The problem with personal phones
Messages from a fee earner's own WhatsApp sit outside the file, outside supervision and outside your retention policy. There's no consent record, and when the fee earner leaves, the conversation leaves with them.
WhatsApp for law firms
WhatsApp for solicitors, done properly.
Your clients already live on WhatsApp. Matterping lets your firm use it for matter updates the right way: from one business account in your firm's name, with consent recorded, every message on the file, and a text message backup for clients who aren't on WhatsApp.
Your Firm SolicitorsWhatsApp
Update from Your Firm Solicitors on your matter CONV-1042: "Exchange of contracts" is now complete. What happens next: completion is booked for Friday. We will message you as soon as the money has reached the seller’s solicitor.
Why WhatsApp
Messages that get read, without a portal login.
Emails get buried and client portals go unvisited. A WhatsApp message arrives where the client already is, and they can reply in a tap. That's why so many fee earners already message clients on WhatsApp, often from their own phones.
The Matterping way
One business account in your firm's name. Every update and reply is stored on the matter, consent is recorded, and the firm decides who can see what.
Everything a law firm needs from business WhatsApp.
Approved business messages
Updates are sent using message templates approved by WhatsApp, as service messages in your firm's name.
Text message backup
If WhatsApp can't deliver, the update goes by SMS, so no client misses out.
Consent recorded
Who agreed, when, how, and who recorded it. Clients without consent never get WhatsApp.
STOP means stop
Reply STOP and the client is opted out of that channel immediately.
Quiet hours
Evening updates are held until the morning.
Every message on the file
Updates, replies, and sent, delivered and read receipts, all kept against the matter.
Questions firms ask
Can our fee earners just use WhatsApp on their own phones?
Many do, and it is risky: messages sit on personal devices, outside the file, with no consent record and nothing for the firm to supervise. Matterping sends from one business account in your firm’s name, keeps every message on the matter and records consent. Read more on WhatsApp, the SRA and GDPR.
Are messages sent in our firm’s name?
Yes. Updates name your firm and the matter reference, and use wording your firm controls.
What if a client doesn’t use WhatsApp?
They get the same update by text message. If a WhatsApp message fails to deliver, Matterping sends it by SMS automatically, once.
Do messages go out at night or at weekends?
Not at night. Updates completed during quiet hours (by default 8pm to 8am) are held and sent in the morning. Replies to a client who has just messaged you are sent straight away.
Why does WhatsApp need to approve our messages?
WhatsApp requires businesses to use approved message templates when they message a client first. Matterping’s update and feedback messages are submitted for approval as service ("utility") messages, and contain nothing promotional.
Can clients reply?
Yes. Replies are saved to the client’s matter and flag it for the fee earner. The client gets a short acknowledgement so they know it arrived.
See Matterping with your own matters.
Book a short demo and we'll set up a matter type that matches how your firm works, then send an update to your own phone so you can see exactly what your clients would get.