Dictate in any app · Legal

Voice typing in Clio

Legal work is billed by the hour and recorded in prose, so writing speed is money. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere Clio accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

This is a vendor guide from the makers of Typally. Anything we say about Clio is worth verifying — third-party features change without notice.
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In short

  • Clio's own dictation: Time entry, document management and matter notes.
  • What Typally does instead: sends keystrokes to whichever window is in front, so Clio needs no plugin or setup.
  • Best used for: attendance notes

Does Clio have built-in dictation?

Time entry, document management and matter notes. Dictation is not built in; firms have historically used specialist legal dictation products.

Why dictate in Clio at all?

Lawyers have dictated for a century — the profession invented the workflow. What changed is that the secretary who transcribed the tape is gone, so the fee earner types their own attendance notes at the end of the day, badly and from memory.

In practice people use it for: Attendance notes, matter narratives, time entry descriptions, client correspondence, and file notes.

How to dictate in Clio

Nothing changes inside Clio itself. Typally sits in the tray and types into the focused window:

1

Get Typally running

Install, sign in, and it waits in the tray.

2

Focus the Clio field you want the words in

The cursor position is the whole instruction — Clio routes the keystrokes from there.

3

Hold, say it, release

Nothing truncates part-way through.

4

Read it before you move on

Client confidentiality and privilege are your professional obligations, not the software's. Typally sends audio to a third-party transcription service — check your regulator's guidance and your firm's policy before dictating anything about a client matter.

What Typally adds in Clio

Typally types into attendance notes, matter narratives and time entry descriptions from one hotkey, so the note gets written straight after the call rather than reconstructed at six o'clock. Confidentiality is your professional obligation and not the software's: audio is transcribed by a third-party service, so check your regulator's guidance and firm policy before using it on client matter.

What this looks like in practice

A solicitor finishing a client call dictates the attendance note in ninety seconds — who said what, what was advised, what was agreed, what happens next. Eighteen months later, when the file is reviewed, the note is contemporaneous and specific rather than reconstructed.

One habit that makes it work better

Dictate the attendance note immediately after the call, while the detail is exact. A note written at six o'clock from memory is worth less in a costs assessment and much less in a dispute.

What to watch out for in Clio

Client confidentiality and privilege are your professional obligations, not the software's. Typally sends audio to a third-party transcription service — check your regulator's guidance and your firm's policy before dictating anything about a client matter.

Frequently asked questions

Is dictation appropriate for privileged material?

That depends on your regulator, your firm's policy and your retainer. Typally transmits audio to a third-party service, which is a disclosure you need to have considered before using it on client matters.

Does Clio have built-in dictation?

No. Firms typically use a separate dictation product alongside it.

What is the strongest use for dictation in a law firm?

Attendance notes written straight after the call, and time entry narratives written while you still remember the work.

Try it in Clio

Start on the free plan (100 minutes a month, no card). Pro lifts the cap and adds meeting notes for $7.99/month.

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