I’ve had the pleasure of working with many attorneys over the years. From small one-man shops, to one of the largest and most successful litigation firms in Texas. One thing most of them have in common was how absolutely critical handling of new client calls are. We have one attorney client of ours that runs a small but very successful legal practice specializing in bankruptcy law. He has us perform much of the duty of a receptionist for him. We answer in his practice name (something like “Good afternoon, Smith Law Office. This is Janet, how may I help you?”).
During business hours (that he defines), we get the name and number of each caller, ask the caller to hold for a moment while we try his “extension”, and then call the attorney. We let him know who’s on the line and ask if he’d like to take the call. If it sounds like a new client, he almost always takes it. But if he doesn’t wish to take the call, or we can’t reach him, we simply let the caller know he’s “unavailable at the moment” and get a message. We then text and e-mail it right to the attorney.
Since this attorney does not deal with criminal law, he doesn’t have to worry about emergencies after hours. So, instead of having us answer live, we have a voicemail system come on his line that lets callers leave a message. Any voicemail recordings are e-mailed to him automatically as soon as they arrive, so he’s still able to check up on anything that comes in after hours, without paying the premium for live answer when it’s not needed.
Every law office is different, though, and we will be happy to tailor our services to your needs. We can do things differently based on what type of call it is (e.g. new clients can be made a priority), or who the caller requests. We can even handles calls differently for every person in your office.
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