Authenticate via Clio's OAuth 2.0 flow; request scopes including contacts:read, matters:read, and any write scopes needed (contacts:write, matters:write).
Retrieve paginated contact records via GET /api/v4/contacts.json with fields parameter to request only needed fields; use the page[number] and page[size] query parameters to page through results.
Retrieve matters via GET /api/v4/matters.json; filter by status (open, closed, pending) using the status query parameter; join related client contact via the client relationship field.
Map Clio field names to your internal schema; note that Clio uses a fields-based sparse fieldset pattern — request nested associations explicitly using the fields[] syntax (e.g., fields[]=client{name,email}).
On incremental sync, use the updated_since query parameter (ISO 8601 timestamp) to retrieve only records modified since last sync; store the sync timestamp and advance it after each successful sync.
Use Clio's webhook API (POST /api/v4/webhooks.json) to subscribe to real-time events for contact and matter changes to reduce polling frequency.
Known gotchas
Clio rate limits API calls per app per user; exceeding limits returns 429 with a Retry-After header — implement exponential backoff and avoid parallel requests that collectively saturate the limit.
Clio's sparse fieldset system means related objects are not included by default; forgetting to request nested fields results in null values that look like real nulls rather than missing-field errors.
Matter data may contain privileged attorney-client information; ensure your integration is covered by the firm's data processing agreements and that synced data is stored with appropriate access controls.
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp