For attorneys, keeping track of case notes can feel like a second job. Between back-to-back calls and client meetings, manually jotting down case notes is time-consuming and often unreliable. One missed detail can cause massive headaches down the road, leading to hours spent retracing steps, digging through emails, or deciphering cryptic handwritten notes.
That’s where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in handy. AI-powered phone call transcripts and summaries, used in conjunction with AI-assistant tools common in practice management systems (PMS), take the pain out of note-taking during and after calls.
First, with the right phone system, you can automatically generate accurate transcripts of every client call — along with recordings and summaries — and save them straight into your PMS. From there, AI assistants can take it even further by using those transcripts to draft documents, extract key details, and quickly search for relevant information.
In this article, we’ll explore how law firms like Nest Legal are already using VXT’s AI phone call transcripts and summaries, and how these features work alongside AI assistants like Smokeball’s Archie AI to free up attorneys so they can spend more time on high-value work.
That might be overwhelming if you haven’t heard of these tools before, so let’s explain what AI transcripts and AI assistants actually are to help you better understand how they can save your firm hours every week.
What are AI phone call transcripts and summaries?
Imagine, instead of furiously typing while your client rattles off case details (or worse, scribbling them down by hand), your phone system was able to automatically record your call and accurately transcribe and summarize the conversation using AI.
With AI-powered phone call transcripts, firms can transcribe calls in a single click. AI-generated summaries can then pull out key details from the call and be formatted to match your firm’s documentation style using custom prompts.
One tool law firms are turning to for this is VXT; the only phone system built specifically for law firms. It integrates with 15 legal practice management systems (and counting!). In fact, VXT is the most popular tool on Smokeball’s Integration Marketplace.
With VXT’s AI phone call transcripts in particular, you can save these transcripts as call notes directly into your PMS against the right case. This removes the need for manual entry, avoids costly mistakes and ensures handwritten call notes don’t get buried under a mound of paperwork.
What’s an AI assistant and how can it help your firm?
Is it your first time hearing about AI assistants? Think of them like a digital paralegal. Powered by generative AI (GenAI), these tools can handle time-consuming, repetitive tasks like drafting documents, legal research, and summarizing conversations and case notes.
While an AI assistant might sound complex (and GenAI is a broad term covering a range of solutions), these tools are just really good at recognizing patterns, analyzing data, and understanding language. In other words, things attorneys already do daily, but much faster and with fewer typos.
Recently, practice management systems have been rolling out their own AI assistants. Take Smokeball’s AI-powered matter assistant, Archie, for example. It extracts key points from conversations, drafts legal documents, and finds relevant case details in seconds. By quickly scanning case data, Archie delivers almost instantaneous summaries and links directly to source materials, making legal research and documentation simple.
And no, AI assistants won’t be replacing attorneys. Instead they’re here to handle repetitive tasks so you can focus on practicing law and advocating for your clients.
Pair an AI assistant like Archie with the AI phone call transcripts we mentioned earlier, and you can turn what used to be tedious admin tasks, into work that can be quickly done for you.
Keen to learn more about Archie AI? Hear how it works and get the inside scoop on what’s in store next from Smokeball CEO, Hunter Steele, in our recent chat with him on the File Notes podcast.
How AI transcripts, summaries and assistants can work together in a law firm
Having a transcript in your PMS isn’t just about keeping records, it’s about unlocking the full power of AI assistants like Archie. With the right setup, your call transcripts don’t just sit there; they work for you. Archie reads the transcript, pulls out key details, and transforms raw conversations into usable legal documents and actionable insights.
But without a phone system that connects to your PMS, you’re creating extra work. Critical details from calls can get lost, records aren’t accurate, and case management takes longer than it should. With VXT, you capture everything from your calls automatically, and with Archie, you put that information to work.
So how would you bring all of these tools together in your law firm? Let’s break down the steps with VXT’s AI-powered phone call transcripts and Smokeball’s Archie:
- A client calls their attorney → VXT transcribes the call and the notes are ready as soon as the call is finished.
- The transcript is saved straight to Smokeball → every matter detail is stored correctly and synced up automatically.
- Archie AI gets to work → using the call transcript from VXT and other matter details from Smokeball, Archie answers questions in real time, generates insights, and highlights key action points instantly.
For firms like Nest Legal, this setup saves hours of administrative work, freeing up more time for their attorneys to focus on high-value work.
How Nest Legal saves hours with VXT’s AI phone call transcripts and Smokeball’s Archie
For Nest Legal, the most powerful part use of VXT’s integration with Smokeball was pairing VXT’s AI phone call transcripts with Smokeball’s Archie. While their attorneys could already transcribe and summarize their calls with VXT, adding Archie took it to the next level, turning transcripts into actionable insights.
“My absolute favorite tech discovery last year was that magical combination,” says Laura Vickers, Nest Legal founder.
“With VXT, every call is transcribed. Then, I can [use] Archie to summarize the conversation, pull out key details, or generate a file note.”
For a fixed-fee law firm, this was a huge time-saver.
“If I’m jumping into a case someone else handled, I don’t have to read an entire transcript,” Laura says. “I just right-click and get a quick summary of the client’s history, correspondence, and next steps.”
The verdict: VXT’s AI transcripts + Smokeball’s Archie is a faster, smarter way to manage client communications
When you start to think about the amount of calls some attorneys receive, it’s clear to see how law firms are losing hours each week transcribing calls, typing or hand-writing notes, and replaying conversations (all time that could be spent on billable work).
Manual note-taking is slow and expensive, while AI call transcripts are fast (and in the case of VXT, completely free!). Pairing AI phone call transcripts with AI assistants can completely change the way your firm handles and documents client communications and matters.
In the past month, VXT customers have transcribed 60,000 conversations, getting back 5,000 hours of time. As a result, attorneys using VXT spend less time replaying and note-taking conversations, and more time helping your clients with high-value, billable work. Plus, the more time you save, the better your client service.
Ready to spend more time on your clients and less time digging through paperwork? Book a demo with VXT today and see how AI-transcription can be combined with your PMS to save your firm hours every week.
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