The Best Phone Systems for Law Firms

law firm phone system

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Backed by extensive research, we've put together a case for the best phone systems for law firms, which are provided by Lily, RingCentral, Berry, 8×8, and 4Com.

These are all VoIP systems – systems that carry calls over the internet, and can be accessed remotely via your desktop, tablet, or mobile phone – and come with unified communications (UC) tools, including video conferencing and instant messaging. Meanwhile, varying levels of software packages will give you access to a range of standard and top level phone system features.

If your clients are paying you big bucks, they’re going to expect top level service. And you can’t deliver on that unless you own a modern phone system. So, whether it’s a question of features, price, or customer service, read on to find out which of these phone systems you should be investing in.

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Lily Comms

RingCentral

Berry

8×8

4Com

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£12.99 – £33.99 per month

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The top 5 phone systems for law firms

Our top 5 phone system suppliers for law firms are Lily, RingCentral, Berry, 8×8 and 4Com.

Lily logo
Lily
4.5
Pricing Bespoke
Quick overview

Lily Cloud offers an easily configurable and manageable fully-hosted VoIP phone system that gives you easy access to all your communications tools on the go. 

 

Founded in 2009 in Bradford, it began as a company that offered outsourced communication services, specifically providing installation and maintenance services to telecom resellers. Lily has since evolved into a multi-award-winning company, now with headquarters in Leeds.

Strengths

Dedicated account manager and 24/7 support

Provides a tailored service that's unique to your firm

Claims 86% of customers have saved money

Weaknesses

Transparent pricing not publicly available

Minute allowance isn't transparent

The name may bring to mind images of dainty flowers, but Lily’s telephone systems are anything but delicate. Lily is all about supplying a rigid, unified communication platform – its VoIP system brings phone calls, instant messages, and emails into one resilient platform, improving internal, stakeholder, and client communication.

You can use Lily’s unified communication platform across desktop, tablet and mobile phone – great news for employees who work remotely. Offering both hosted and on-premise phone systems, in addition to mobile working and multi-site solutions, Lily is a one-stop-shop for any law firm looking to invest in a new phone system.

RingCentral logo
RingCentral
4.5
Pricing £12.99-24.99
Quick overview

With its innovative collaboration solutions, RingCentral empowers businesses to connect, seamlessly with their customers, teams, and partners. Founded in 1999, RingCentral has established itself as a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes, offering reliable, user-friendly, and flexible communication solutions.

In 2021, RingCentral was announced as Mitel's exclusive unified communications partner, providing its cloud-based software to Mitel's customer base of over 35 million users.

Strengths

Excellent customer support

Highly scalable

Heaps of useful features

Weaknesses

Mediocre consumer review score

Prices are a touch on the expensive side

Pricing
PlanStarting price (per user, per month) (billed annually)
Essentials £12.99
Standard £14.99
Premium £19.99
Ultimate £24.99

Whether you’re in need of a phone system for one office or multiple sites, you can make a RingCentral system as complex as you wish.
A RingCentral phone system is also ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) optimised. This is ideal for law firms wanting to minimise their spending, because you don’t need to invest in any hardware. Employees can access business contacts, make calls, receive faxes, join conference calls, and share files, all from their own devices.
Another particularly good feature for law firms is the instant call recording. Keep a record of every conversation, and have a complete index to refer to if necessary.

Berry Technologies logo
Berry
4.5
Pricing Bespoke
Quick overview

Based in Salisbury, Berry Telecom was established in 2011 with the goal of becoming the most beloved telecommunications company in the UK, providing customised solutions for growing businesses.

Berry offers expert advice, technical implementation, and high-quality products backed by an experienced technical and customer service team. In 2022, Berry was acquired by Babble, one of the UK's leading cloud communications providers.

Strengths

Very customisable

Dedicated account manager, 24/7 phone support, and fast tech help

Weaknesses

Pricing and minute allowance aren't publicly transparent

Berry is a supplier that’s ripe and ready to pick, thanks to its commitment to delivering high quality unified communication systems. Its easy-to-use dashboard clearly displays call reports and analytics, while call recording features help you to quality control your customer service. With testimonials from law firms stating the success of features such as email voicemail and on-hold messaging services, Berry is for any law firm looking to boost their professionalism.

Berry can install PBX, hosted, or self-hosted phone systems, making it the perfect phone systems supplier for new and growing law firm businesses.

8x8 logo
8x8
4.7
Pricing Bespoke
Quick overview

Founded in 1987, 8x8 is one of the biggest providers of cloud-based communication solutions, with over one million users worldwide. It’s been available in the UK since 2009.

Over the years, 8x8 has made several strategic acquisitions to expand its portfolio. In 2018, it acquired the open-source technology Jitsi, enhancing its ability to offer versatile communication capabilities. In 2020, 8x8 acquired callstats.io, a Finnish startup that provides SaaS call quality monitoring for popular communications apps.

Strengths

Topnotch customer support

Amazing security features

Easy to scale

Weaknesses

Mediocre consumer review score

Premium pricing

8×8 offers telephone system solutions for small, medium, and enterprise businesses. Because each solution is tailored to size, you know your business isn’t paying out any more money than it needs to. Most importantly, all of 8×8’s phone systems are completely compliant with the latest data protection practices.

8×8 has plenty of success stories when it comes to law firm telephone installation, with some systems even spanning across multiple offices. With the help of 8×8’s mobile app, law firms can use a range of smart devices to keep office-based and remote working employees connected.

Quick overview

4Com is a leading telecommunications company that was established in 1999 with the goal of improving communications for SMEs. Over the years, it’s partnered with major suppliers including Panasonic, Siemens, Samsung, and HiHi to provide high-quality products to its customers.

The company is known for providing market-leading phone systems to businesses, and is named #1 Best Company to Work For by the Sunday Times. Additionally, they are renowned locally for their charity work, having donated over £400,000 to various causes.

Strengths

The HiHi is among the best in modern phone hardware

Offers a personalised service to help you save

Weaknesses

Breadth of software features isn't made clear

Pricing isn't publicly transparent

If you’re looking for a supplier that has heaps of experience in providing telephone systems for small to medium-sized law firms, 4Com may have just what you need. 4Com is at the leading edge of phone system technology, with the HiHi VoIP phone as its flagship product. With face to face video connectivity and a sleek tablet interface, HiHi will take your business meetings and client calls to the next level.
With a full range of accompanying apps and hardware, 4Com will enable your law firm to work smart from the office as well as remotely. And thanks to its software’s intuitive interface, using it is probably as easy as using your iPhone.

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Hosted VoIP vs self-hosted VoIP

When researching the best VoIP providers for your law firm, you'll often come across the terms ‘hosted' and ‘self-hosted'. Let's take a look at what these mean, and the difference between the two.

Hosted VoIP

A hosted VoIP system is hosted on your system provider's servers, rather than on your own. Having an external company host your phone system is far more convenient (and cheap) than hosting your phone system yourself. An external company will literally take care of everything – installations, updates, training, the works – and charge you a monthly subscription fee, usually per user, to host the system.

A hosted VoIP system exists purely in the cloud – and because the cloud is accessible everywhere, so is your phone system. You’ll be able to access all of your data, contacts, and phone numbers wherever you happen to be in the world, as long as there’s an internet connection.

Law firms are busy working environments, so you need a phone system that’s low maintenance and can keep up with the demands of the industry. Hosted VoIP systems ticks all those boxes – and to top it off, it’s also the most cost-effective solution. The providers we've discussed here – Lily, RingCentral, Berry, 8×8, and 4Com – all offer hosted VoIP systems.

If you’re worried about phone lines disconnecting if the internet goes down, most phone system suppliers will set-up an auto-redirect that will send any incoming phone calls to a mobile device.

Self-hosted VoIP

A self-hosted VoIP system, which you host on servers on your own premises, has its advantages too. For one, you’ll still be able to use your traditional phone system alongside your VoIP phone system. Secondly, you'll have complete control over your phone system – any software upgrade or hardware installation is up to you.

The downside to a self-hosted phone system is you’ll need to have your own team of technicians to look after the system. Scaling or moving a traditional PBX system can also be expensive and time-consuming.

Verdict

The best phone systems for law firms are provided by Lily, RingCentral, Berry, 8×8, and 4Com. They all offer VoIP phone systems that are scalable, flexible, feature-rich, packed with UC capability, and affordable.

With so many strong options on the table, trying to work out which one's best for your firm can be a bit bewildering. It'll depend on your budget, the size of your firm, and the features your team need to do their jobs. But if the research needed to make that decision seems overwhelming, don't worry – our free quote-finding tool can help.

Simply answer a few questions about your law firm, and we'll use that info to match you up with suitable phone system providers. They'll then get in contact with you to answer your questions, and provide tailored, no-obligation quotes. It's a quick, easy way to compare the best options for your team.

Save by comparing free, tailored quotes from the best providers for you
Does your law firm already have a phone system?
Just answer a few questions – it only takes a minute

How We Test VoIP Phone Systems and Services for Businesses

We tested 10 market-leading VoIP products and services to evaluate them in terms of functionality, usability, cost, security options, and more so we can make the most useful recommendations to UK businesses.

Our rigorous testing process means these products have been scored and rated in seven main categories of investigation and 16 subcategories – in fact, we covered 78 areas of investigation in total. We then gave each category score a ‘relevance weighting' to ensure the product's final score perfectly reflects the needs and requirements of Expert Market readers – and that's our product testing algorithm in a nutshell!

Our main testing categories for VoIP products and services are:

Customer Score: external customer opinion; the feedback and ratings given by customers who have used a particular VoIP product – the market position and reputation a VoIP software holds.

Cost: the pricing structure associated with the VoIP service, such as monthly subscription fees, call rates, setup fees, hardware costs, and any additional charges for add-on features or services.

Features: the functionalities and capabilities offered by the VoIP service, including basic features such as call forwarding and voicemail, as well as advanced features like auto-attendant and conference calling.

External Connections: the VoIP service's ability to connect and integrate with external systems or devices, such as compatibility with existing phone systems or integration with mobile devices.

Customer Support: the assistance and resources provided by the VoIP service provider to customers including technical support, online resources, and access to customer support representatives.

Security Options: the measures and features implemented by the VoIP service to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and protection of voice communications and data.

Scalability: the ability of the VoIP service to accommodate the growth and changing needs of an organization, e.g. capacity to handle a growing number of users or support multiple locations.

 

Written by:
Aimee profile image
Aimee is Expert Market’s resident telephone systems and point of sale go-to. If she’s not writing about business products, you’ll find her daydreaming about dog walking on Dorset beaches.
Reviewed by:
James thinks all businesses can improve if they use the right technology. At Expert Market, he utilises his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialised advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management.