Best Legal Software 2021

Best Live Chat Software for Lawyers

Searching for the best live chat tool for your law firm? We've listed the top live chat solutions based on the features that lawyers value most.

With the increasing popularity of virtual law firms, live chat and virtual receptionist software has become an essential tool for many lawyers. Live chat software helps legal professionals attract new leads and provide exceptional client experience.

There are many live chat apps available on the market today, and choosing the best solution can be difficult. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite live chat solutions for lawyers below, along with details on pricing and features, to help you choose the best solution for your law firm.

Table of Contents

What Features Matter Most to Lawyers?

Live chat software includes useful features that allow lawyers to streamline the communication experience between the firm and its clients. Here are some of the most important and legal-specific features found in live chat solutions:

FeatureDescription
Lead Capture & QualificationLive chat tools improve lead acquisition rates by adding an additional communication channel to your law firm. Live chat agents will capture and qualify potential new clients, and begin the intake process.
Client IntakeLive chat apps accelerate the intake process by capturing contact information and case details from your prospective clients.
Industry-trained Chat AgentsSome solutions offer live chat agents that are well-versed in legal-specific matters. This offers reassurance that live chat agents can interact with your clients in a knowledgeable fashion, and communicate with you and your staff effectively.
Appointment SchedulingIn many live chat solutions, clients can schedule appointments and consultations on your law firm’s website. Some solutions integrate with your practice management system, and will automatically populate calendar events based on your availability.
24/7 Virtual AssistantSome solutions offer live chat agents that are available 24/7. This allows you to field client inquiries and capture leads outside of working hours.
Practice Management Software IntegrationMany of the live chat tools we list below integrate with popular legal practice management solutions. Integrations allow information collected from prospective clients in the chats to automatically flow into your database. This accelerates document assembly and reduces your staff’s administrative burden.

How Much Does Live Chat Software Cost?

Live chat software pricing generally ranges from $19 per month for basic tools to $999 per month for advanced options. More expensive solutions are equipped with robust features, such as 24/7 live chat agents and appointment scheduling. Additionally, some live chat tools listed below are one part of a broader suite of features offered by reputation management providers, such as Birdeye and Podium. These solutions are less affordable than standalone live chat apps.

Many live chat solutions are also free to use, though these free choices may not have features that will easily support law firms.

Does Live Chat Software Integrate With My Practice Management Solution?

Many live chat solutions integrate with legal practice management software. Integrations are particularly useful for client intake, appointment scheduling, and lead management. Many practice management solutions offer built-in integrations with live chat, and others are connected through Zapier. Here are some of the live chat tools that offer integrations with legal practice management solutions:

Birdeye
Smith.ai
  • ClientRock
  • Clio
  • Lawmatics
  • PracticePanther
LiveChat
  • Clio (through Zapier)
  • Lawmatics (through Zapier)
  • PracticePanther (through Zapier)
Podium
  • Clio

The Best Live Chat Software for Lawyers

The best live chat solutions for lawyers are listed below. These solutions are ideal for law firms that would like to augment their company website with a tool that improves client experience and automates the intake process.

Smith.ai

Smith.ai is a live chat and 24/7 virtual receptionist service that offers legal-specific features. There are easy-to-build lead capture forms and Smith.ai’s chat agents provide services like appointment scheduling, payment processing, and client intake. Smith.ai also has pre-built integrations with many legal practice management solutions such as ClientRock, Clio, and Lawmatics.

Smith.ai’s Basic Plan costs $140 for 20 chats and charges $6 per additional chat, making this solution less affordable for law firms with high traffic. If you have the budget, Smith.ai is a useful tool if you want to invest in technology that differentiates your law firm.

Smith.ai
Rating: 83
Starting Price: $140 per month

Smith.ai is a virtual receptionist and chat agent service that is used by companies across industries like finance, legal, and real estate. With features like a smart chatbot and customizable playbooks that gather visitor information, Smith.ai is ideal for small companies looking to outsource customer support services.

Pros:
  • Ideal for companies looking for external agents to handle customer support
  • Chatbots are "smart" and can be trained to learn correct answers over time
  • Smith.ai's customer service was exceptionally helpful and proactive
Cons:
  • We ran into a significant software issue while testing the product
  • Because there are call and chat limits, it can become costly if you have a high-traffic site
  • Outsourcing your live chat is convenient, but means you'll have less control over your customer experience

Podium

Podium is classified as a reputation management system and includes live chat for your website. Podium’s live chat is unique in that visitors will text with your company, which can be beneficial for continuing contact even when visitors aren’t at their computers. Podium also integrates with legal tools like Clio. Through Podium, customers can make payments and provide feedback.

Podium is priced at $399 per month, and far more expensive than any standalone live chat tool. If you are looking for a solution with a broader suite of reputation management features that includes live chat, then consider testing Podium. If you have a tighter budget, and only desire live chat functionality, we strongly recommend testing the other solutions we have listed before purchasing Podium.

Podium
Rating: 90
Starting Price: $399 per month

Podium is an Interaction Management™ Platform used to generate and manage online reviews, streamline customer interactions through messaging, and monitor customer sentiment. The company has over 45,000 customers in healthcare, home services, retail, auto services, professional services, and hospitality.

Pros:
  • Customers can leave Google reviews in two clicks
  • Highly-rated mobile app allows you to manage customer conversations on-the-go
  • Includes a team chat tool for individual and group conversations
  • Each account gets a client success manager
Cons:
  • Does not include a business directory listings tool
  • Customer survey feature is more limited than some competitors
  • Conversations that start with webchat must be handled via text message

BirdEye

BirdEye is a reputation management platform with messaging capabilities, surveys, and a ticketing system to manage client concerns. It is a similar price to Podium, starting at $399 per month for the plan that includes live chat. This solution is used by many companies to improve online presence and attract new customers and clients, which may be beneficial for your firm.

BirdEye has pre-built integrations with Clio and PracticePanther, two popular legal practice management systems. Though it does not have a tool for payment processing, it has many other features that will enhance a law firm’s client support efforts.

Birdeye
Rating: 92
Starting Price: $299 per month

BirdEye is a popular reputation management platform used by thousands of businesses to improve their online presences and attract new customers. The platform includes several tools that help you reach and engage customers including business listing management, online review generation, two-way text messaging, customer surveys and a mobile application.

Pros:
  • Listing management tool ensures your business information is accurate & consistent across online directories
  • Online reviews tool allows you to generate hundreds of customer reviews that improve your online presence
  • Unified inbox tool streamlines two-way text message conversations with customers
Cons:
  • Platform does not include tool for payment processing
  • Does not include team chat feature for your team to communicate inside BirdEye
  • Surveys, insights, benchmarking & ticketing applications are not included in the $399 Professional Plan

LiveChat

LiveChat, as the name suggests, is a live chat-focused tool that includes all essential features to support website messaging. It’s powerful but is not specifically geared towards law firms, like Smith.ai—for example, it does not have chat agents for hire the way Smith.ai does. There is a ticketing system where you can track client concerns, surveys to capture prospective client information, and chat transferring in case you need to switch the chat between different departments.

If you have a high-traffic site, LiveChat may not be the best choice given that it does not have the option to hire chat agents and virtual assistants on your company’s behalf. However, if you have in-house receptionists who will staff the LiveChat inbox, it can work well for your law firm. It’s also more affordable than both Podium and Smith.ai with prices starting at just $19 per month.

LiveChat
Rating: 91
Starting Price: $19 per agent per month

LiveChat is a live chat and ticketing software with over 30,000 customers worldwide. LiveChat's main features include advanced reports, a ticketing system, and a broad integrations list. Overall, we found LiveChat to be one of the most feature-rich live chat solutions, but also one of the most expensive.

Pros:
  • One of the most powerful live chat tools on the market
  • More advanced reporting section than found in alternatives
  • Unique features like interactive reports and direct canned response creation
Cons:
  • Lacks built-in email marketing capabilities
  • Expensive compared with other platforms, especially for smaller teams
  • No free plan
Lloyd Park

Lloyd Park is a Research Analyst at SoftwarePundit, where he conducts in-depth analyses of software markets and products. Lloyd also has experience managing the development of software platforms and is an expert in content production & media software. You can connect with Lloyd on LinkedIn.

Lloyd is an expert in several software categories including:

  • Dental software
  • Email marketing software
  • Field service management software
  • Legal software
  • Property management software

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