Philadelphia Lawyers Look to Hosted Unified Communications to Unify Locations

By Peter Bernstein
Senior Editor

While not a contest, it can be argued there are few vertical markets that are as real-time communications, collaboration and security intensive as the legal one.

Let’s face it, lawyers are constantly interacting in one form or another whether at their formal desktops, but mostly these days when they are working off-site or on the move.  And, if you are a law firm with multiple locations thanks to organic growth or via acquisition and/or involved in complicated litigation which involves many times multiple firms in multiple jurisdictions, the need for high-performance, secure and reliable real-time multimedia communications is essential.

It is thus not surprising that law firms of all sizes are turning to hosted solutions to meet their needs, and the Philadelphia firm Haviland Hughes, specialists in class action and complex litigation, are a great example. They recently turned to hosted Unified Communications (News - Alert) (UC) solutions provider Alteva to connect the firm's offices.

"We needed a communications system which would allow all of our offices to be seamlessly integrated," comments Donald E. Haviland, Jr., founder, Haviland Hughes (News - Alert). "I wanted specific features that meet our needs for security and confidentiality while keeping constant contact with attorneys who are out of the office."

Deep industry knowledge and the ability to provide customized solutions is key to success in selling to any vertical, and is particularly true for the highly discerning legal one.  The solution Alteva (News - Alert) provided Haviland Hughes in fact built upon a solution base that was engineered specifically to serve the legal community.  It addresses the unique needs of a law office, including offering enhanced mobility, audio and web collaboration, unified messaging, voice response, call recording and reporting services with multiple options to capture billable hours.

"Haviland Hughes is committed to delivering the highest level of service to their clients. Alteva's customized legal solution enables them to maximize their productivity and focus on what they do best," comments Bill Birnie, Chief Marketing Officer at Alteva.

Key features of Alteva's UCaaS solution for Law Firms include:

• HD Voice Hosted PBX (News - Alert) - High quality phone service with billable hours reporting and voicemails received with email.
• Unified Communications - productivity tools including presence, screen sharing, instant messaging and more
• Hosted Exchange - Comprehensive email & shared calendar solution
• Alteva Anywhere - for lawyers on the go, protect your personal caller ID and remain connected
• Legal Collaboration - Alteva's Audio & Web Conferencing application for law firms.
• Alteva Archive - Call Recording & message archiving capabilities
• Auto Attendant - A virtual receptionist for the office 24/7

Alteva says that its Alteva Unified Communications solution for law firms has attracted the attention of distinguished law firms throughout the U.S.  This is not surprising as law firms like others understand the benefits of hosted solutions in general, and as noted are more than ever heavily reliant on the need for real-time collaboration tools and easy-to-use and keep current and secure multimedia in order to provide their clients the best possible representation and protect confidentiality.