we needed. Students going to court could finally have their case file with them wherever they went, and they’re still doing so today.”

See how Clio puts your practice in your pocket

Additional benefits to using Clio

Learning on the fly

Kenton splits OU’s students into law firms. Four students are grouped together to act as a law firm for the entire semester. Each group creates their own Clio account and Kenton acts as the client. “They have to set up portals. They have to learn how to bill me. They have to learn how to send me invoices through the portal and communicate with me through the portal. They have to learn all that.”

Learn more about Clio’s secure client portal, Clio for Clients

Working in one centralized platform

On top of the external interactions and invoicing, Kenton’s students work in Clio to track their time, build out their matters, and organize case files. He encourages creativity in working in Clio and asks the students to report back to him with their approaches. This exposure to the tool in class, according to Kenton, shows the value of having one centralized platform to work within.

Run your firm, organize cases, and collaborate with clients—all from one place

Becoming the industry leaders

In addition to alumni reaching out to Kenton to note that their education has come full-circle, he often receives messages from past students who now are working in established firms. Thanks to their time at OU working with Clio—have become the go-to tech person in their office. Sometimes these firms are still using actual bankers boxes and are trying to figure out how to modernize their operations.

Read more about Clio’s award-winning support

Building the next generation of legal innovators

Kenton noted that there is a real headwind in Oklahoma with an aging bar that’s been doing things the same way for decades. Students sometimes graduate and get told, “No, this is just how we do it” by their new colleagues. But, after two or three years, that way of working proves too tiresome. That’s when they either start innovating the tech at their firms or leave to build their own.

Learn how CAAP supports the tech-savvy legal professionals of tomorrow, today