Back to Top

About Alert Communications

Alert Communications Review: Virtual Receptionists for Lawyers

Alert Communications Logo

Lawyerist Rating for Alert

i

Rating Breakdown

Our Rating: 4.2/5

Our rating is based on our subjective judgment. Use our resources—including our rating and community ratings and reviews—to find the best fit for your firm.

4.2/5

Product Details

Services Offered
  • Virtual Receptionist
  • Phone
Software Integrations
  • Custom
Additional Languages
  • Spanish

Core Features

For Virtual Receptionists & Outsourced Staffing, the following are essential features, and you should therefore expect to see a check in every box in this section.

Yes
No

Free Trial

Live Receptionist

Although they are called "virtual" receptionists, the person who answers the phone is, in fact, a real person who can use your customized greeting, request information according to your instructions, make warm transfers to you, or take messages.

Appointment Scheduling

You can give your receptionist access to your calendar or scheduler so they can book appointments for you.

Client Intake

A virtual receptionist service can be a partner in your intake process rather than only and ask questions and gather information according to your intake script.

Outbound Calls

Some virtual receptionist services will make calls for you in order to relay basic information such as confirming an appointment, providing directions to your office, or making referrals.

Free Local or Toll-Free Phone Number

You may prefer to use a different phone number to help you track your callers, or a toll-free number to make it easier for some people to contact you.

Live Chat

We're using live chat to mean chat plus a team to respond to inquiries, as opposed to a chat tool you can use to respond yourself.

Chat Tool

With a chat tool you can add a chat box to your website so that visitors can chat directly with you or your firm staff when you are available.

Chatbot

A chatbot is an automated messaging tool for automated communication with visitors to your website or within commonly used messaging apps like Facebook Messenger. Some are essentially a guided form, while others might use AI to answer more complex questions.

Call Routing

With call routing you can direct incoming calls based on criteria you set. For example, you could send existing clients directly to the lawyer handling their matter. Or distribute potential client calls evenly among intake staff. Or just send calls to your virtual receptionist after hours.

Voicemail Transcription

Your phone service can transcribe your voicemails using text recognition software so you can read your messages instead of listening to them.

Call Recording

"This call may be recorded for quality control purposes." Only if you want to, of course.

Call Analytics

Use information about your calls to identify patterns, calculate the ROI of your marketing efforts, and improve your client service.

Text Messaging

Send and receive text messages using your business phone system.

Compare Alert Communications Similar Products

Select another product to compare:

Alert Communications

4.2/5

Alert Communications Logo
Pros
  • Warm Transfer
  • High Volume
  • Multi-lingual
Cons
  • Complex setup
  • No App
  • No Chatbot

LEX Reception

4.4/5

LEX Reception logo
Pros
  • Administrative Services
  • Easy setup
  • Multi-lingual
Cons
  • Not for High Volume
  • No Voicemail Transcription

Nexa Receptionists

4/5

nexa logo
Pros
  • Live Chat
  • Integrations
  • Multi-lingual
  • 24/7/365
Cons
  • Not Just for Legal
  • No Advertised Pricing

Ruby

4.5/5

ruby logo
Pros
  • Live Chat
  • Integrations
  • Business Texting
  • 24/7/365
Cons
  • Not for High Volume
  • Weak Call Analytics
  • Not Just for Legal

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the price of Alert Communications?

Alert Communications offers 3 tiers of service: Call Services, Intake Services, and Contract & Retainer Services. There is no published pricing and most services that Alert Communications provides are customized and should be scoped out individually. For the most part, however, services are charged by the minute. But, as they are able to handle a multitude of virtual receptionist tasks, it is difficult to create broad, siloed packages.

What services does Alert Communications provide?

Alert offers large-scale Virtual Receptionist services. They handle inbound phone calls, and digital leads, as well as outbound follow-up calls when necessary. Alert Communications offers 3 tiers of service: Call Services, Intake Services, and Contract & Retainer Services. Call Services handles traditional virtual assistant duties. Intake Services assists with client recruitment, including outbound calling. Contract & Retainer Services follows-up with screened leads and converts leads into clients.

Will I need to port my number?

No, Alert handles your law firm phone calls by forwarding your phone number to their lines. This allows you to easily turn the service on and off, and to scale up or down quickly.

Will Alert Communications work with my CRM?

Yes, Alert’s receptionists will use your office’s CRM when handling your matters. So, there is no need for specific integrations. However, if there are any communication issues that need to be ironed out, Alert has a bevy of programmers on staff. They have experience with legal-specific programs like Clio, Casepeer, Filevine, Law Ruler, and Litify.

Does Alert Communications offer bi-lingual services?

Yes, like most law firm receptionist services, Alert Communications offers Spanish language answering services.

Does Alert Communications have an app?

No, Alert does not have an app. Their ideal operation is more like a call center. As such, they take a more hands-on approach to process set-up and alteration.

Is Alert Communications focused on the legal field?

Yes, Alert Communications only serves the legal community.

What are Alert Communications's hours?

Alert Communications' services are available 24/7/365.

Does Alert Communications offer virtual assistant services?

No, Alert Communications is strictly an online virtual receptionist provider. They do not offer email inbox cleanup or other assistant services.

Is Alert Communications good for solos?

Some solos who are looking to take on large-scale mass tort actions would find Alert Communications helpful, however, their services are likely more helpful to firms who have the infrastructure set-up to handle enhanced communication.

Additional Details about Alert Communications

How it Works

Virtual receptionist services through Alert Communications will work with any phone service provider you choose. There is no porting of numbers, and the company does not need to interact with your phone provider at all. Essentially, you forward your calls to an Alert Communications number set-up for you. Then, their receptionists begin to field your calls. To toggle service on and off, you simply have to turn call-forwarding on and off.

By working with your phone service provider, you can also set-up Alert Communications as an overflow phone number (much like ringing an alternate line in your office). With this feature, as your marketing efforts increase your need for intake services, you can confidently increase your capacity.

What Alert Communications can do

Inbound Calls

The easiest task you can hand-off to them is inbound phone calls to your office. Once this is set-up through call-forwarding, as above, these extensively trained virtual receptionists will handle your phone call as you have directed. They can take messages, forward calls as directed, handle intake tasks (like pre-screening callers), classify phone calls, and input information into your Client Relationship Manager (CRM) for future tasks.

Many of the receptionists (46% as of this writing) can handle calls in English and Spanish. And they have all been trained to answer phone calls for law offices specifically. Which means that they offer empathy and understanding to callers who, quite frequently, are not having a good day.

Digital Leads

In addition to inbound phone calls, these virtual receptionists can also field leads that come in from various digital sources. Whether the interaction is via email, an intake form on your website, or something like a Google form, these virtual receptionists can classify and field interactions as above or return inquiries with outbound phone calls as below.

Out-bound Calls

As the intake services above would seem to require, Alert Communications’ receptionists can also make outbound phone calls as directed. They can follow-up digital leads that come in, return calls from an alternate line, or assist in tasks such as contacting potential class members in a mass tort case.

Initial Set-up

When getting started with Alert Communications, you’ll have an on-boarding conference with a dedicated account manager and a programmer. Here, you determine how you want contacts handled in the first 24 hours, create any integrations that are necessary, and plan any outgoing calling campaigns.

Reporting & CRM Integration

Alert Communications does not have a client portal for attorneys to log into. It’s not necessary. Much like your own receptionists, they engage with the existing applications in your office, and fold themselves directly into your workflow. This obviates the need for any direct integrations. However, there is likely still some cause for custom communication between your office and theirs. As such, they have many programmers on staff who can make all the necessary connections with your software.

With this union, all of the reporting and tracking that your office needs to do is accomplished directly in your CRM system. However, there are obviously some attorneys who do not use a traditional CRM. In this case, Alert Communications will send a tracking report to the attorney’s office.

Who Alert Communications is for

Alert Communications could benefit any law office running ads or marketing campaigns encouraging potential clients to contact their office. Generally, Alert Communications could assist your practice if you’re letting possible client calls go to voicemail. However, personal injury and class action attorneys would likely benefit most, as their potential clients are most likely to reach out during off-hours.

Alert Communications isn’t the typical virtual receptionist, though. Instead, they have a significant, robustly staffed call center in California. As such, they can handle massive call volume swings resulting from client activity. Moreover, they can make outgoing calls from simple follow-ups and outreach to systematic campaigns for mass tort litigation. Recently, Alert began offering human-staffed web chat for law firms, so the night-owl or phone-shy clients have an appealing communication method.

On the other hand, attorneys looking for a comprehensive intake solution may find Alert lacking. Although they offer broad interaction with digital leads, they do not provide chatbots. Also, offices looking for an inexpensive or entry-level solution may Alert pricey.

Not sure where to begin? Download our Field Guide

Take the guesswork out of researching, purchasing, and implementing the right legal tech products and services for your law firm. Our Field Guide answers your essential questions and breaks down the features most important to your business, so you can buy with confidence.

Ipad featuring field guide pdf

Alert Communications Community Reviews

4.2

Based on 0 Ratings

0
0
0
0
0
Write a Review

Leave a Review

Learn the Latest from Our Partners and Community