Case-tied, two-way
Firm and Client write to each other inside the matter, not in an inbox that happens to mention it.
Client messaging
One thread per matter. Not five inboxes.
Client communication in a small firm lives in the attorney's inbox, the paralegal's inbox, two phones' text threads, and a voicemail box. None of it is attached to the matter, and none of it is visible to the colleague covering while someone is in court. BetterDocket gives every Case a messaging thread between the Firm and each Client, with read receipts and notifications that deep-link to the exact conversation.
The problem
Where the time goes today.
Conversations nobody else can see
The client's question went to the attorney's personal inbox. The attorney is in trial. The paralegal who could answer it does not know it was asked.
Texting is convenient and unmanageable
Clients text because it works. The firm ends up with case communication on personal phones, outside the file, and impossible to hand off or retain properly.
No record of what was read
An email was sent. Was it opened? On a matter with three stakeholders, which of them knows? The follow-up call exists only to confirm the first message landed.
How it works
Client messaging in BetterDocket.
Step by step. Each one is something the product does today.
Message from inside the Case
Open the matter and write to the Client. The message is attached to the Case, visible to every Firm Member on it, and delivered to the Client's portal and email.
See howClients reply from the portal
The Client reads and replies in the same thread from any browser. Nothing goes to a personal phone, and nothing lives outside the file.
Each client's thread stays private
On a Case with several Clients, each person's messages and read state stay private from the others. Your team sees all of them in one place.
Know who has read what
Per-client read receipts show which Clients have seen a message, so the confirmation call stops being necessary.
Unread messages surface in Today
An unread Client message raises the Case into your Today queue with the reason on the card, so nothing waits in an inbox nobody is watching.
See howNotifications that go to the right place
Email and in-app notifications deep-link to the exact message. Email goes through a durable outbox, so a delivery failure is recorded rather than lost.
What you get
Included from the first Case.
Live on every device
A Client's reply appears for the whole team in about a second, in the browser, the desktop app, and on the phone. Messages written offline deliver when you are back.
Your Firm's signature
Firm name, logo, and contact details appear on every client email, and clients see your team's photos and client-facing titles in the portal.
Covered when someone is out
Any Firm Member on the Case can read and answer, so a question does not wait for the one person whose inbox it landed in.
In your practice
Where this matters most.
Civil litigation
Litigation your client can actually follow.
See the fitFamily law
Fewer “any news?” calls in every divorce and custody matter.
See the fitEmployment law
Keep first-time clients oriented through the agency wait.
See the fitPersonal injury
Keep injured clients informed through every quiet stretch.
See the fitDeliberately focused
What client messaging does not do.
BetterDocket organizes the administrative work around a matter. The legal work, and the tools you already use for it, stay where they are.
- It does not send or receive SMS. Messages are delivered through the portal and email.
- It does not sync your email inbox. Communication outside BetterDocket stays outside it.
- It does not offer end-to-end encrypted messaging. Access is enforced at the database layer; our security page states exactly what we do and do not yet offer.
Keep reading
Related guides
Email vs. portal vs. texting for law firm client communication
Texting is fast but unmanageable; email is universal but untrackable; a portal is where case communication should live. How the three actually divide.
Read the guideWhat is a client portal for law firms — and what it isn't
A client portal is a private page where a client sees their case: status, next steps, messages, and requests. What it does, what it isn't, what to look for.
Read the guideHow small firms decide which matters need attention today
Stop reconstructing priorities from inboxes. An attention queue built from four signals — unread, pending, stale, upcoming — tells you where to look.
Read the guideQuestions.
Can clients message us from their phone?
Yes. The portal works in any mobile browser, and a Client reads and replies in the Case thread from there. Notifications arrive by email and deep-link to the conversation.
Can the whole team see client messages?
Every Firm Member on the Case can read and answer its threads. On a restricted Case, only assignees and Firm owners can, enforced in the database.
Are messages between two clients on the same case shared?
No. Each Client's messages and read state stay private from the other Clients on the Case. The Firm sees all of them.
Is messaging encrypted?
Messages travel over TLS and are stored behind database-enforced access rules scoped to the Firm, Client, and Case. BetterDocket does not offer end-to-end encryption and does not yet have SOC 2 or an independent penetration test; our security page describes the current posture plainly.
What does this cost?
It is included. BetterDocket is $10 per Firm plus $1 per open Case each month, prorated by day, with unlimited team members and every capability on this site. There is no add-on, module, or per-seat fee for any of it.
Move client conversation onto the matter.
One thread per Case, read receipts, and nothing on personal phones.
14 days. No card.