Are you looking for a way to grow your defense law firm without putting the needs of your clients at risk? Then it would help if you considered using an answering service company. As you know, a law firm handles different cases every day, which, when coupled with taking calls, can put overwhelming pressure on you, which is why an answering service company comes in handy.

Besides making it easier for clients to reach you, an answering service company will help you focus on interviewing witnesses and following up court cases. Of course, there are other reasons why you should consider an answering service company, but before diving into the nitty-gritty, you need to know what an answering service company is.

What is an Answering Service Company?

An answering service is a company tasked with handling communication needs for your company. This includes phone calls, emails, text messages, and also cold calling.

Importance of Having a Call Answering Service Company

Reduces Operating Costs

As a defense law firm, you may shy away from considering an answering service company because of the initial costs. But, what you will come to realize later on is that an answering service company is an investment that should not be overlooked. It will save you money, which you can use in other projects in the law firm.

One of the ways the service saves you money is by eliminating training costs. When you hire a receptionist, you must take time to train them, taking a significant amount of time and money. You eliminate the need to train or use the money for training when you hire an answering service company.

Also, by hiring an answering service company, you won't need to have a large customer service department. As a part of its job, the answering service company deals with customer service needs such as booking appointments and responding to customer's inquiries.

Also, you avoid spending money on technological equipment. When you hire a service company, they are responsible for their equipment used to answer and respond to your clients’ calls and messages.

Professionalism is Upheld When Using an Answering Service Company

If looking for a way to impress your clients and sound more professional, then consider hiring an answering service company for your firm. You may think that hiring a receptionist and training them to a higher level of professionalism will help. But the truth is, you won’t have control and satisfaction that they will do what is necessary.

An answering service company will eliminate this by ensuring your company’s calls are answered with a higher professional level. You can tailor the response to whichever way you want, ensuring it meets your clients’ expectations.

Remember, an answering service company uses proper phone etiquette, including answering and responding promptly, being friendly, and actively listening. Incorporating professionalism in your law firm will lead to respect, and more clients would want to be represented by you.

You Enjoy Flexibility After Hiring an Answering Service Company

An answering service company provides flexibility in your firm by ensuring that every customer's needs are responded to on time. Remember, a receptionist might ask for sick days or fail to show up on time, which might inconvenience you. An answering service company will answer calls and emails even when you are on the go or dealing with other clients. Lawyers are not always in the office because of the nature of their work.

Keep in mind that an answering service company is simply a virtual receptionist that provides your business with the flexibility it needs to handle day to day businesses. An answering service company can also answer multiple calls and respond to different emails on time, unlike a receptionist.

You are Alerted in Case of an Emergency

When away on a business trip, client meeting, court proceeding, or simply taking a break from your hectic work, an emergency could occur. This is common in criminal defense practice. Clients can call you in the middle of the night to tell you of an arrest or any other type of emergency.

A high paying client may also call when you are unreachable looking for representation. As you know, high paying clients can make a huge difference in your law firm. So it's necessary to answer such calls.

However, some clients may call you for issues that are not necessarily emergencies, which may interfere with other issues you are dealing with. Because of this, an answering service company will come in handy. It will take your call, sift through your emails, and if there is any issue that is a true emergency, they will let you know. If not, your message will be passed until morning or when you are available.

Weekend and After Hours Calls are Handled

A law firm is a busy business establishment that handles different cases and customers' needs each day. Sure, a receptionist can help lift the burden, but you may not fully trust them to handle the operations after work or during the weekends. Working consistently from morning to evening can lead to burning out, and you may need to hire more staff to help. For this reason, a legal answering service company will come in handy.

The service will take care of all communication needs even after leaving the office or during holidays. When your clients know that they can reach you even on weekends or after hours, they will put their confidence and trust in your law firm. You can relax and handle other law firm needs with peace of mind knowing that your other clients will not be left waiting.

An answering service company is available 365 days a year. This is important, particularly if the firm has international offices where there is a difference in time. Keep in mind that the calls can be tailored to suit the firm's needs so that when a client calls, they believe they are dealing with the firm.

Increased Efficiency

An answering service company is more than simply answering phone calls and responding to emails, which is what a telephone does. An answering service company provides efficiency in the firm. One way it increases efficiency is by ensuring there is a better focus, enabling faster results.

Remember that in a law firm, the person responsible for answering phone calls is also tasked with other duties that may take a toll on them. Other staff may also answer the calls, which may bring a division of focus in the company. Instead of fully focusing on the calls or their other duties, their minds will be wandering.

Also, when the staff is overworked, they may miscommunicate by providing wrong information, which can paint a bad picture for the firm. For instance, instead of giving the right details about a scheduled meeting with the client, the receptionist may provide the wrong date. This can affect the company's reputation.

An answering service company eliminates miscommunication and ensures that workers focus on what is necessary while increasing their productivity.

Eliminates Hang-Ups

Nothing is more damaging to your practice than a missed call or sending a client's call to voicemail. Clients, especially those with urgent cases, need attorneys that can respond to their needs. So when their call is unanswered, they will take their businesses to another law firm.

When you lose a client to another firm because of hang-ups, it will paint a bad picture, and word will spread around, making you lose more clients. However, when you hire an answering service company, you ensure that your clients' needs are given priority.

You show that you value your clients by ensuring even when you are unreachable, their concerns are heard and put into consideration until when a lawyer is available. When you are available every day throughout the year, clients will trust you to handle their cases.

Feasible Call Recording

Though some answering service companies don't record their calls, some do. You should always choose the one that does because of particular reasons. Firstly, a recorded call resolves disputes. In case of a dispute between the client and one of the attorneys or staff, the recorded call will help clear things up. For instance, if the clients say they schedule an appointment for a specific day, but in a real sense, they did not, the recorded call can prove this.

Secondly, recorded calls can help verify certain things such as phone numbers, email addresses, and any other information provided by the client. Keep in mind that it's easy to have things mixed up because of either burnout or multitasking. An answering service company provides accuracy by ensuring each piece of information is recorded, so there is no mix-up.

Keep in mind that modern-day answering service company uses high tech, so all the calls will be easily recorded and retrieved without hassle. The recorded calls have metadata attached to them, which means your work is to log in and listen to the call.

Categorizing Calls

One of the things your law firm will come to appreciate about an answering service company is the ability to categorize calls. Each call matters in a law firm, so it is important for there to be order in terms of urgency.

Using an answering service company will ensure that each call or email is categorized according to urgency and their respective department. For instance, calls directed to the lead attorney are placed in one category, while those inquiring about specific issues are put in another category. When each call is categorized, the responsible attorney will know what to handle first.

Service Data

As you know, a law firm must consistently provide exceptional service so as to retain and attract clients, particularly well-paying clients. No client is willing to pay for a service that is not up to their standards. An answering service company has a system that conducts regular customer satisfaction surveys. They also have a process that incorporates tracking of abandoned calls and overall client satisfaction.

When you have this type of data, you can decide how you want to improve the firm's services. You may receive information from a client showing how quickly their needs were met. You can also know the areas of weakness that may need urgent rectification if you want to maintain old clients or attract new ones.

An Answering Service Company Offers Consistency

Consistency is necessary for any organization, including your law firm. When clients know their needs can be attended to irrespective of how busy the firm is, you boost their confidence. Also, no matter who the client is, they will receive an equal level of service.

Improve Communication Within Departments

An answering service company helps improve communication within departments inside the law firm. The different staff handles different duties, including questions coming in from clients such as upcoming appointments and other general questions. An answering service company's work is to open up communication between each department and ensure the messages are passed to the responsible party. They also ensure that once the messages have been passed, it is attended to, thus ensuring accountability in the firm.

Script Development

A law firm is a consistently busy establishment. This is why there should be a great first impression whenever a customer and potential client comes knocking. When you hire the call center service, they will take time to know what the law firm entails, your needs, and your goals. They will then use the provided information to come up with the correct response for a call.

Keep in mind that the goal is building the company's reputation by keeping clients happy. The service intake team will go through the types of calls you want to be answered, the right response (how do you expect them to tell clients when they ask for you). All these are crucial facts that the answering company will consider.

Choose an Answering Service Company for Your Defense Firm

The main role of a law firm is to provide legal services and counsel to clients. Since there is an overwhelming amount of calls from potential clients inquiring about the services or hiring an attorney, there is a need to manage communication. An answering service company is a got-to service to manage each incoming call, email, and text message to your criminal law firm. You will also maximize productivity, save money, and ensure that prospects turn into clients.