When a client lands on your law firm's website seeking legal assistance, every second counts in building a connection. Live chat offers an exceptional opportunity to engage visitors in real time, providing rapid responses and guidance. Unlike traditional communication methods, live chat doesn't make your clients wait in long phone queues or send countless emails.
Live chat has evolved beyond mere text-based conversations. Live chat apps for law firms leverage automation capabilities, enabling you to handle multiple chats simultaneously and provide instant answers to common inquiries.
The top live chat apps we'll look at in this article often come equipped with predefined responses, knowledge bases, and chatbots, ensuring that your clients receive assistance even when your team is offline. Perhaps most rewarding, though, is knowing that you can make a genuine human connection with someone in need of counsel at the click of a button.
Why Use Live Chat for Law Firms
The use of live chat services for law firms has become increasingly important in meeting clients' evolving needs and expectations. According to Clio’s Legal Report 2022, 79% of legal clients expect a reply from their legal teams within 24 hours.
For law firms, live chat provides a meaningful way to form quick connections with website visitors and meet these rising expectations. By installing live chat apps, many law firms open direct lines of communication that can help boost client satisfaction, lead generation, and engagement levels.
Some key benefits of leveraging live chat include:
- Increased client satisfaction: Prospects and clients feel heard when they can easily get answers to questions in real-time from a chat agent. This improves the overall experience.
- Enhanced lead generation: Qualified leads are less likely to abandon a website if they receive a prompt response from the firm. Live chats act as a gateway to capture valuable leads by engaging website visitors and improving the conversion of visitors into paying clients.
- Improved website engagement: Live chat adds an interactive element to a law firm's website, making it more engaging for visitors. It encourages them to stay longer, explore different pages, and ultimately increases their chances of contacting the firm for legal assistance. The availability of live chat signals accessibility and responsiveness, which can positively impact a firm's online reputation.
Top 10 Live Chat Apps for Law Firms
Building rapport with clients from the outset is key in the legal industry. With today's customers accustomed to immediacy, introducing live chat can help firms form those all-important first interactions. Whether seeking a quick answer or looking to find more about specific services, these conversational tools ensure prospects feel supported.
1. Ngage Live Chat
Ngage Live Chat is a robust live chat platform that offers expert chat operators, available 24/7, to convert your website visitors into high-quality leads. The live chat app helps establish relationships with prospects, capturing and forwarding vital information to streamline your intake and sales processes. This integration-ready platform seamlessly works with Lawyers.com, Avvo.com, Facebook pages, and any website you choose to install it on.
You have to contact their team for the pricing information since it is not available on their website.
Features:
- Live receptionist
- Appointment scheduling
- Client intake
- Outbound calls
- Free local or toll-free phone number
2. ApexChat
ApexChat offers a legal-specific live chat solution designed to engage website visitors instantly and qualify prospects for legal services. With live chat, your law firm can provide a convenient alternative for potential clients who prefer not to make phone calls or submit forms. ApexChat's trained agents respond promptly, even after office hours, ensuring a high-quality customer service experience. Their chat routing system directs inquiries to the appropriate destination, while customizable interactions allow for tailored questions and messages.
To learn more about pricing, please contact the ApexChat team since it is not available on their website.
Features:
- Apex Connect mobile app
- Google Business Profile messages feature
- Sms text-to-chat
- AI smart scheduler
- Exit pop-up feature
3. Client Chat Live
Client Chat Live is a live chat service designed specifically for law firms and created by lawyers. Recognizing the need for immediate responses to prospective clients, especially in personal injury, mass tort, criminal law, and other B2C practices, Client Chat Live provides professional operators available 24/7 to engage website visitors and gather valuable information on your behalf. Integration with CRM systems, monthly reports, and Spanish-speaking operators further enhances the service.
For pricing information, please contact the Client Chat Live team.
Features:
- Chat feature installed on your website
- Custom chat script
- 24/7/365 professional chat operators
- Live phone transfer
- CRM integration
4. Smith.ai
Smith.ai Live Chat is a top-tier solution specifically designed for law firms, offering a fast and friendly way to capture, screen, and convert website leads. With their 24/7 live chat agents, your law firm can ensure visitors' questions are promptly answered, leads are effectively screened, and appointments are efficiently scheduled.
It has four pricing plans, which start at $10/ chat (you only pay for relevant chats) for the À la carte plan and go as high as 120 live chats at $600 per month for the Pro plan.
Features:
- 24/7 live chat agent
- Leads screening/intake
- Appointment booking
- Customizable AI chatbot
- Instant chat transcripts
5. Lex Reception
Lex Reception is a leading legal answering service that helps law firms enhance client communication and lead management. Their cloud-based software provides dedicated legal receptionist support 24/7, assisting with legal intake, client retention, and building strong relationships. With expertise in the legal field, LEX Reception offers customized solutions for law firms, including intake scripts, outbound calls, and detailed message-taking. Their receptionists undergo legal training to handle new client queries confidently.
For pricing information, please contact their team directly as it is not available on their website.
Features:
- 24/7 legal answering and reception services
- Lead screening and qualification
- Legal intake and message-taking
- Outbound calling and appointment scheduling
- Customizable scripts and processes
6. Zendesk Chat
Zendesk Chat is a highly customizable live chat software that ensures seamless and efficient conversations between agents and customers. Agents can provide personalized support with features like pre-chat forms, shortcuts for templated responses, and real-time visitor information. The platform integrates with their messaging solution, allowing for proactive customer engagement and fluid conversational experiences. Zendesk Chat offers a unified omnichannel solution that connects all business systems.
Zendesk Chat offers five pricing plans. The Suite Team plan starts at $55 per agent/month, while the Suite Enterprise plan, which is the fourth plan, costs $169 per agent/month. For the Suite Enterprise Pro plan, you will need to consult a sales representative for pricing details.
Features:
- Pre-written responses
- Chat tags
- Inactivity messages
- Notifications
- Channel transfer
7. Ruby
Ruby is a virtual receptionist service that offers live call and chat solutions for businesses, including law firms. Their friendly and professional receptionists are trained to provide customized call scripts and appointment scheduling. Ruby's bilingual receptionists are US-based, ensuring effective client communication.
Ruby offers three plans: Receptionist, Bundle, and Chat plans. Each plan has sub-plans with varying features and pricing. The lowest sub-plan is the Chat Ruby 10, which allows up to 10 chats at $135 per month. The highest sub-plan is the Reception plan, called Call Ruby 500, offering up to 500 receptionist minutes at $1,640 monthly.
Features:
- Customizable voicemail system
- Call forwarding options
- Lead qualification and intake
- Outbound call assistance
- Optional phone hosting
8. Acquire
Acquire is flexible and scalable, catering to any business's customer service and support needs on any device. With Acquire, businesses can provide support, collect customer information, and launch video and voice calls directly from the live chat messenger. The platform also offers workflows to optimize customer service team efficiency, call deflection features for efficient communication management, and email routing and prioritization through their workflow engine.
Acquire currently offers two pricing plans. The SELF-SERVICE plan costs $500 monthly, billed annually, plus an additional $25 per agent. The INTEGRATED SOLUTION plan is priced at $2,000 monthly, billed annually, with an additional $45 per agent.
Features:
- Live messaging capabilities
- Workflows
- Call deflection
- Voice and video calling options
- Email routing
9. ClickDesk
ClickDesk is a comprehensive live support solution that combines live chat, voice chat, a help desk, and a social toolbar for efficient customer communications. With ClickDesk, support agents can answer queries, transfer tickets, respond to social media posts, and collaborate. The cloud-based platform eliminates the need for software downloads or installations, and agents can receive chats on their preferred instant messaging platforms like Skype and Google Talk.
ClickDesk offers a free plan for up to 10 users. Their paid plans start at $14.99 per month for the Elite plan and go up to $39.99 for the Enterprise plan.
Features:
- Live chat capabilities
- Built-in voice and video chat
- Help desk
- Social media integration
- Reporting and analytics
10. HubSpot Chat
HubSpot Chat is a live chat software provided by HubSpot, a comprehensive CRM solution for a variety of industries. Users can customize the chat widget to match their brand's look and feel and create targeted welcome messages for web pages or audience segments. HubSpot Chat also integrates with the HubSpot CRM, storing conversations in a universal inbox for complete context and easy follow-up.
Pricing options include a free plan with HubSpot branding and paid plans starting at $18 per month for the Starter plan and $800 per month for the Professional plan, excluding HubSpot branding.
Features:
- Free software
- Routing leads and customers to the right contacts
- Automated response tools
- Omnichannel support via mobile and Slack
- CRM storage of all conversation
Key Features of Live Chat for Law Firms
Live chats are definitely more than just an annoying chat window. It's a welcome portal — a friendly face for your law firm. Of course, using the right platform makes all the difference. This section highlights the main features to look out for when choosing the ideal live chat. These features include:
- Integration with CRM systems: Seamlessly syncs chat transcripts and client information with your existing CRM, streamlining your workflow and centralizing client data.
- Customization and branding options: Allows you to tailor the chat interface to match your firm's branding and website design, creating a cohesive user experience.
- Mobile compatibility: Ensures potential clients can engage with you on the go, whether using a smartphone or tablet.
- 24/7 availability and support: Provides round-the-clock coverage to ensure you never miss an opportunity to connect with potential clients, even outside of business hours.
- Real-time messaging: Facilitates instant and interactive communication, allowing you to address client inquiries and concerns promptly.
- Potential for live operator interaction: Offers the option of having trained live operators manage chats, providing a more personalized and efficient client experience.
- Chat-to-call: Enables you to seamlessly transition from a chat conversation to a phone call, ensuring that complex inquiries or consultations can be handled efficiently.
- Security and confidentiality: Employs robust security measures to protect sensitive client information and maintain confidentiality throughout the chat.
Optimizing Live Chat for Your Law Firm Website
There are several strategies legal practices can employ to optimize their live chat. Customizing the chat box design by matching colors and branding to the site makes a better user experience. Positioning the chat box strategically, such as fixed to the bottom right corner, makes it visible without being intrusive. Firms should also test different chat box sizes to determine the optimal dimensions for user responsiveness without sacrificing valuable content space.
On top of that, enabling proactive chat invitations that gently prompt site visitors to open dialogue can increase engagement. Additionally, using an image of a real person from the firm within the chat box helps establish trust and connection with potential clients. Implementing these tactics effectively helps law firms harness the powerful potential of live chat for increasing customer service and new client acquisition on their websites.
Connect with Clients with Grow Law Firm
At the end of the day, connecting with clients where they are is key to any law firm's success. Live chat platforms open doors for productive two-way conversations that help build trust and understanding.
For those who need expert guidance to help drive their digital marketing efforts forward and increase success, a digital marketing agency like Grow Law is the way to go. Our expertise in law firm SEO services, website design, and digital marketing campaigns can help you take on more cases, dominate your local market, and grow your client base consistently.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to connect with us and schedule a consultation today to discover how we can elevate your online presence and drive success for your law practice.
Get a clear picture of your firm's performance- Boost your online presence
Get a clear picture of your firm's performance- Boost your online presence
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
