What Clio Work actually is
Under the hood, Clio Work sits on the Clio Library, a massive collection of primary and secondary law with 1B+ documents across 100+ countries, tied together with Cert, Clio’s citator that flags whether authorities are still good law. Every answer links back to sources so you can check the math.
On the workflow side, you can ask natural-language research questions, analyze pleadings or contracts, generate timelines, and even have it build arguments with linked citations. It is not hand-wavy AI. The idea is speed plus verifiability.
Standalone or with Clio Manage
Two ways to run it:
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As a standalone workspace. If your firm has Clio Work, you can use Vincent inside Work for research-grade document analysis and cited answers.
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Supercharged by Clio Manage. Pair Work with Manage and it becomes “matter-aware.” It reads the context you already have in your matters and uses that to sharpen research and outputs, then saves results back to the right file.
Think of standalone as a powerful research room. Add Manage and it becomes a research room with a direct hallway to your case files and deadlines.
The UI lawyers are vibing with
Early testers keep calling out the layout: a clear, concise answer up top with deeper analysis you can expand, plus a right-hand panel that lists every authority used, with summaries and highlighted snippets. When you go into the Build an Argument workflow, it proposes argument lines, lets you edit, and supports defense counter-points, all with citations you can audit. You can also spin up timelines from the facts. That combo makes it easy to move from quick take to courtroom-ready.
How Clio Work stacks up to Lexis+ and Westlaw
Clio is clearly taking aim at the research duopoly. The acquisition is positioned as a direct challenge, not just a side project. Business Insider
| What you care about | Clio Work | Lexis+ | Westlaw (Precision/Advantage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global coverage | 1B+ docs, 100+ countries via Clio Library | Extensive, strongest US/UK, international content varies | Extensive, strongest US/UK, international content varies |
| Citator | Cert validates current status of authorities | Shepard’s integration in Lexis+ AI | KeyCite and Overruling Risk |
| AI answers | Cited responses grounded in curated library; matter-aware when paired with Manage | Conversational answers grounded in Lexis content with Shepard’s checks | AI-Assisted Research with links to Westlaw authority |
| Case-file context | Pulls context from Clio Manage and saves back | No native Clio matter context | No native Clio matter context |
| Argument & timeline workflows | Built-in workflows for timelines and Build an Argument with citations | Summarization, drafting, document analysis | “Deep Research” and AI-assisted answers; drafting through TR ecosystem |
Sources: Clio Work feature pages and help center for matter-aware research, timelines, and argument builder. Lexis+ AI pages for Shepard’s integration. Westlaw pages for KeyCite and AI-Assisted Research.
Value for solos and small firms
Clio pitches Work with published per-user pricing and an introductory offer, plus a free trial path for existing Manage users. That transparency alone helps smaller firms budget without “call-us” enterprise sales ambiguity. And because its library spans 100+ countries, it doubles as a comparative-law wing when your matter drifts across borders. Clio+1
Where Clio Work fits best
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Litigators who want fast cited answers, a living timeline, and quick defense themes to test.
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Transactional lawyers who need issue spotting in dense contracts and clean citations for internal memos.
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Firms already on Clio Manage who want research and drafting to live closer to the matter file.
Quick reality check
Lexis+ AI and Westlaw’s AI are excellent, especially on US coverage and with their long-trusted citators. If your team is deeply trained on Shepard’s or KeyCite, your switching cost is real. But Clio Work’s matter context, the global coverage inherited from vLex, and its argument/timeline workflows are distinctive. In short, it is less “me too AI” and more “bring research to where you already work.”
Bottom line
Clio Work is the rare tool that respects the two things lawyers juggle most: time and proof. It gets you to why and where it came from quickly, then lets you turn that into timelines, arguments, and drafts without losing your place in the file.
Want to see it live?
2b1 is happy to set up a no-pressure walkthrough. We’ll put Clio Work next to your current stack, run a few searches you actually care about, and kick the tires on timelines, arguments, and citations.
Ping 2b1 to schedule your demo (415) 284-2221 or fill out the form below, and find out if Clio Work belongs in your daily toolkit.
