You can add Vincent to a visual workflow, so that Vincent carries out work at a set point in a process. For example, a matter moves to a new phase. Vincent then reviews the matter's documents against your firm's playbook, saves a report to the matter and notifies the fee-earner. A person can then review the result, or the workflow can continue on its own.

Before you start

• You need access to Modeller and permission to edit workflows.
• Vincent must be set up for your environment. For details, see Setting up Vincent for your users.
• If a workflow can start without a user, for example from a bulk import, a system token must be linked to the Vincent linked service.
• The jurisdictions that your workflows use must be mapped for Vincent. For details, see the section Map your jurisdictions for Vincent, below.

How Vincent works in a workflow

The Vincent integration adds two actions to the toolbox in the visual workflow builder:

In a workflow, Vincent has the same access to the matter as it has in a conversation. Vincent can read the matter's records and documents, and it can make changes, such as creating tasks, adding participants or updating key dates. To use one of your firm's skills, name the skill in the question.

Vincent runs the conversation without a person present. If Vincent needs more information, or needs approval for a change, the workflow step pauses. Clio Operate then sends the owner of the conversation the notification "A workflow needs your attention", with a link to the conversation. The step continues after the owner responds and Vincent replies.

The owner of the conversation is the user whose action started the workflow. If no user started the workflow, Vincent uses the system token on the Vincent linked service.

Add Vincent to a workflow

1. In Modeller, open the workflow in the visual workflow builder.
2. On the Toolbox tab, under Vincent AI, find Start a Vincent conversation.
3. Drag the action into the step where you want Vincent to work.
4. Select the action, then complete its settings. The settings are described in the tables below.
5. Connect the action's outlets to the next steps in the workflow.
6. Select Save, or Save and Publish when you are ready to use the workflow.

Conversation details

Vincent context

Auto-approve tool calls

Select the changes that Vincent can make during this workflow without asking first. For any change that you leave unselected, the workflow pauses and asks the owner of the conversation to approve it.

If a workflow keeps pausing, check this list first. For example, a workflow that adds participants to a matter pauses at each participant until you select that change here.

Vincent supplies the list of changes. If the list does not load, check that the Vincent linked service is configured, then save the workflow and open the action again.

Output

To link to the conversation, use this path, with the IDs from the workflow:

/sharedo/{workItemId}/vincent?vincent=/conversation/{conversationId}

Outlets

The default outlet, Go to, handles Vincent's answer. You can turn the Error and Timeout outlets on or off. Clio recommends that you turn them on and connect them, so that the workflow handles a failure instead of stopping.

Advanced

Let Vincent choose the next branch

In Decision mode, Vincent decides which branch of the workflow runs next. Vincent bases the decision on three things:

• the criteria that you set out in the question
• the facts of the case, from the matter's documents and fields
• the outcomes that you define, one for each branch

Vincent also explains its choice, so that a person can review the decision before the workflow acts on it.

1. In the action's settings, in Answer format, select Decision.
2. Under Outcomes, select Add outcome, then enter an Outcome name. The name becomes the label of an outlet.
3. Optionally, describe when Vincent must choose the outcome. You can leave the description blank if the question already sets out the criteria.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each outcome. For a yes or no decision, select Add yes/no outcomes instead.
5. In Reasoning, bind Vincent's explanation to a String variable, for example to include it in a review task.
6. If Vincent picks an outcome that has nothing connected to it, the step fails. Connect every outcome outlet, including Unclear.

Unclear is always available. Vincent chooses it when none of your outcomes fit, so that the workflow does not stall.

Outcome names must follow these rules:

• Each name must start with a letter or a number.
• Names can contain letters, numbers, spaces and the characters _ . / -, but not commas or apostrophes.
• Each name can be up to 64 characters long and must be different from the other names.
• You cannot add an outcome called Unclear.
• Each description can be up to 500 characters long.

Example: decide whether to take on a claim

A firm uses Decision mode to assess new personal injury enquiries. The workflow starts when an instruction moves into its review phase. The question asks Vincent to assess six criteria against the documents on the instruction:

• whether the claim is within the limitation period
• whether breach of duty and causation are established
• whether the likely damages justify the cost of running the claim
• whether there is a defendant or insurer that can pay an award
• the funding and costs risks
• any gaps in the evidence that must be closed before the claim can be issued

The action has three outcomes: Accept instruction, Further evidence required and Decline instruction. Each branch creates a task for the supervising partner, with Vincent's reasoning set out against each criterion. The partner agrees with Vincent or overrides the decision, and the workflow follows their choice. For an accepted claim, Vincent then drafts the funding agreement and saves it to the instruction.

A firm can also let Decision mode run without human review. The firm's own configuration decides whether a person checks the decision.

Save Vincent's output as a document

Use the Save content as a document action to save Vincent's answer to the matter's documents. Add the action to a step after Start a Vincent conversation.

The action has two outlets: Saved and Failed. Connect Failed to handle a document that cannot be saved.

To produce a letter on your firm's letterhead, pass Vincent's answer into a document template instead. For example, a later step can create a Prepare document task that uses your letter template.

Map your jurisdictions for Vincent

A workflow sends Vincent a jurisdiction name, such as England & Wales. The vincent.jurisdiction interface mapping converts each of your jurisdiction names into a jurisdiction that Vincent recognises.

1. Navigate to Admin > Integrations > Interface Mapping.
2. In Mapping Type, select vincent.jurisdiction, then select Search.
3. Find the row for the Vincent jurisdiction that you need. The Guidance column names each one, for example Vincent UK: England & Wales.
4. In the Action column, select the menu, then select Edit Mapping.
5. In From Value, replace the placeholder that starts with __edit_ with the name of your jurisdiction in Clio Operate.
6. Save the mapping.

Rows that still have a placeholder in From Value are not in use. Newer versions of the integration include Federal, New South Wales and Northern Territory for Australia. These are all the Australian jurisdictions that Vincent currently supports.

Examples from practice

Review a new matter against your playbook

A firm has a skill that assesses new work injury matters in the way that its senior practitioners do. The workflow runs when a matter moves into the pre-action phase:

1. A trigger starts the workflow when the phase changes.
2. Start a Vincent conversation asks Vincent to run the skill against the matter's documents. The answer format is DOCX.
3. Save content as a document saves the assessment to the matter's documents.
4. A notification tells the matter assistant that the document is ready for review.

Nobody has to start Vincent. A few minutes after the phase changes, the assessment is on the matter.

Fill in a new matter from its documents

A firm receives a complaint, a proof of service and an email from the client that asks the firm to act. A workflow asks Vincent to fill in the matter from these documents, in a series of Vincent actions:

1. Identify the people and organisations involved. Add each one to the matter in the correct role. Create any that do not yet exist in Clio Operate.
2. Calculate the response and case management deadlines from the date of service, and add them as key dates.
3. Identify each claim in the complaint. Create a child work item for each claim, so that each one is tracked separately.
4. Write a plain-language summary in the matter description, and create tasks for the fee-earner.
5. Draft a reply to the client that acknowledges their email and answers their questions.

A standard task then asks a person to check the new details. The reply goes into a letter template, ready to send. In this workflow, Vincent enters data from the documents but does not form opinions about the claim.

Troubleshooting

Related articles

• Creating Visual Workflows
• Creating a new visual workflow step - Workflow Toolbox
• Using Vincent in Clio Operate  
• Setting up Vincent for your users 
• Introduction to Vincent for Clio Operate