Clio

Supergood | Clio API

Alex Klarfeld

Alex Klarfeld

— 7 min read
Supergood | Clio API

Programmatically access matters, contacts, time entries, calendars, billing, and document links from Clio with a stable REST API. Supergood builds and operates production-grade, unofficial Clio integrations so your team can automate practice management workflows without heavy custom engineering.

Plain English: Clio is cloud-based practice management software used by law firms to organize matters, track time, bill clients, manage trust funds, coordinate calendars and tasks, store documents and communications, and run firm-wide reporting. An unofficial API lets you pull matter and contact records, time entries, invoices, events, and document metadata—and push new matters, billables, notes, tasks, and links to documents stored in systems like iManage.

For a tech company integrating with Clio, this means you can fit into a firm’s iManage-centered workflow by syncing matter metadata and client details from Clio, writing time entries and expenses tied to iManage document IDs, creating matters from intake and auto-provisioning iManage workspaces, and publishing draft invoices back to Clio for billing. You can build features like automated time capture from document activity, unified matter dashboards that blend Clio financials with iManage content, and calendaring/docketing tools that write deadlines directly to the matter while filing supporting documents in the correct iManage workspace.

What is Clio?

Clio (https://www.clio.com) is a legal practice management platform that helps law firms run operations end-to-end across case management, billing, accounting, documents, and client intake.

Core product areas include:

  • Matter Management (case files, statuses, custom fields, teams)
  • Contacts & Client Intake (Clio Grow CRM, intake forms, conflict checks)
  • Time Tracking & Billing (activities, expenses, invoicing, payments)
  • Trust Accounting (retainers, trust transactions, reconciliation)
  • Documents & Communications (document storage/links, emails, notes)
  • Calendar & Tasks (events, reminders, docketing, assignments)
  • Reporting & Insights (utilization, realization, collections, financials)

Common data entities:

  • Matters (matter number, title, description, status, practice area, responsible attorney)
  • Contacts (clients, opposing parties, companies, people, emails, phones, addresses)
  • Users & Teams (attorneys, paralegals, billing/admin roles)
  • Time Entries & Expenses (date, duration, description, activity codes, rates)
  • Bills/Invoices & Payments (line items, taxes, trust applied, statuses)
  • Trust Accounts (balances, deposits, transfers, withdrawals)
  • Tasks & Calendar Events (due dates, reminders, attendees)
  • Documents & Links (files managed in Clio or references to external DMS like iManage)
  • Notes & Communications (emails, messages, call logs)
  • Audit Events (who changed what, when)

The Clio Integration Challenge

Firms rely on Clio daily, but turning portal-centric casework into API-driven automation—especially in environments anchored by iManage—can be challenging:

  • Matter identity and numbering: Ensuring unique, consistent matter numbers and titles across Clio and iManage workspaces
  • Permissions & entitlements: Role-based access varies (attorney, billing, admin) and must be respected in API actions
  • Trust accounting rules: Retainers, trust-only payments, and restricted transfers require careful validations
  • Long-running tasks: Invoice generation, bulk imports, and large document moves need async/polling and resilient retries
  • Document provenance: Linking Clio matters to iManage workspace/document/version IDs without duplicating storage
  • Intake vs. active matter: Bridging Clio Grow intake records into Clio Manage matters with status transitions
  • Authentication complexity: SSO/MFA and session lifecycles complicate headless automation for firm tenants
  • Audit rigor: Each action (time entry, bill change, trust transaction) needs immutable, consistent audit records

How Supergood Creates Clio APIs

Supergood reverse-engineers authenticated browser flows and network interactions to deliver a resilient API endpoint layer for your Clio tenant.

  • Handles username/password, SSO/OAuth, and MFA (SMS, email, TOTP) securely
  • Maintains session continuity with automated refresh and change detection
  • Normalizes matter, contact, time, billing, and document-link schemas so you can integrate once and rely on consistent objects
  • Aligns with customer entitlements and role-based permissions to ensure compliant access
  • Supports high-volume operations (time capture, billing runs) with polling or webhooks for long-running jobs

Use Cases

Matter Synchronization & iManage Workspace Mapping

  • Pull matter lists from Clio and map to iManage workspace IDs
  • Keep titles, responsible attorneys, and practice areas aligned
  • Add document links referencing iManage document/version IDs without moving files

Intake to Matter Opening (Grow → Manage → iManage)

  • Convert intake submissions into new matters with assigned numbers
  • Auto-create iManage workspaces and cross-reference IDs in Clio
  • Apply custom fields and tags for practice area or workflow stage

Time Capture & Billing Automation

  • Push time entries tied to iManage document activity (e.g., editing or reviewing)
  • Generate draft invoices with correct rates, taxes, and trust application
  • Sync invoice PDFs and statuses for attorney review and client delivery

Calendar & Docket Sync

  • Write events, deadlines, and reminders to Clio calendars and tasks
  • Attach references to iManage documents that support the docket item
  • Maintain firm-wide visibility with consistent formatting and audit

Available Endpoints

Authentication

POST /sessions: Establish a session using firm credentials. Supergood manages MFA (SMS, email, TOTP) and SSO/OAuth when enabled. Returns a short-lived auth token maintained by the platform.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/sessions \
  --header 'Authorization: Basic <Base64 encoded token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "username": "[email protected]",
    "password": "<password>",
    "mfa": { "type": "totp", "code": "123456" }
  }'

Example response

{
  "authToken": "eyJhbGciOi...",
  "expiresIn": 3600,
  "user": {
    "id": "u_clio_9481b2",
    "name": "Associate Attorney",
    "entitlements": ["matters", "contacts", "time_entries", "billing", "documents"]
  }
}

POST /sessions/refresh: Refresh an existing token to keep sessions uninterrupted.

Matters

GET /matters: List matters with filters for status, responsible attorney, client, and update windows.

Query parameters

  • status: open | pending | closed | archived
  • clientId: string
  • responsibleUserId: string
  • matterNumber: string (exact or partial)
  • updatedFrom, updatedTo: ISO 8601 timestamps
  • page, pageSize: integers for pagination

Example response

{
  "items": [
    {
      "matterId": "mtr_7a913f",
      "matterNumber": "2026-0451",
      "title": "Acme Corp v. Example LLC",
      "status": "open",
      "practiceArea": "Commercial Litigation",
      "clientId": "ctc_5110d7",
      "responsibleUser": {"userId": "u_clio_9481b2", "name": "Associate Attorney"},
      "team": [
        {"userId": "u_clio_1f2a98", "role": "Partner"},
        {"userId": "u_clio_77cde0", "role": "Paralegal"}
      ],
      "customFields": {"court": "S.D.N.Y.", "stage": "Discovery"},
      "iManageWorkspaceId": "WM-ACME-2026-0451",
      "updatedAt": "2026-02-18T14:22:09Z"
    }
  ],
  "page": 1,
  "pageSize": 50,
  "total": 1
}

POST /matters: Create or update a matter and optionally link an iManage workspace.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/matters \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <authToken>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "matterNumber": "2026-0452",
    "title": "IP Counseling for Acme Corp",
    "description": "Trademark review and filing strategy",
    "clientId": "ctc_5110d7",
    "status": "open",
    "practiceArea": "Intellectual Property",
    "responsibleUserId": "u_clio_1f2a98",
    "team": ["u_clio_77cde0"],
    "billingPreference": {"rateType": "hourly", "defaultRate": 350, "currency": "USD"},
    "customFields": {"priority": "High", "origin": "Referral"},
    "tags": ["acme", "ip"],
    "iManageWorkspace": {"workspaceId": "WM-ACME-2026-0452"}
  }'

Example response

{
  "matterId": "mtr_82b4d0",
  "matterNumber": "2026-0452",
  "status": "open",
  "createdAt": "2026-02-18T15:03:11Z"
}

Contacts

POST /contacts: Create or update a contact (person or company) and mark as client when appropriate.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/contacts \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <authToken>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "type": "company",
    "name": "Acme Corp",
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "phone": "+1-415-555-0199",
    "addresses": [{"line1": "100 Market St", "city": "San Francisco", "region": "CA", "postalCode": "94103", "country": "US"}],
    "isClient": true,
    "notes": "Primary contact: GC Jane Doe",
    "tags": ["key-account", "vip"]
  }'

Example response

{
  "contactId": "ctc_5110d7",
  "type": "company",
  "isClient": true,
  "createdAt": "2026-02-18T15:10:04Z"
}

Time Entries

POST /time-entries: Submit a time entry tied to a matter, optionally referencing an iManage document.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/time-entries \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <authToken>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "matterId": "mtr_7a913f",
    "userId": "u_clio_9481b2",
    "date": "2026-02-18",
    "durationMinutes": 90,
    "description": "Review and annotate draft motion",
    "activityCode": "Litigation - Motion Practice",
    "billable": true,
    "rate": 350,
    "currency": "USD",
    "iManageDocument": {"workspaceId": "WM-ACME-2026-0451", "documentId": "DOC-000112", "version": 3}
  }'

Example response

{
  "timeEntryId": "tme_b2096a",
  "matterId": "mtr_7a913f",
  "billable": true,
  "createdAt": "2026-02-18T15:22:44Z"
}

POST /documents/link: Attach a document reference from iManage to a Clio matter without file duplication.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/documents/link \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <authToken>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "matterId": "mtr_7a913f",
    "title": "Motion for Summary Judgment (v3)",
    "source": "imanage",
    "iManage": {"libraryId": "NRT-LIB-01", "workspaceId": "WM-ACME-2026-0451", "documentId": "DOC-000112", "version": 3},
    "category": "Pleadings",
    "externalUrl": "https://imanage.example/workspaces/WM-ACME-2026-0451/docs/DOC-000112?v=3",
    "uploadedBy": {"userId": "u_clio_77cde0"}
  }'

Example response

{
  "documentLinkId": "dln_9f0c71",
  "matterId": "mtr_7a913f",
  "source": "imanage",
  "createdAt": "2026-02-18T15:28:03Z"
}

Get full API Specs →

Technical Specifications

  • Authentication: Username/password with MFA (SMS, email, TOTP) and SSO/OAuth where enabled; supports service accounts or customer-managed credentials
  • Response format: JSON with consistent resource schemas and pagination across modules
  • Rate limits: Tuned for firm throughput while honoring customer entitlements and usage controls
  • Session management: Automatic reauth and cookie/session rotation with health checks
  • Data freshness: Near real-time retrieval of matters, contacts, time entries, bills, and document links
  • Security: Encrypted transport, scoped tokens, and audit logging; respects Clio role-based permissions (attorney, staff, billing, admin)
  • Webhooks: Optional asynchronous delivery for long-running workflows (e.g., invoice generation, bulk imports)

Performance Characteristics

  • Latency: Sub-second responses for list/detail queries under normal load; invoice generation times reflect underlying platform behavior
  • Throughput: Designed for high-volume time capture and billing synchronization
  • Reliability: Retry logic, backoff, and idempotency keys minimize duplicates and support at-least-once processing
  • Adaptation: Continuous monitoring for UI/API changes with rapid adapter updates

Getting Started

  1. Schedule Integration Assessment

Book a 30-minute session to confirm your modules, licensing, and authentication model.

  1. Supergood Builds and Validates Your API

We deliver a hardened Clio adapter tailored to your workflows, including iManage workspace mapping.

  1. Deploy with Monitoring

Go live with continuous monitoring and automatic adjustments as Clio evolves.

Schedule Integration Call →

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which Clio modules can this integration cover?

Supergood supports workflows commonly used for practice management, including Matter Management, Contacts/Intake (Grow), Time Tracking & Billing, Trust Accounting, Calendar & Tasks, and Document Links (including iManage references), subject to your licensing and entitlements.

Q: How are MFA and SSO handled for automation?

We support username/password + MFA (SMS, email, TOTP) and can operate behind SSO/OAuth when enabled. Sessions are refreshed automatically with secure challenge handling and monitoring for session expiry.

Q: Can you bridge Clio matters to iManage workspaces and documents?

Yes. We normalize workspace and document identifiers so you can attach iManage references to Clio matters, record document-centric time entries, and avoid duplicating files while maintaining auditability.

Q: Do you support trust accounting and invoice workflows?

We respect trust accounting constraints, and we can submit time entries and generate draft invoices, apply retainers, and surface invoice PDFs and statuses via polling or webhooks, aligned with firm permissions.

Q: How do you maintain audit trails?

We capture immutable audit records for matter changes, time entries, billing actions, and document link operations, including who did what, when, and the rationale when provided.

Ready to automate your Clio workflows?

Supergood can have your Clio integration live in days with no ongoing engineering maintenance.

Get Started →

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