How Melbourne-based Nest Legal auto-save AI phone call transcripts to the right matter in Smokeball with VXT's integration

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When Laura Vickers founded Nest Legal in 2013, she was driven by a deeply personal experience. After navigating the legal chaos of selling her late mother’s home while on maternity leave, she knew there had to be a better way —  one that made legal services more accessible to busy parents.

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Starting from her kitchen table, she built a firm that now has 33 staff across Australia and New Zealand. Nest Legal specializes in conveyancing, wills and estates, and family law, offering flexible hours and remote-friendly services designed for modern families.

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The struggle with traditional desk phones

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Nest Legal was built to make life easier for clients, but their phone system was making life harder for their team.

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Their first phone system ran on physical desk phones (which we are not fans of). When working remotely, attorneys literally had to cart handsets between the home and office, constantly plugging and unplugging cords just to stay connected. Meanwhile, the desktop app meant to support remote work was hard to use and unreliable.

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“Team members often forgot to plug in their handsets, meaning they couldn’t make calls at all,” Laura says. “The alternative was a desktop app that was so clunky it slowed us down.”

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Their phone provider had zero interest in fixing the app. It was time for an upgrade.

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The switch to VXT

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Switching to VXT wasn’t just about upgrading their phones, it was about upgrading the way Nest Legal worked. At first, the team was hesitant after previous struggles with other phone systems. But once they saw how simple and user-friendly VXT was, they were all in.

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“To ease the transition between phone systems, we swapped desk phones for sleek, pink matching headsets,” Laura says.

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”Once we made the switch it was clear VXT was invested in helping attorneys. This system has made our lives better, feature after feature. It’s the best phone system we’ve ever used.”

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With VXT, Nest Legal found a phone system that works the way they do – no handsets, no headaches.

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“I never dreamt of a phone system that would integrate with Smokeball”

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Nest Legal had been using Smokeball as their practice management system for five years. When they started looking for new phone systems, VXT immediately stood out because of its deep integration with Smokeball. Calls, transcripts, and notes could be synced directly to client matters. No more copy-pasting, lost notes, or scattered files.

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“When we were using our old provider, I never even dreamt of having a phone system that integrated with our legal software,” Laura says. “In my 20 years of practicing law, I’d never seen that before.”

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“Now, conversations and in-call notes are saved straight to client matters. Everything stays organized without any extra effort.”

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VXT and Smokeball’s AI features are the "tech discovery of the year"

For Nest Legal, the most powerful part of the integration is the combination of VXT’s AI speech recognition and transcription with Smokeball’s AI-powered assistant, Archie.

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“My absolute favorite tech discovery last year was that magical combination,” Laura says. “With VXT, every call is transcribed. Then, I can right-click in Smokeball and ask Archie to summarize the conversation, pull out key details, or generate a file note.”

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For a firm operating on fixed fees, this is a massive time-saver. Instead of manually reviewing long transcripts, attorneys can instantly pull up summaries and key points.

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“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.”

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Client-focussed conversations with call transcriptions

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For a firm constantly on the phone, VXT’s transcription feature has been essential to offering a better client experience.

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“The call transcriptions lets me focus on clients without scrambling to write everything down. I can listen, advise, and build relationships, knowing I won’t miss a thing.”

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Deanna Lastrina, a property attorney at Nest Legal, agrees. “I absolutely love using VXT because it transcribes my phone calls,” Deanna says.

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“The main benefit for me is that I can actually use my time on the phone to focus on my clients — really understanding their needs and advising them properly. I don’t have to rush to take notes, and it helps me build relationships while also managing risk.”

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Laura puts it best: “Practicing law without call transcription is like parking without reverse cameras. Why would you ever go back?”

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Smarter time management with contact syncing

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VXT’s contact syncing lets attorneys see exactly who’s calling before they pick up. This small but powerful feature has helped Nest Legal prioritize urgent matters and plan their time better based on calls as they come in.

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“VXT syncs all of our client information so we can actually see who is calling before we answer the phone,” Laura says. “This makes all the difference to how I use my time. If I know a call is going to be a long one, I can wait until I have the time to give it my full attention.”

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A phone system built for attorneys that actually listens to them

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Nest Legal has finally found a phone system that keeps up with them. The firm loves working with tech providers like VXT who share their commitment to innovation and actually listen to their users.

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“One of the best things about VXT is how responsive they are to feedback” Laura says.

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“Even if it's something that couldn't be implemented, they understand why we’re requesting it. We mention a pain point, and even if it's not the actual thing we requested, a few months later — boom, it’s fixed. It’s a phone system built for attorneys that keeps getting better.”

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Key benefits

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• ‍Integration and AI with Smokeball: Using VXT and Smokeball’s AI,  attorneys can summarize conversations, pull out key points and generate notes for client matter in a matter of seconds.
• Remote-friendly compatibility: VXT works anywhere, no hardware required, which is perfect for hybrid teams.
• Instant transcriptions: Attorneys spend less time scribbling notes and more time focusing on their clients.
• Contact syncing and better time management: Prioritize calls and know who's calling before picking up (because some calls need extra attention).
• Simplicity and ease of use: If you can use a phone, you can use VXT.