Immediately’s authorized panorama is fast-paced, which is why legislation corporations are more and more turning to digital receptionists to reinforce their effectivity and shopper service. Distant receptionists–professionals who should not workers of your legislation agency, however who tackle reception duties–deal with every part from answering calls and scheduling appointments to shopper consumption. This permits attorneys to concentrate on core authorized work.
As a cheap, versatile, and scalable answer, digital receptionist providers might be a useful asset to legislation corporations trying to streamline their processes.
Clio Develop can be a value efficient, versatile, and scalable answer that streamlines your processes. With Clio Develop, you may observe and handle purchasers as they transfer by means of your consumption course of, allow simpler reserving, and save hours drafting paperwork. E-book a demo to see how Clio Develop can work in your agency.
What’s a digital receptionist?
A digital receptionist is a distant skilled who ensures all shopper calls are answered and resolved based mostly on their wants. Additionally they typically handle electronic mail communications and different primary customer support duties. A digital receptionist can deal with points akin to scheduling appointments, offering account data, and routing calls to the suitable particular person. All of your shopper calls shall be answered, with out you paying for a full-time receptionist.
What does a digital receptionist do?
A digital receptionist takes on lots of the identical duties as an in-house receptionist however makes use of digital communications instruments to handle these duties remotely. Primarily, they’re centered on actions akin to answering all incoming calls, screening calls, routing calls, managing the agency’s appointment calendar, dealing with shopper consumption processes, and offering after-hours assist.
Checklist of the very best digital receptionist suppliers
There are tons of of various digital receptionists for legislation corporations, so it’s not at all times simple to decide on the suitable supplier. Because of this, we put collectively a listing of a number of the hottest authorized answering providers, together with a short evaluation of every.
The next critiques come from publicly accessible details about these authorized answering providers and our knowledgeable opinions. At all times do your analysis earlier than signing up for any service.
Ruby Receptionists evaluation (Name Ruby evaluation)
Ruby is among the most generally used digital receptionist providers for small legislation corporations. They supply distinctive customer support and are recognized for having very pleasant and well-trained workers answering their cellphone calls.
Once you join a Ruby account, you obtain a personalized native enterprise cellphone quantity. You may switch this quantity to completely different strains if multiple individual interacts with purchasers over the cellphone. You clarify what you’d just like the digital receptionists to say and the way you prefer to them to deal with the calls (e.g., switch, take a message, depart a voicemail). They’ll handle the remaining, together with notifying you of latest calls through electronic mail or textual content message for those who’re unavailable.
Ruby is among the higher choices for receptionist availability, they provide 24/7 authorized answering providers and stay chat providers. Additionally they reply on weekends, which another digital receptionist providers don’t, they usually have Spanish-speaking receptionists accessible ought to you’ve any Spanish-speaking purchasers.
One other nice characteristic that units them other than the competitors is their cellular app. The app lets you handle your customary availability, arrange “away” instances when you don’t want to obtain calls, place outbound calls from what you are promoting cellphone quantity, preserve observe of your name log, and extra. You are able to do all of this from anyplace utilizing your smartphone.
Lastly, Ruby has built-in its answering service with standard legislation agency options together with Clio Handle and Clio Develop. These integrations can prevent time and make your life simpler by eliminating information entry, making Ruby one of many total finest digital receptionists for legislation corporations.
Providers supplied
Name answering
Name routing
Bilingual receptionists
Taking messages
Integrations with different software program
Outbound calling in your behalf
Cellular app
Pricing data
$235/month – $1,640/month (50 name minutes – 500 name minutes, respectively)
Overage charges for any further minutes past your plan
21 day a refund assure
View pricing web page
Again Workplace Betties evaluation
Again Workplace Betties is one other standard digital receptionist for legislation corporations. The corporate is just not as giant as Ruby, however their primary digital receptionist service providing is comparable, with pleasant receptionists and a customized cellphone quantity that may be transferred to any cellphone quantity you’d like.
Again Workplace Betties offers some further providers on prime of what Ruby has to supply as effectively. This consists of issues like scheduling appointments/managing your calendar, processing funds, creating work orders, and even making outbound calls to observe up with purchasers. Additionally they have bilingual receptionists to reply cellphone calls in Spanish if in case you have Spanish-speaking purchasers.
Again Workplace Betties doesn’t supply a digital receptionist cellular app, whereas Ruby does, however their receptionist providers do combine with Clio Develop, and the extra providers on supply generally is a big plus for sure corporations, relying on the character of the observe. Again Workplace Betties’ digital receptionist providers can be found Monday – Friday from 5 a.m. to five p.m. PST (8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST), which is considerably restricted, and they don’t reply on weekends.
Providers supplied
Name answering
Name routing
Bilingual receptionists
Taking messages
Integrations with different software program
Scheduling appointments
Processing funds
Producing work orders and estimates
Outbound calling in your behalf
Pricing data
$360/month – $1,400/month (100 name minutes – 500 minutes, respectively)
Overage charges for any further minutes past your plan
1-week free trial accessible
View pricing web page
Alert Communications evaluation
Alert Communications has been in enterprise since 1965 and have labored with hundreds of attorneys. In actual fact, they work solely within the authorized business, they usually use extra of a shopper consumption name heart strategy in comparison with different digital receptionists (who sometimes decide up the cellphone and switch it to you).
Alert Communications presents 24/7 providers, bilingual digital receptionists, and huge name facilities for high-volume legislation corporations fielding tons of of calls per day. As a result of they focus solely on the authorized business, in addition they practice their receptionists in authorized terminology and supply different hands-on providers for attorneys.
The add-on providers they provide embrace outbound calls to web site leads, taking down shopper consumption data, processing retainers through e-signature, scheduling consultations, delivering paperwork, scheduling appointments, and extra. Additionally they combine their service with Clio Develop and a number of other different standard software program packages to ease the burden of knowledge entry.
Providers supplied
Name answering
Name routing
Bilingual receptionists
Taking messages
Conducting shopper consumption interviews
Integrations with different software program
Scheduling appointments
Processing retainers through e-signature
Delivering paperwork
Outbound calling for web site leads
24/7 availability
Pricing data
Not publicly accessible A refundable deposit can be required upfront (equal to the month-to-month fee quantity)
Gabbyville evaluation
Gabbyville is a well-liked digital receptionist service focusing on small and medium companies of every kind. They don’t seem to be unique to legislation corporations, however legislation corporations seem to make up one in every of their most necessary buyer segments (it’s proven first on their checklist of industries).
The digital receptionist providers they provide are barely extra strong than Ruby Receptionist however not as in-depth as Alert Communications. On prime of simply answering cellphone calls and routing them, they’ll place outbound calls to purchasers (e.g., appointment reminders), arrange bridge strains for convention calls, and schedule appointments in your calendar.
They provide textual content messaging between you and your staff of receptionists to streamline communications, and you can even get textual content alerts for brand new calls whenever you’re unavailable to take them. Though Gabbyville doesn’t at the moment have a cellular app, it has indicated that it’s in growth and coming quickly.
Potential downsides of Gabbyville are an absence of software program integrations, and that their availability is just not 24/7, as a substitute restricted to eight a.m. – 11 p.m. EST.
Providers supplied
Name answering
Name routing
Establishing convention calls
Taking messages
Scheduling appointments
Outbound calling in your behalf
Pricing data
$300/month – $2,000/month (40 calls – 400 calls, respectively)
$99 one-time setup payment (that is waived for the highest two costliest pricing plans)
14 day free trial accessible
View pricing web page
Answering Authorized evaluation
Answering Authorized is one other digital receptionist and cellphone name answering answer that’s unique to the authorized business. They solely work with legislation corporations, in order that they practice their workers to know how legislation corporations function they usually present further hands-on providers associated to shopper consumption.
Answering Authorized seems to be considerably of a hybrid between Alert Communications and Ruby Receptionists. They function extra like a name heart for high-volume corporations just like Alert Communications. However answering cellphone calls, routing them, and taking messages continues to be their main focus, extra like Ruby.
One fascinating characteristic about Answering Authorized is their superior name forwarding logic. For instance, you may set it as much as name you immediately at first, however for those who don’t decide up inside the first few rings, redirect the decision to Answering Authorized. Providing you with distinctive management and adaptability to finest configure the decision dealing with course of in your workplace and your purchasers.
Answering Authorized additionally integrates with lots of the prime authorized software program platforms, together with Clio Develop. Each new shopper message taken by an Answering Authorized receptionist will instantly be accessible in your Clio Develop Leads Inbox so you may simply add new results in your pipeline–making it an amazing addition to your tech stack.
Providers supplied
Name answering
Name routing
Superior name forwarding
Taking messages
Scheduling appointments
Outbound calling in your behalf for follow-ups or appointment reminders
Pricing data
100 name minutes for $330 and 200 name minutes for $616
Customized value quotes for corporations with increased name quantity
14-day free trial accessible
View pricing web page
Nexa evaluation
Nexa is one more standard digital receptionist service that’s aimed toward companies of any sort and any dimension. Their differentiating issue appears to be their know-how, as they boast about their software program infrastructure which is developed in home and guarantees reliability with better than 99.98% uptime.
Nexa trains its digital receptionists by business, they usually present 24/7, bilingual service throughout a wide range of channels, not simply cellphone calls. This digital receptionist service may also talk with purchasers through electronic mail, webchat, textual content message, and so on., providing you with a extra strong service providing and enabling your legislation agency to work together with purchasers nonetheless they really feel most snug.
Their shopper portal comes with native integrations to a number of outstanding CRMs, in addition to a Zapier integration to will let you connect with tons of of different software program packages, which is a large plus. Additionally they present extra hands-on providers for his or her clients, akin to appointment scheduling, lead qualification, primary IT assist, and ticketing/assist desk administration.
Whereas a few of these options is probably not helpful for a legislation observe, it’s at all times good to work with technically savvy distributors and enterprise companions, as know-how performs a key position in working any sort of recent enterprise.
Providers supplied
Name answering
Name routing
Bilingual receptionists
Taking messages
Reside chat/electronic mail/textual content message communication choices
Lead qualification
Integrations with different software program
Scheduling appointments
Technical assist/assist desk administration
24/7 availability
Pricing data
$200/month – $900/month (100 name minutes – 500 name minutes, respectively)
$90 one-time setup payment
Further charges (quantities undisclosed) for CRM admin assist, calendar scheduling, and textual content messaging
21 day cash day again assure
View pricing web page
Smith.ai evaluation
Smith.ai is a 24/7 digital receptionist service that makes a speciality of changing new potential purchasers who contact you by cellphone, textual content, chat, or Fb message.They’ve experience in solo and boutique legislation corporations, in addition to different small and medium companies. Their North America-based receptionists do far more than reply calls and take messages—they display screen potential purchasers based mostly in your standards, schedule appointments in your calendar, take funds for consultations and providers, and make outbound calls to follow-up shortly with on-line leads. Their pay-per-call pricing can be favorable.
Sensible know-how options embrace the flexibility to set your availability by merely sending a textual content message command which is robotically dealt with by Smith.ai, and the flexibility to arrange name priorities in order that calls from sure cellphone numbers are robotically dealt with in a selected manner.
Smith.ai additionally has some nice software program integrations with Clio Handle and Clio Develop. Different integrations embrace Zapier, Calendly, Acuity, and lots of extra.
Providers supplied
24/7 answering
Outbound calls to leads and purchasers
Lead qualification and consumption kind completion
Appointment scheduling
Cost assortment
Bilingual providers (English & Spanish)
CRM & Zapier integrations
Choices to reply all calls, after-hours, or overflow
Free spam and gross sales name blocking
Consumer dashboard with exercise particulars
Textual content and electronic mail follow-up messages after calls
Battle checks
Google Analytics & Tag Supervisor integration
Chat API & funnel efficiency tracker
Pricing data
Pay per name mannequin, for extra predictable billing than per-minute
Normal plans are $285/month – $1,950/month (30 calls – 150 calls, respectively), however customized plans can be found for name quantity over 300 calls/month
No cost for spam, gross sales calls, mistaken numbers, and so on.
Works with each VoIP and landline cellphone service, or get a free quantity to arrange a brand new devoted enterprise line.
14-day money-back assure
View pricing web page
LEX Reception evaluation
LEX Reception is a digital receptionist service designed for the authorized business. They solely work with legislation corporations, practice their workers accordingly, and supply hands-on providers for legislation corporations past name answering and routing.
Understanding the distinctive wants of legislation agency purchasers is essential when offering authorized providers. LEX Reception receptionists practice particularly to deal with authorized calls. Additionally they supply 24/7 authorized consumption, scheduling, and lead qualification, producing enterprise in your legislation agency when you focus in your observe.
Different critiques of LEX Reception notice their simple onboarding course of and wonderful customer support, making them an amazing choice for legislation corporations on the lookout for a digital receptionist service that understands their enterprise and purchasers.
Providers supplied
Name answering
Name routing
Bilingual receptionists
Taking messages
Consumer consumption
Lead qualification
Integrations with different software program, together with Clio Handle and Clio Develop
Scheduling appointments
Technical assist/assist desk administration
24/7 availability
Pricing data
$425/month – $775/month (150 name minutes – 500 name minutes, respectively) for normal plans
$1.95/minute – $2.25/minute for further minutes, relying on the plan
$75 one-time setup payment for the Entry plan
No charges for setup on non-entry plans, CRM integration, or appointment setting
View pricing web page
Options to search for in a digital receptionist
Though they’re distant, a digital receptionist represents your legislation agency. It’s essential they supply pleasant, skilled, and competent shopper service. Although your particular wants might range, there are some necessary components to bear in mind when selecting the right legislation agency digital receptionist:
Trade expertise
Professionalism and communications abilities
Availability and adaptability
Expertise and integration
Value and worth
How a lot does a digital receptionist value?
The price of digital receptionist providers varies, relying on the extent of service and the pricing mannequin. Digital receptionists for legislation corporations cost by the hour, month-to-month, per-call, or per-minute. There can also be setup charges, after-hours service charges, bilingual service charges, and script-writing charges.
What’s the distinction between a digital receptionist and a digital assistant?
The primary distinction between a digital receptionist and a digital assistant is their focus. The perfect digital receptionist handles incoming calls and emails, specializing in customer support. A digital assistant helps with duties like invoicing, social media administration, and information entry.
Advantages of utilizing a digital receptionist
There are various advantages to utilizing a digital receptionist at a legislation agency.
Elevated effectivity: A digital receptionist manages all incoming calls and emails and screens calls to find out which wants speedy consideration and which might be solved with out an lawyer. They’ll additionally handle the agency’s calendar, remind purchasers about upcoming appointments to scale back the dangers of no-shows and deal with the shopper consumption course of.
Defending the lawyer’s time: A digital assistant takes care of calls that don’t require an lawyer’s enter, permitting the lawyer to concentrate on their authorized work. Based on Clio’s Authorized Developments Report 2024, a rise in lawyer billable hours sometimes indicators a rise in productiveness and monetary success.
Improved shopper expertise: With a digital receptionist, purchasers obtain speedy consideration after they name. They don’t have to attend for an lawyer or paralegal to get again to them. They’ll additionally get assist after-hours, addressing their pressing wants extra shortly. If a name is pressing, the digital receptionist can direct it to the right individual instantly.
Constructing robust relationships with purchasers is essential to your legislation agency’s success. Elevate your shopper relationships with Clio’s Consumer Relationship Administration Software program.
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Cons of utilizing a digital receptionist
Coaching Necessities: Even when a digital receptionist service is skilled within the authorized business, you should still want to coach them in your agency’s particular wants and processes. This consists of familiarizing them together with your most well-liked communication model, programs, and any distinctive shopper necessities. This preliminary time funding generally is a disadvantage for corporations searching for speedy integration.
Lack of Bodily Presence: Digital receptionists can’t deal with duties that require bodily presence, akin to greeting purchasers in individual, receiving mail, or managing workplace provides. This limitation can drawback corporations that depend on these in-office duties. A digital receptionist won’t totally meet your wants in case your agency often wants somebody onsite for such duties.
Integrating digital receptionists into your authorized observe
It may be massively helpful to make use of a digital receptionist in your authorized observe. Listed below are some steps legal professionals can take to make the onboarding course of as easy as potential:
Outline the distant receptionist’s position and duties.
Decide energetic hours (enterprise hours, after-hours, or each).
Analysis the very best digital receptionist suppliers who’re skilled with legislation corporations for confidentiality and shopper sensitivity.
Select options that meet your agency’s wants (e.g., bilingual assist, 24/7 availability, software program integration together with your case administration).
Arrange communication channels (cellphone, electronic mail, messaging).
Prepare the receptionist: present agency overview, scripts, FAQs, and call-handling directions.
Set up protocols for transferring requests to attorneys or workers.
Guarantee compliance with shopper confidentiality and related legal guidelines.
Last ideas: Are digital receptionists price it?
Digital receptionists are a cheap manner for legislation corporations to handle shopper service with out hiring a full-time, in-house receptionist. They provide elevated effectivity, after-hours availability, enhanced shopper service, and streamlined communication. By taking over incoming calls, scheduling, and primary inquiries, digital receptionists unlock attorneys, paralegals, and different legislation agency workers to concentrate on billable work. Try Clio’s companion listing and app listing, the place you could find digital receptionist providers.
Take your legislation agency to the following degree with Clio Develop. Streamline your shopper consumption, automate follow-ups, and save hours that may in any other case be spent drafting paperwork. Signal for a Clio Develop demo at present to see the way it can rework what you are promoting.
We printed this weblog publish in February 2025. Final up to date: February 19, 2025.
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Enterprise, Expertise
