Real human, direct line
When the firm's intake line drops audio at 8:15 a.m. Monday, a real human picks up the support line. Not a chatbot, not a queue, not a ticket number. The same team that configured the routing.
The 30-second version
A phone system that treats intake like the billable event it is.
VanceTel is a phone system for law firms nationwide that treats intake like the billable event it is. You get a softphone on every device with the firm number, live human pickup for first-time callers, after-hours overflow, call recording, and per-matter call logs that drop into Clio, MyCase, or PracticePanther.
Built on the same business VoIP platform we run for every customer (cloud PBX, SIP trunking, native SMS, and E911) with intake routing, recording, and per-matter logging tuned for solo and small firms.
The intake-call problem
Intake calls you cannot afford to miss.
Here is what makes phones hard for a law firm. Only 4 in 10 firms answer when a potential client calls. The other 6 lose the matter to whoever picks up next. 74% of clients hire the first firm that answers, and over 80% of first-time callers will not leave a voicemail. Every missed intake call burns roughly $649 in marketing spend you already paid for. On top of that, your desk phone does not follow you to court, your personal cell becomes a second business line, and voicemails pile up overnight while leads call the next firm on Google. You need a phone system built for how a small firm actually works, not a vendor that ships flashy features and forgets to answer the phone.
First firm to answer wins
Over 80% of first-time callers will not leave a voicemail. 74% hire the firm that picks up first. Voicemail is a lost matter.
Court does not stop the phone
Your desk phone stays at the office. Depositions, hearings, and client meetings keep happening, and the intake line still has to ring somewhere a human can answer.
Personal cell is not a business line
Handing out the attorney's mobile number turns every personal text into a billable interruption and tangles the client relationship with the person, not the firm.
What you get with VanceTel
Six features that solve the intake-and-billing problem.
Most VoIP vendors ship 60 features and forget the six small firms actually need. We start with the ones that move billable hours and intake numbers.
Softphone on every device the firm already owns
Personal iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Vision Pro rings on the firm's business number. Calls from court and depositions land on the same line as the office. Attorneys never hand out their personal cell.
Live human pickup for first-time callers
The first firm to answer wins the matter. Inbound intake calls reach a real human, not a voicemail box and not a phone tree, even when every attorney is in a deposition.
After-hours and overflow routing
Simultaneous ring to a designated on-call attorney, with fallback to a real receptionist queue. Leads at 7 p.m. stop slipping to the next firm on Google. You set the rules, we pick up.
Per-matter call logs your paralegals can bill from
Every call captures caller, duration, direction, and matter routing. Paralegals drop the time entry into Clio, MyCase, or PracticePanther without retyping. Billable hours stop walking out the door.
Encrypted call recording with role-based access
Configurable retention and partner-only restrictions. Associates and staff cannot access partner-only recordings. Encrypted at rest and in transit. Recording rules vary by state; the firm sets the policy.
Business-line SMS so the firm owns the conversation
Clients text the firm number for scheduling and document confirmations. Threads belong to the firm, not the attorney. When someone leaves, the message history stays where it should.
The softphone runs on every device the firm already owns: see the softphone page for the per-platform breakdown, or browse desk-phone hardware if the front desk still wants a Yealink in the lobby.
Talk to a real person before you switch.
Real U.S.-based support picks up. No script, no runaround.
How small firms actually use it
Five real scenarios from the firms we serve.
Not hypotheticals. These are the day-to-day patterns we see across solo shops and 25-attorney practices coast to coast.
Solo PI attorney at a deposition
A referral calls the main number while the attorney is across town. Our intake team answers live, captures the conflict-check details, and the matter shows up in the attorney's inbox before lunch.
Three-attorney family-law practice
New-client calls route to the named attorney by practice area. Existing clients skip the queue through caller-ID match. Returning clients never wait through a phone tree they have already navigated.
Immigration firm running consults from home offices
Every paralegal gets a softphone on a personal laptop. Consults run on the firm's number with the firm's caller ID, without a single desk phone or a leased PBX in a server closet.
Estate-planning boutique catching after-hours leads
After-hours overflow turns on during a marketing push. The firm catches leads at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday and stops losing them to the next Google result. Same per-seat price.
Med-mal boutique with partner-only matters
Partner calls record with role-based access. Associates and staff never see what they should not see. Retention is configured to the firm's policy, not the vendor's default.
Pricing your office manager can read
Per extension, all-in. Nothing paywalled that small firms actually use.
Voice is $24 and Voice + Text is $34 per extension per month on a 3-year contract, paid monthly (month-to-month is available at a higher rate), with no per-minute charges on US calls and no surprise add-ons for the features small firms actually need. Every price is all-in: taxes, USF, 911, and surcharges are included. Voicemail-to-email and after-hours routing are included, texting comes with Voice + Text, and call recording is a flat per-extension add-on. See full pricing on the pricing page, then port your number when you are ready. If your current provider is locking you in, we will help you exit cleanly.
More from the same product: business VoIP platform, softphone for every device, desk-phone hardware, or talk to a real human.
FAQ
Law-firm phone questions, answered.
Eight questions we hear from solo attorneys and small firms every week: intake, integrations, recording rules, porting, and pricing.
Yes. The VanceTel softphone runs on personal iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro and rings on the firm's business number. Your attorney's personal cell number stays private. Outbound calls show the firm's caller ID, and inbound calls reach them in court, at depositions, or working from home on the same line as the office.
VanceTel works alongside your case-management tool. Every call is logged with caller ID, duration, direction, and matter routing, and that data can be imported into Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, or any other system your firm uses. Voicemail-to-email drops transcripts where your team already files matter notes.
You configure after-hours and overflow routing with simultaneous ring to a designated on-call attorney and a fallback to a real receptionist queue. First-time callers reach a live human instead of voicemail, the call is captured with caller details, and the matter shows up in the firm's inbox by morning. You set the rules, we pick up.
Yes. Calls can be recorded with role-based access and configurable retention. Partner-only matters can be restricted so associates and staff cannot access them. Recordings are encrypted at rest and in transit. Recording rules around consent vary by state, and the firm is responsible for following the rules in its jurisdiction.
No. Number porting from your existing carrier runs with no downtime and no porting fee. Your published main number, your Google Business Profile number, and any practice-area lines all come with you. We coordinate the cutover so the firm does not miss intake calls during the switch.
Yes. Business-line SMS lets clients text the firm number for scheduling, document confirmations, and status updates. Threads belong to the firm, so when an attorney leaves, the client relationship and message history stay where they should. Staff can also reply from a desktop softphone.
Yes. VanceTel signs Business Associate Agreements for firms that handle Protected Health Information through PI, med-mal, or other practice areas. You get encrypted call handling in transit and at rest, role-based access, and audit logs on every call, text, and voicemail. HIPAA compliance is a shared responsibility: VanceTel provides the BAA and the encrypted infrastructure; your firm is responsible for your own end-to-end compliance practices, policies, and procedures. Talk to us to start the BAA process.
Pricing is per extension: Voice at $24 or Voice + Text at $34 per extension per month on a 3-year contract, or month-to-month at a higher rate, with no per-minute charges on US calls and no paywalls on the features small firms actually need. Every price is all-in, so the price you see is the price on the invoice. Voicemail-to-email and after-hours routing are included, texting comes with Voice + Text, and recording is a flat add-on. Full pricing is on the pricing page, and you can port your existing number whenever you are ready.
Phone system for your firm
Stop losing intake calls to the firm that answered first.
Talk to a real human about the configuration that fits your practice areas. We will help you port your number and walk your staff through the softphone before go-live.