Live Chat For Attorneys: 12 Top Tools

How Can Live Chat Help Law Firms

Here are some of the top reasons why you should implement live chat on your law firm website:

• Automate the lead generation process. Live chat software with chatbots can automatically walk prospective law firm clients from the discovery process all the way to appointment booking. Chatbots can also handle multiple requests at once, substantially increasing the efficiency of your lead generation and law firm marketing efforts.
• Improve website engagement and user experience. Live chat allows users to obtain the information they need or find the right page fast. For example, you can provide a chatbot button that takes them straight to the booking form, client portal, or FAQ page based on their initial query.
• Increase client satisfaction. Live chat gives existing legal clients an extra option to get ahold of your law office. This is useful if they need round-the-clock assistance for follow-up questions, case status updates, billing concerns, and so on.
• Gain a competitive advantage. According to the American Bar Association’s 2023 TechReport, only 12% of law firms offer live chat on their website. This can be a unique selling point for your law firm, especially with potential clients who like to ask around anonymously.

How to Choose a Live Chat Software For Your Law Firm: 4 Features to Look Out For

There are four key features you should look for when exploring live chat software:

• Chat-to-call workflow — Enables routing to a phone call from within the live chat box (i.e., sharing a clickable phone number).
• Live operator option — Allows users to request or wait for a live agent to handle the conversation.
• Third-party integrations — Can integrate and sync with your law firm’s CRM and analytics platforms.
• 24/7 availability — Enables prospective clients to submit a request at any time (even through chatbots).

Best Live Chat Tools For Attorneys

Now that you know what to look for in a live chat software, let’s dive into the best tools and services for legal professionals.

1. LawDroid

Best for creating AI chatbots

Pricing: $99 per month (for AI chatbot builder)

LawDroid is an AI-powered legal management tool specifically designed for law firm websites.

The “LawDroid Builder” allows you to customize conversation flowcharts to build the ideal chatbot for your law firm — without writing a single line of code. This makes it easy to automate user interactions, like booking a consultation, finding important service pages, and asking legal questions.

2. Juvo Leads

Best for getting qualified leads

Pricing: $35 per qualified lead

Juvo pitches itself as a “24/7 human chat answering service”, and it’s a company founded by a legal marketing agency owner. It promises you can you get up to 40% more qualified leads from your existing traffic. The software can track and send leads to your email, SMS, and CRM.

In the age of AI, human agents can offer empathy and understanding—not only leading to better representation of your law firm. But also a more engaged chat and more cases.

3. InTaker

Best for personalizing automated lead generation

Pricing: Quote-based

Intaker is a law firm lead management software with a few innovative features for creating impactful and memorable user experiences.

One of its highlights is the interactive video tool, which allows you to compile pre-recorded clips to communicate with your audience. The Intaker chat window also allows prospects to upload image attachments, switch from English to a different language, and call a live agent all in one place.

4. Blazeo

Best for integrating with third-party platforms

Pricing: Pay-per-lead (with initial setup fee)

Blazeo is a lead engagement and management service that relies on both AI and live chat agents. Its wide range of third-party integrations, including CRM software, instant messaging tools, and website builders, allows law firms to inject live chat functionality into their websites with minimal effort.

Additionally, Blazeo comes equipped with extra features to maximize engagement on your law firm website. This includes exit-intent pop-up notifications, pre-recorded video greetings, SMS-to-chat, and more.

5. Smith.ai

Best for 24/7 human engagement

Despite the name, Smith.ai depends on a dedicated team of human agents just as much as AI to run your law firm’s live chat channel.

Smith.ai can keep your lead generation flywheel turning with highly-trained virtual receptionists who operate 24/7. At the same time, the AI chatbot component works as a buffer to help agents focus on hot chat leads while pre-qualifiying incoming prospects.

Pricing: $140 per month (or $10 per chat with the “À la carte” plan)

6. SimplyConvert

Best for qualifying leads

Pricing: $50 per signed contract (minimum $250 per month)

SimplyConvert is a legal intake platform that helps law firms maximize their outreach and conversion rate potential.

As far as live chat services go, SimplyConvert’s focus is on automating lead qualification through an AI virtual assistant. It creates a questionnaire-style chat window that helps your legal staff identify warm prospects who should be prioritized in your outreach.

7. LEX Reception

Best for real-time client chat live support

Pricing: Quote-based

LEX Reception is a robust 24/7 live answering service that ensures your law firm doesn’t miss a single lead generation opportunity. It’s one of the very lead management solutions out there that remain fully-commited to real-time, live person engagement (zero AI whatsoever).

In addition to well-trained legal call intake specialists, LEX Reception also smoothens your lead generation efforts with built-in tools, like live chat, web analytics, CRM integrations, and appointment scheduling.

Since LEX Reception doesn’t support AI, the platform ensures your prospects get genuinely personalized experiences that can showcase your law firm’s dedication to service quality.

8. Ruby

Best for scaling client communications with humans

Pricing: $135 per month

Ruby is another human-powered, 24/7 call and live chat service that can help law firms with attracting new clients.

Just like LEX Reception, Ruby doesn’t offer any AI chatbot capabilities, which can be a drawback for large law firms that get a lot of calls per day. But their 20 years of experience in the home, financial, and legal services sector allows their agents to provide exceptional, personable service that stimulates conversions.

9. Facebook Messenger

Best for social media integration

Pricing: Free

A surefire way to keep your live chat service on-brand is to use Facebook Messenger.

As part of the internet’s favorite social media platform, Facebook Messenger is a great way to capture and nurture qualified leads while at the same time bringing attention to your law firm’s social media profile. It also lets you build a personalized chatbot and integrate a chat plugin directly into your website.

10. ClickDesk

Best for cost-effective help desks

Pricing: Free (or $14.99 per month for unlimited chats)

ClickDesk is a lightweight and time-tested customer communication tool with video and live chat functionalities.

It’s definitely a product of its era, with traditional support features that modern live chat software lack. This includes the help desk feature that lets you track and manage support tickets from your clients.

Over the years, ClickDesk also managed to keep the platform lean and cost-effective — making it a practical alternative to industry leaders like Zendesk and HubSpot.

11. Zendesk Chat

Best for smart CRM

Pricing: $69 per agent per month ($55 with annual billing)

Zendesk is an all-in-one customer experience platform that helps law firms turn direct messages from prospects into satisfied clients.

Some of its key features a ticket management system, CRM tools, automated conversational workflows, and in-depth analytics — complete for firms who are serious about providing great and impactful client experiences. Zendesk also supports a flexible range of integrations with other business applications, like Slack, CloudTalk, Trello, Stripe, and more.

12. HubSpot Chat

Best for customizable chatflow and ticketing

Pricing: Free

HubSpot is a comprehensive CRM solution for law firms and other businesses looking to elevate their lead generation and management.

While the core CRM platform is paid, the live chat app is completely free. It features a clean and user-friendly customization interface.

HubSpot also consolidates live chat data into your CRM, ensuring your intake teams are always in the loop when it comes to opportunities.

Parting Tips to Make the Most Out of Live Chat for Your Law Firm

Ready to make live chat work for your law firm?

Before you go, here are tips to help you make the most out of live chat:

• Set up automated messages. Use automated messaging, including “welcome” messages and quick response buttons, to grab every opportunity to turn website visitors into legal clients.
• Utilize the power of AI. Implement AI-powered chatbots to provide your website visitors with meaningful, conversational learning experiences without having to wait for a live person.
• Create a full experience with informative content. Further enhance the user experience by publishing relevant website content and linking to them on your law firm’s live chat experience, including landing pages for practice areas and blog posts.
• Pay attention to your website’s design. Make sure your law firm’s website design doesn’t enshroud your live chat button (also consider pop-ups or automated messages to get the user’s attention).
• Encourage a self-service experience. When building your chatbot, encourage meaningful self-service experiences (other than offering legal advice) by sharing contact information, business hours, and other essential resources from the get-go.
• Track analytics. Use the built-in analytics features of your live chat software to evaluate and improve user engagement on your website over time.

While live chat can be an excellent impetus for lead generation, it’s also important to focus on what happens after legal marketing — that is, client intakes.

We recently did a podcast with On The Map CEO Kristaps Brencans and Nameo founder Chad Celi. In the episode, you’ll learn all about the fundamentals of a successful intake system in the legal industry, including tactical strategies, utilizing reviews, and tips for structuring your intake team.