Numerous choices have been made available if you are an attorney searching for a law firm answering service. Answering services for lawyers can be anything from basic to excellent. Consider looking for certain elements while conducting your research to get the most out of the new service.
When conducting research, make careful to contact, personally test the service, and query the following:
Are all calls answered live by the legal receptionists?
Many calls are answered live by certain law firm answering services, although occasionally callers might receive a computerized greeting when there are more calls compared to receptionists can handle. Inquire as to how they handle hectic periods.
Does the legal answering service have the ability to distinguish between emergency and non-emergency calls?
A client phoning for a status update on the matter may often wait for several hours whereas a judge cannot always wait to answer every call. The top legal response services can discern between different call kinds and react appropriately.
Can calls be transferred live?
Other answering systems are limited to taking messages, and most even batch-send messages throughout the day, delivering a stack all at once. Verify that the service you provide can forward calls in real-time and that it notifies callers right away if you can’t be reached.
Do they screen potential customers for them?
Similarly, certain features can collect some initial data from brand-new customers. They can ask introductory questions if you can’t be reached or are unwilling to be contacted, giving prospective clients the impression that you’ve interacted with your business and preparing you for when they call back.
Can you see your call history?
You could have access to a client site where you can look up past messages, monitor call history, and even instantly amend your call-handling instructions. This may be useful for billing clients and, given that being unresponsive constitutes one of the most common bar complaints, it might save your life.
Is there a confidentiality agreement for the law firm answering service?
The importance of attorney-client privilege cannot be overstated; irrespective of whether your answering service does not record confidential material, the mere fact that a client is calling is protected by this rule. Ensure that your service is aware of this and that its legal receptionists are party to a confidentiality agreement.
Conclusion
Keep the aforementioned in mind when you look into answering services for your legal practice. Although not all services are created equal, they can improve your image and save you time. You only need to know what to search for! Nowadays, answering services may accomplish a great deal of what a full-time person would accomplish without the pay and benefits.