You’re always thinking of new ways to grow your practice and provide better services to your clients. Staying in touch and communicating virtually are both important parts of maintaining relationships. Client texting has become more and more commonplace, as most Americans own a cell phone and text regularly.

What is texting for lawyers? Why should you start messaging clients? Let’s cover the basics.

What is law firm texting?

You may think that SMS texting should be reserved for personal interactions. It is a more intimate way to communicate since messages are sent to individual mobile devices that people carry with them everywhere. But many of today’s businesses are texting customers and clients to provide greater convenience and instant communication. In fact, 68% of businesses use some form of texting, and 91% of consumers have received a text from a business.

So many businesses are using texting their clients because it's convenient and helps you reach them directly about important deadlines or information. Law firms can especially benefit from client texting because the legal process is complex and involves a lot of back and forth between attorneys and clients. Start texting about appointments, reminders, deadlines, and just general support, answering questions as they arise.

Client Texting for Lawyers

As you consider offering this new form of contact, consider these key benefits:

• Reach clients immediately for urgent matters or updates
• Send automated reminders so deadlines or meetings are never missed
• Provide more support for clients on a daily basis
• Build positive relationships with more opportunities for connection
• Provide multiple options for how clients can reach you

Client texting is just one of the many ways you can improve your practice to be more client-focused and tech-savvy.

Using NextMessage from NextChapter

When you use NextChapter on a Start+, Pro+, or Whoa plan, you’ll have access to the NextMessage client texting feature. If you are not on one of these plans, you can purchase NextMessage a la carte. This tool lets you send automated text reminders for clients if a meeting or deadline is coming up. Set up a recipe to send clients texts once, and apply it to all future cases, NextMessage will do the rest! This saves you and your staff time that would be spent manually calling or emailing clients for each important date or reminder for their case. Your law firm will also be assigned a new phone number with your area code so you never have to give out your personal cell phone number.

Each time a client texts you, you’ll receive an email notification so you can respond promptly. Another plus is that you’ll always have access to the entire conversation history if you need to reference a previous discussion.

Enjoy unlimited SMS texting with NextMessage, staying connected to your clients throughout their case management process. Learn more about the benefits of client texting by taking advantage of this feature in NextChapter’s software for attorneys.