Why Stotler Hayes Wished They Never Left Clio

Jennifer Cunningham, Legal Operations Manager at Stotler Hayes

Stotler Hayes is a mid-sized law firm focused on optimizing recovery for healthcare providers. Headquartered in Pawleys Island, SC, the firm is fully remote and has been since its inception—or, “before it was cool,” as eloquently put by Stotler Hayes’ Legal Operations Manager, Jennifer Cunningham. The firm boasts over 50 employees with attorneys licensed in the vast majority of states in the US.

After more than a decade of using Clio, they decided to move to a different practice management solution in 2023. Within six months, they knew they had made a mistake. After exploring several options, Stotler Hayes eagerly returned after being drawn to the progress that Clio had made during their time away to continue supporting mid-sized firms like theirs. Since returning, Stotler Hayes has newfound efficiency for their attorney billables, alignment on a single source of truth for firm information, and spent drastically less time with IT support. These wins have contributed to improved employee retention and happiness.

Clio: It just works

Stotler Hayes learned the hard way that some software vendors will promise the world without follow through.

“There are a lot of vendors out there, with lots of bells and whistles and lots of integrations,” Jennifer warns. “They all tout that they are super customizable. That can sometimes be a double-edged sword.”

When Stotler Hayes moved away from Clio, for example, they learned that software updates could be a nightmare.

“They would send me a link that I had to put into a test environment to make sure it would work with our system, then put it into our production environment myself—and then go through all of the rigmarole to teach people how to use it.”

And once the updates were in place, the firm would run into constant bugs or conflicts with the customizations that they set up for themselves on the platform.

Stotler Hayes has a wide variety of people from across the technology spectrum at the firm: very novice users up to well-versed technical staff. So, having something that appeals to every role in the firm is key. Stotler Hayes has seen first-hand how Clio’s growth and development have made it a go-to solution for mid-sized firms.

Better billing, contented colleagues

What else do Jennifer and her team find so appealing about working with Clio? Better billing. The first time Stotler Hayes had to bill out of the competitor’s platform, it took 13 hours. That’s not hyperbole. “I was literally on the phone on a zoom call with them for 13 hours,” says Jennifer. She even had to bring her managing partners into the call, taking valuable time from their day.

After the call, some of the firm’s most technical staff continued to have issues with simple tasks that should have been straightforward, like entering time.

But, (billable) times have changed for Stotler Hayes since returning to Clio.

“In terms of our attorneys doing their work and getting their time in—and getting bills out to clients—Clio has been far superior,” Jennifer highlights.

With their previous provider, Stotler Hayes had to manually track time entries then double—sometimes even triple—check those compared to what was in the system. That amount of time spent on admin tasks was unsustainable. Clio brought the firm an efficient way to handle it.

Now, Stotler Hayes’ staff have the confidence that their time is seamlessly allocated not to mention immense time savings for Jennifer.

Detailed business metrics for everyone

In her role as the Legal Operations Manager, Jennifer has sightlines into every part of Stotler Hayes. Operationally, a lot of what she does in her day-to-day is on the case management side of things, including client and attorney metrics, but she also handles a lot of internal and external reporting from across the firm’s staff.

Stotler Hayes has people working across the nation on a lot of state-regulated matters. Staff often see new issues or trends within certain state agencies and the types of denials that they’re making.

“The data that I provide to our executive committee is super helpful in terms of asking pivotal questions for our firm: Are we seeing trends in particular states relative to client referrals? Are certain types of cases resolving more quickly (and what can we learn from that and how do we apply it across the board)?”

But the execs aren’t the only ones who get to take advantage of these insights. Jennifer also points out that it’s important data that’s shared with the firm’s clients detailing key aspects of their ROI. Jennifer can now truly articulate the benefit of what clients are getting in return, and provide real-time feedback relative to ways clients can maximize the firm’s services.

Support if, not when, you need it

It’s a relief that Jennifer doesn’t have to contact Clio’s support team every day on an issue. In Stotler Hayes’ first go with Clio, she estimates that she contacted support only once. With the competitor, she was doing it daily: all day, every day—from calls to screen shares and everything in between.

“I didn’t have time for anything else,” she admits.

If and when she needs it, Jennifer has the peace of mind of knowing she can tap into Clio’s personalized, in-house support—available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week—from the largest and most experienced team in the industry. After more than a decade of helping 150,000+ legal professionals and 1,000+ mid-size firms like Stotler Hayes, Clio’s team has seen it all.

Stotler Hayes is back to its roots–both in values and in software

Founded by two “lawyer-moms,” family has been synonymous with Stotler Hayes since its inception. Elizabeth Stotler, the firm’s co-founder, detailed as much upon receiving the 2021 Reisman Award for Best Growth Story. “There’s this belief that you can’t have a rewarding career and a real life with your family. We just couldn’t stand for that.” And it’s not just a soundbite: Stotler Hayes is a certified Great Place to Work.

So, when staff were reporting that the stress of dealing with their other legaltech software was seeping into their personal lives, Stotler Hayes knew they had to make a change. It turns out the better legaltech solution was a familiar one according to Andrea Stitt, Executive Director & General Counsel at the firm. 

“The growth and development of Clio over the past couple of years, the roadmap of upgrades, as well as the customer service and culture we know Clio embodies, solidify our intent to return,” Stitt shared at the time. She adds that the team feels confident being back with Clio, knowing it can serve the needs of their mid-sized firm.

It also means that Stotler Hayes can work the way they want to work. Jennifer notes that the attorneys appreciate the flexibility the Clio mobile app offers, enabling them to efficiently manage their cases and stay connected while in court or otherwise working remotely from their traditional home office environment. Clio supports any working style with ease.

No wonder there was even confetti when the return to Clio was announced. 🎉