The Lawyers’ Guide to Answering Service

Dan Marshall • 24 Jul 2024 • 3 min read

If you’re considering a legal answering service for your law firm, you are not alone. With over 425,000 firms practicing in the US, it’s vital that yours goes the extra mile for its prospective clients. Dedicated answering services for law firms are the answer.

Before enhancing your business with a legal answering service, though, it’s important to familiarize yourself with what to look for. This quick guide should provide the insights needed to reach the right verdict.

What is a legal answering service?

A legal answering service is a professional outsourced package where a team of trained specialists will handle calls on behalf of your law firm. Delivered by a dedicated team of receptionists, the services can cover telephone calls and online Live Chat demands. Crucially, dedicated answering services for law firms are built with compliance in the legal sector in mind.

As well as answering calls using your scripts, experts can qualify leads through integrations with your CRM and book appointments for your clients. Where necessary, they can also re-route calls to the appreciated team member.

In other words legal answering service provides the functions and benefits of hiring a team of receptionists without the downsides or limitations of having them on-site.

Why does my law firm need an answering service?

Every law firm needs to provide clear and responsive communication to potential leads and existing clients. Legal answering services are the perfect outlet to do this as they can take messages, answer FAQs, process payments, schedule appointments, submit leads, and more.

Maintaining a professional image while simultaneously satisfying all compliance regulations, answering services for law firms will help you;

– Win more clients

– Maintain high levels of client satisfaction

– Keep business operations highly organized

– Maximize productivity for attorneys

– Ensure consistency for all clients

VoiceNation proudly supports hundreds of law firms across America. If you want yours to keep pace with the nation’s leading attorneys by providing a better client experience, a legal answering service is the ultimate addition.

Does my law firm need a 24/7 answering service?

While you are not obligated to offer a 24/7 answering service to your clients, this added accessibility can work wonders for your business.

When someone needs legal support and advice, quick responses are at the top of their wish list. Given that people often encounter issues outside of typical business hours, a 24/7 service prevents the threat of leads taking their business elsewhere.

The increased accessibility also gives clients extra confidence throughout the process as they can get updates and gain reassurance that their attorney(s) are on the case. Therefore, the benefits of having experienced agents available to support your team are huge.

Do I need a bilingual answering service for my law firm?

Offering bilingual services isn’t a necessity for your law firm, but it could make a huge difference to the client experience.

Most people who need legal assistance are going through emotionally testing times. Over 68 million Americans speak a foreign language at home. VoiceNation offers bilingual answering services, catering to an audience of over 41 million.

Assisting prospective clients in their language provides an extra layer of clarity, convenience, and connection. It will boost your legal firm’s hopes of securing their business while also boosting satisfaction levels. Ultimately, if it’s good news for the client, it will be good news for the business too.

5 reasons law firms need an answering service

  1. 24/7 availability: Providing round-the-clock responses gives you a competitive advantage while also increasing your responsiveness to client calls, which is vital in this industry.
  2. Big first impressions: A professional telephone interaction will create a great first impression, verifying the credibility of your law firm and building trust. Not least when you offer bilingual services.
  3. Increased focus: By having a dedicated team to manage your incoming calls, your attorneys and lawyers remain free to focus on their cases and most important legal assignments.
  4. Financial savings: Outsourced answering services for law firms are far cheaper than hiring full-time employees because they are shared with other companies while you also avoid extra costs like equipment.
  5. Long-term scalability: A professional legal answering service should be flexible and capable of evolving alongside your business needs. The outsourced approach removes limitations due to workspace size or staffing.

How do I choose the right answering service for my law firm?

Appreciating the benefits of a legal answering service is one thing, but finding the right provider is another. Thankfully, it’s as easy as ABC.

Ability: You need a service that is dependable. VoiceNation is recognized as one of the best by ABA, Lawyer Monthly, and Legalease.

Broadness: As well as professionalism, you want a service that offers more. We provide a range of features and can capture valuable client data.

Cost: Of course, every business decision should be financially suitable. Our pricing plans gives you exceptional value for money.

The best way to find a winning answering service for law firms, though, is to speak with a company like VoiceNation about what we can do for your business!