Live Chat for Law Firms: The Best 15 Live Chat Apps for Attorney Websites

live chat for law firmsWhy are you seeing live chat on more law firm websites these days?

Three main reasons:

  • More clients expect businesses to be available 24/7
  • It expedites the first touchpoint with potential clients
  • It helps to immediately create and convert leads

Almost four in five businesses that use live chat say that it has positively affected sales, revenue, and customer loyalty. Additionally, 38 percent of customers say they are more likely to buy from a company if they offer live chat support.

Yet law firms have been slow in taking to live chat. Only six percent of firms say their websites offer live chat to clients.

For many smaller law firms, the best live chat apps have become an irreplaceable and “must-have” element of their online services. For others, it’s worth asking the question: Can I provide timely responses to clients without live chat?

If you’re considering live chat software, it helps to know why it’s important, how to use it, and which apps are best for attorneys.

Below we share what you need to know about live chat, including our list of the 15 best live chat apps for law firm websites.



What is live chat?

If you have a teenage kid or spend much time online yourself, you probably know this already, but here’s a quick definition of live chat from the Cambridge Dictionary.

Live Chat for Law Firms Definition
(Image Source)

Some lawyers get confused between live chat and chatbots. The terms shouldn’t be used interchangeably.


Live chat vs chatbots

The main difference is that live chat involves real human beings. A chatbot uses AI to provide information.

Live chat can offer support and empathy for client issues whereas a chatbot generally provides factual answers to frequently asked questions — though they’ve become far more adept at doing that intelligently in recent years. The lines are more blurred now.

A chatbot can be installed easily on your website with some software, while live chat generally involves an in-house agent or a contract with a vetted live chat provider.

Law firms may be able to utilize both live chat and chatbots, but it’s important to know where to draw a line between:

  • When a chatbot will suffice
  • When real input from a representative of the firm is required
  • When the expertise of a lawyer, legal assistant, or person with legal knowledge is required

Generally speaking, the further along the customer journey an individual goes, the less relevant chatbots and the more relevant live chat and engagement with a lawyer are.

Custom 1


Live chat for attorneys: What are the main objections?

Before we get into how live chat can help lawyers and which live chat apps are best for law firms, we need to address a few common objections.

Live chat on law firm websites — like the following example from DeHoyos Law — remains the exception rather than the rule in the legal profession.

(Image Source)

The slow uptake of live chat and chatbots by law firms shows that strong objections persist in the legal profession.

It’s easy to see how live chat works for, say, an eCommerce company. But how exactly is live chat meant to work in the legal industry, where enquiries (and cases) can be so complex, and there are few simple, black-and-white answers to the questions that potential clients have?

Traditionally, we’ve seen the same objections to live chat for attorneys:

  • Case complexity concerns
  • Privacy concerns
  • Branding concerns (for larger law firms, especially)
  • Cost/human resource concerns (for smaller law firms)

Live chat is certainly not a magic bullet for attorneys, and it isn’t intended to replace face-to-face legal advice.

It works best when a real human being can respond immediately and meaningfully (in a personalized way) to queries, but that can be a challenge to handle in-house. Most firms outsource.


How can live chat help law firms attract leads?

If you’re busy in court all day or working relentlessly on cases, neither you nor your trusty legal assistant will be able to answer every email, phone call, and social media message promptly.

This means that leads are likely falling through the cracks, and you’re missing opportunities to grow your law firm.

In the 2020 Legal Trends Report, responsiveness was ranked highest overall when respondents were asked to rank the factors that were most important to them when speaking with a law firm.

If you learn how and when to use and not use live chat, you’ll find the customer support and lead generation benefits far outweigh traditional concerns.

First and foremost, live chat for lawyers is a way to:

  • Communicate in real-time via many clients’ preferred communication methods (especially with younger target clients).
  • Filter top-of-the-funnel or middle-of-the-funnel enquiries.
  • Triage leads to determining when helpful information can help the client move to the next level of their journey with you, e.g., booking a consultation with an attorney.
  • Respond to current clients who have technical difficulties.
  • Respond to clients who are struggling with a firm-specific concern or payment question.
  • Access a written record of communication with chat logs to refer to if necessary

Gerber Law, a personal injury law firm in Florida, is already reaping these benefits.

Live Chat for Law Firms Gerber Law
(Image Source)

The use of live chat by younger legal clients as the first communication choice, especially at the beginning of their journey with law firms, is set to continue in the future.

The global live chat software market was valued at around $755 million in 2020 and is projected to hit $1.7 billion by 2030.

This all makes live chat an important lead-generation tool for law firms.


15 best live chat apps for law firm websites

The following 15 apps are listed in no particular order but currently provide the best live chat for law firm websites.

Some apps are specifically designed for the legal industry but many provide more general business live chat services — often with a partial focus on the legal, medical, education and other sectors.


ApexChat

ApexChat is a law-firm-centric app, providing live chat agents and services for law firm lead generation from its base in the U.S. (it also services medical and education).

It’s simple to install and provides a complete, turnkey chat service using its own legal-industry-trained live chat agents and software platform. ApexChat is most popular for personal injury, criminal defense, bankruptcy, family, immigration, and estate planning firms.

apex-live-chat
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? Partly — also focuses on home services, medical, education, and marketing agencies.
  • Pricing: Pay-per-lead or per chat (you need to request a quote)
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes
  • Main pros:
    • Established in 2008 and used by over 4,000 law firms
    • Multiple, legal practice-trained chat agents available 24/7
    • Live call transfer functionality
    • Customizable for branding
    • Canned responses available and geo-targeting function
    • Text alerts for clients
    • Excellent customer service
    • Pay-per-lead means you only pay for results
  • Languages: English/Spanish

LiveChat

The LiveChat platform is a popular choice for many types of businesses and can assist law firms with both service and conversions to paying clients. It balances AI with human interaction to nurture relationships with potential clients.

Although not law-firm-specific, LiveChat is established and professional enough to handle first-line legal queries, providing live representatives 24/7/365.

Live Chat for Law Firms LiveChat
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No.
  • Pricing: From $20/month/agent up to $69/month/agent (and higher for enterprise). For most law firms, the most suitable package would probably be the Business plan: $59/month/agent billed annually.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Stable and respected — used by 26,000+ businesses in 150 countries
    • Easy to use and seamless integration with 130+ tools
    • Good range of chat tools, customization options, and reporting/analytics
    • Includes ticketing system, team management and feedback-gathering
    • Good support team provided
    • Includes a mobile app for chat but not tickets
    • Multilingual
  • Languages: 45 different languages

Ruby

Trusted by more than 10,000 business owners, Ruby offers “human-powered virtual receptionist and live chat solutions”.

Its live chat specialists are based in the U.S. and commit to live chat responses in 60 seconds or less. The company has a law firm focus (but not exclusively) and provides 24/7 live call answering (virtual receptionist).

Live Chat for Law Firms Ruby
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? Partly – 42 percent of customers are solo and small practice attorneys. Also provides live chat for home services, medical, real estate, finance, etc.
  • Pricing: $135-$490 per month depending on the plan.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Recognized for a high level of quality and professionalism
    • 100 percent response rate under 60 seconds
    • Dedicated customer success team
    • Ability to customize greetings and talking points
    • Quick and simple implementation
    • Real-time notifications via email and online dashboard
    • Connect-to-call feature with a warm handoff
  • Languages: English/Spanish

CUGIC

CUGIC live chat services help law firms increase leads by reaching out to potential clients looking for online legal services in real time.

While the platform is not law firm-specific, it does cater to the legal industry and is suitable for law firms of all sizes, with the software usable on any device (not just desktops).

Live Chat for Law Firms CUGIC
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? Partly. Also provides chat services for real estate, eCommerce, higher education, financial services, etc.
  • Pricing: Free for two agent accounts (and two concurrent chats); From $9.50 to $35/month for paid plans with unlimited chats. For most law firms, the most suitable package would probably be: $16/month/agent billed annually.
  • Free demo/ trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Well-established with clients in 60+ countries
    • Easy to install and use
    • Can proactively invite your customers to chat
    • Fully customizable and can track website visitors (including geotagging of customers)
    • Attentive agents
    • Good integration with social media
    • Reporting system provided
    • Affordable – with a free version offered
    • Multilingual
  • Languages: Use of a chat widget translates into 42 languages.

Client Chat Live

Client Chat Live is an established live chat app created by lawyers for lawyers in 2008. The Texas-based founders recognized that the pressure was growing for personal injury, mass tort, criminal law, and other B2C law firms to respond immediately to potential clients.

Client Chat Live was designed to fill the gap that busy smaller law firms experience with responding to clients during and after work hours.

Live Chat for Law Firms Client Chat Live
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? Partly — also a focus on medical and small businesses.
  • Pricing: Quote provided on request — flat rate pricing.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Well-established, with a strong focus on legal firms
    • Simple to get started with their installation team’s guidance
    • Proactive popups to invite web visitors to chat
    • Branded chat boxes
    • Text-to-chat feature
    • Professional operators are available 24/7/365
    • Customizable scripts and responses
    • Immediate chat transcripts provided along with monthly reports
  • Languages: English/Spanish

Ngage

Ngage is another popular live chat app for law firms, though it’s not exclusively designed for the legal profession.

More than 8,000 business websites use Ngage across multiple sectors, with a heavy focus on law firms and professional services. Highly trained operators provide a customized experience that aims to convince visitors to become clients.

Live Chat for Law Firms Ngage
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? Partly — also a focus on medical and professional services.
  • Pricing: Pay-for-performance pricing that charges for leads rather than the number of agents or chat sessions.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Well-established, with a strong focus on legal firms
    • Professional operators available 24/7/365
    • Live chat transfer to phones
    • Client performance reports provide an overview of activity
    • Self-service portal to adjust settings
    • CRM integration for law firm intake systems
    • Many other integrations, e.g., social media and legal directories
    • Provides chat-to-call option with instant callback and text-to-chat
    • Chat directly on Google Ads
    • Automated email/text functionality
  • Languages: English/Spanish

Pure Chat

This app may be worth considering for startups, solo attorneys and small firms that are just starting to get to grips with the benefits of live chat for law firms.

Pure Chat is a Ruby company (see above review) and, therefore, has a major name in live chat behind it. It provides a generous 30-day free trial and affordable paid plans that offer both functionality and customization options. However, Pure Chat is currently only available in English.

Live Chat for Law Firms Pure Chat
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No.
  • Pricing: Growth plan at $39/month billed annually (includes four operators) and $13/operator/month for extra operators. Pro plan at $79/month billed annually (includes ten operators) and $8/operator/month for extra operators. Most law firms will want the Pro plan, as you can remove the Pure Chat branding.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Easy to set up and intuitive to use
    • Can customize and remove chat branding (Pro plan)
    • Other customization options using the editor
    • An unlimited number of websites (Pro plan)
    • SMS notifications included
    • Unlimited chat sessions on both plans
    • Real-time analytics
    • Historical chat transcripts
    • Provides canned responses for extra speed
  • Languages: English

Intaker

Intaker is another U.S.-based company offering a full suite of automation tools for law firms, including texting, lead management, and workflow sequences.

Its website live chat service is a little different from most others covered here as it places extra importance on interactive video segments at the start and end of every chat to convert ad-driven traffic into paying clients.

Intaker sees AI and video as the key to engaging potential clients and is designed specifically for qualifying leads for law firms. This makes it a serious option to consider but the pricing means it’s mainly targeted at medium-sized and larger firms.

Live Chat for Law Firms Intaker
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? Yes.
  • Pricing: Both flat rate and pay-per-lead (qualified leads only) pricing options available. Pricing is available on request. The cheapest starter pricing plan starts at $195 a month.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Easy to set up and intuitive to use
    • Uses smart, AI-driven chatbots
    • Incorporates video to engage potential clients
    • Fast answers to FAQs from ultra-responsive chatbots
    • Qualifies law firm leads on auto-pilot
    • Call-backs and instant calls
    • Easily customizable conversations
    • Instant notifications for qualified new leads
    • Can change conversion settings according to the ad campaign you’re running
  • Languages: English/Spanish

ClickDesk

ClickDesk is one of the biggest players in live chat software. It promotes itself as “cross-platform software with a global outlook” covering “Every platform. Every device. Every language.”

Well established and ideal for larger law firms with a global presence. ClickDesk is also worth considering for smaller or medium-sized firms looking for one of the most reliable names in live chat — as long as you’re not looking for law firm-specific software,

Live Chat for Law Firms ClickDesk
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No.
  • Pricing: Free version available (up to 10 users, 30 chats and 25 tickets). Paid plans from $14.99/month/agent for unlimited chats to $39.99/month/agent for enterprise plan (with queueing/white label). For most law firms, the most suitable package would be $24.99/month/agent (billed annually).
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Widely used — reportedly by over 185,000 businesses
    • Good balance between customer service and sales
    • Cost-effective monthly plans with a free plan available
    • Browser-based and easy to set up
    • Fast and customizable live chat
    • Easy for agents to get real-time info on visitors
    • Includes video chat
    • Integrated helpdesk with ticket tracking
    • Enterprise version provides a dedicated account manager
    • Multilingual possibilities
  • Languages: The translation feature provides chat in over 90 languages

Freshchat

Freshworks, the company behind Freshchat, claims to be “trusted by 50,000 businesses,” but can your law firm trust it to deliver the right type of live chat support?

It is certainly a major player in chat, and according to reviews from satisfied clients, Freshchat does a great job for the businesses it serves. While it’s not law firm-specific, the company behind the app has the service professionalism and experience to manage the load for most law firms.

Live Chat for Law Firms Freshchat
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No.
  • Pricing: Free for limited functionality (up to 100 agents). Paid plans from $15 to $69/month/agent for more functionality based on helpdesk requirements, languages required, hours, reporting, etc. For most law firms, the most suitable package would probably be $39/month/agent (billed annually).
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Well-established company with a background in a helpdesk software
    • Easy to install and use
    • Affordable plans with a free plan available to get started
    • Some interesting features like campaigns, a sales bot, integrated self-service, and intelligent message routing
    • Customizable branding and geo-targeting
    • Multilingual possibilities
  • Languages: Multilingual support (translation available for plans of $39/month and above)

Zendesk Chat

Zendesk is another major player in the world of customer support and service, with over 30,000 businesses using its services. The live chat app, Zendesk Chat, is another great option for law firms looking for an established and reliable name for managing support inquiries.

The offerings include live chat services for customer service and sales, available for web, mobile, and social media.

Live Chat for Law Firms Zendesk Chat
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No.
  • Pricing: Annual plans start at $49/agent/month up to $215/agent/month for Enterprise. For most law firms, the most suitable package would probably be $79/month/agent or $99/month/agent (billed annually).
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • One of the most established outsourced support and chat providers
    • Easy to use with a good feature set
    • Includes triggers, pre-chat and offline forms
    • Includes visitor list, chat ratings, file sending, chatbots, reporting, etc.
    • Customizable for law firm branding
    • Conversion analytics and tracking rates on higher plans
    • Strong customer support
  • Languages: The use of a chat widget provides multilingual support.

SnapEngage

SnapEngage was recently acquired by TeamSupport, the customer support software company that empowers businesses to become more customer-centric.

The combination of expertise in chat (since 2008) and customer support is a winning combination if you’re looking to add live chat to your law firm’s website.

Even though SnapEngage is not focused on law firms, it’s used by over 10,000 companies in 85+ countries and can provide professional support services to a level that most law firms need.

Live Chat for Law Firms SnapEngage
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No — the focus is on growing, progressive organizations and the healthcare industry.
  • Pricing: From $16/user/month to $40+/user/month (billed annually). For most law firms, the most suitable package would probably be $26/user/month for a minimum of three users (billed annually). Additional platform fees apply.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Well-established (since 2008)
    • Chat is the company’s sole focus
    • Advanced integrations with CRMs, helpdesk software, Facebook Messenger, etc
    • Full features, including geo-targeting, visitor tracking and screen sharing
    • Robust security and privacy options
    • Award-winning customer support
    • Multilingual possibilities
  • Languages: A widget makes translations available in 30 languages.

Acquire

Acquire was founded in 2016 and has grown to 150 team members in three locations, with its base in California.

This live chat app provides easy-to-use, scalable, real-time engagement with live chat and in-app messaging across the web and mobile. It offers co-browsing and video chat as well as more traditional text chat.

Live Chat for Law Firms Acquire
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No.
  • Pricing: Starter, Commercial, and Enterprise plans are available with pricing quotes provided on request (form on the website). Most law firms will pay between $25 and $250/month depending on plan, payment option, and number of agents.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Easy to get started and use
    • Strong in customer support and customer onboarding process
    • Good sales-oriented chat features, including targeted messaging and feedback-gathering
    • Can resume chats from where you left off
    • Live analytics
    • Additional products are available, such as a personalized chatbot, video/voice call options, and co-browsing
  • Languages: English – but translation is available for 25+ other languages.

Intercom

Intercom is another well-established player in live chat software, offering a range of customer engagement services since 2011 — but not specifically for the legal industry.

Intercom’s live chat solution enables collaboration and automation for building better relationships with clients — at the sales, marketing and support levels. In addition to live chat, its Business Messenger app has bots, apps, in-app messages, and more to connect with customers.

Live Chat for Law Firms Intercom
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No – main focus in healthcare, financial services, eCommerce and education.
  • Pricing: Starts at $38-87/month for starter/essential packages. The pro package is $75-153/month (200 active people and two seats included) for a stronger lead conversion focus. For most law firms, the most suitable package would probably be: $153/month billed annually.
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Well-established since 2011
    • Many large progressive companies use their chat services
    • Very sales and growth-focused — engaging customers in the chat is only one goal
    • Marketing automation, SMS marketing and targeted messaging campaigns (to particular customer segments) are also provided
    • Good integrations with social media, CRMs, email software, support desks, etc
  • Languages: Multilingual

Zoho SalesIQ

Zoho SalesIQ provides round-the-clock assistance for law firms looking for online help with customer service and sales, with visitor tracking and analytics in addition to live chat.

It’s quite sales-focused and not exclusive to law firms (it’s more focused on financial services, eCommerce, travel, real estate, etc.), but it is an established app with over 450,000 businesses using it worldwide.

SalesIQ may work best for larger firms that use the Zoho customer relationship management software (CRM).

Live Chat for Law Firms SalesIQ
(Image Source)
  • Law firm specific? No.
  • Pricing: From free (three operators and 100 chat sessions/month) up to $20/operator/month (billed annually) for the Enterprise version. For most law firms, the most suitable package would probably be the annual
  • Professional plan: $12.75/operator/month (includes five chatbots).
  • Free demo/trial available? Yes.
  • Main pros:
    • Easy to set up
    • Live representatives available
    • Customized chat boxes to fit branding
    • Many social media integrations
    • Available in multiple languages
    • Suitable for larger law firms
    • Full suite of services, including CRM, email marketing, etc
  • Languages: Multiple languages are offered

Live chat usage: The fundamentals

Email, mobile phone calls, contact forms on websites, Zoom video calls, social media …all of these communication methods were once considered cutting edge and are now mainstream for law firms.

Live chat is going the same way.

But, like with its communication predecessors, it’s important to know when to use it and when not to.

Live chat and chatbots should be a convenient option for your visitors, not an annoyance. The user experience is everything. If live chat windows are popping up all the time and driving potential clients away, it’s not being used properly.

The live chat option should be clear but discreet and only activated when a visitor wants to engage. There are many options depending on the live chat solution you choose, but here are a few ideas for how the live chat option could look on your firm’s website:

This immigration law firm in California has a discreet “how can we help you?” button on the bottom right.

Live Chat for Law Firms Immigration W&O
(Image Source)

This personal injury firm in Colorado places a discreet live chat option bottom-left.

Live Chat for Law Firms Personal Injury
(Image Source)

The following example from another immigration lawyer has a more visible live chat box bottom-left. This one takes the approach that it may comfort visitors to see a real, approachable human being, which is an important consideration for law firms that can appear intimidating and “faceless” to first-time visitors.

Live Chat for Law Firms Immigration
(Image Source)

It’s not so important where you place the live chat option, but it shouldn’t be overpowering for visitors.

Live chat should also be integrated into your overall law firm marketing strategy, with its effectiveness and impact on ROI tracked and measured.


Setting the right expectations with live chat

External, outsourced, live chat agents should not be expected to provide legal advice for potential law firm clients. They cannot and will not replace a lawyer.

Their job is to be professional enough to understand your law practice to courteously answer FAQs about it — and act as the first responders to queries. Anyone seeking legal advice needs to be connected with a lawyer and good live chat agents understand when this is required,

What else should you expect from live chat for law firms?

  • 24/7/365 service: A basic requirement of any live chat app for law firms as one of the main reasons for installing live chat is to provide coverage when you’re out of the office so that you never miss a potential lead.
  • Live operator interaction: AI-driven chatbots can help screen visitors and save time but legal clients need the option to interact with a real person who is knowledgeable about the firm — the personal touch is key to turning more leads into paying clients.
  • Chat-to-call option: Chat messaging is not everyone’s idea of good interaction with a law firm, so look for a call option for your live chat setup.

A final point about setting expectations with the technology available: this article has looked exclusively at live chat for law firms, but there are a lot more law firm automation possibilities available today than even two or three years ago.

AI and machine learning are moving ahead at a great pace, and it pays to be across all of the automation possibilities for law firms… so watch this space.


The web never shuts – why should your law firm?

Law firm websites can spend a lot of time and money generating leads. Live chat is a tool to help turn organic traffic from “just browsing” to “interested” and help convert “interested” leads into clients cost-effectively. And the great beauty is that it does that 24/7.

If you’re getting plenty of traffic but few firm inquiries, live chat can help you turn it around.

Now you know what the best available options are, will you choose one specific for law firms or a more general, business-focused one? A pay-per-lead option or a flat rate option?

Try before you buy with the free trials and discover the one that best suits you.

After all, the web never shuts down. Why should your law firm?