Top Legal Answering Services

What Is a Legal Answering Service?

Legal answering services imply capturing information and assuring that the caller knows their case is being handled and they will soon be in touch.

Answering service companies for lawyers can provide you with a limited number of live operators or work on demand depending on the overflow of calls during office hours.

The team handles your busy signal and voicemail box and reduces the stress on your current staff.

Available 24/7, these specialized services provide customized solutions such as:

• Live web chat
• Calendar booking
• Voicemail
• Call reporting
• Call transferring or patching

They can use your current number, which you divert to the one that operators use. These agencies provide operators that work bilingually when handling the calls.

When working with customer support companies that provide this type of service, your company can have a real-time interpreter for legal professionals that need communication in a time-sensitive situation. Depending on your arrangement, they can connect you with the caller directly or schedule an appointment.

Answering services for the legal industry provide human experience to any call. This gives remarkable results, especially in contrast with the answering machine. A live voice is a bonus point if there is a limit to only one call.

What Does a Legal Phone Answering Service Company Do?

The legal phone answering service is additional support for calls your company receives daily. It makes you far more mobile and allows you to obtain more for your business.

This means you are:

• Saving money
• Having time to expand your capabilities
• Having the energy to ensure the company is capturing its full potential
• It gives active support to your business, measured by the number of satisfied clients.

Service covers the following tasks:

• Handle custom calls: Call receptionists handle the calls with a warm and personalized greeting and transfer the important calls to your company’s direct line.
• Intake of potential clients: The client intake process is customized with high-quality case questions. You will be given the information you need so you can proceed with claiming the case.
• Reporting the calls: The phone call summaries the agency should provide you with are individual summaries, daily reports and monthly reports.

Why Hire an Answering Service Company for Lawyers?

No matter the size of your company, having 24/7 clerical support makes clients feel respected and valued. Hiring a legal answering service agency means acquiring additional help for administrative decision-making, which heightens the company's overall productivity.

The teams manage prospective clients and screen them to determine if they fit your company well. This way, you do not handle calls, so any distractions are eliminated, and you have time to focus on your company’s operational plans.

These services complement your company’s workflow and the overall business plans and structure by:

• Patching calls
• Handling overflow and urgent calls
• Transferring and routing calls
• Answering service after hours
• Custom messaging
• Managing voicemail and fax

When hiring an answering service company for lawyers, you will be equipped with trained agents with niche-focused knowledge and standard protocols.

Your company can count on several benefits, and one of them is:

• Flexibility: Having legal answering service support provides you with time flexibility, unlike managing the payroll receptionists. The operators charge only for the minutes of their time invested in your company.
• Availability 24/7: Instead of voicemail, direct communication with potential clients proves that each case will be handled with your full attention.
• Data protection: Having a solid privacy protection system is a crucial point. Keeping data protection at a higher level means complete confidentiality with your clients. All calls and messages are encrypted, and the agents are trained to handle the client’s sensitive information.

How Much Do Answering Services for the Legal Industry Charge for Their Services?

When analyzing the costs, you can see that many agencies prefer charging per minute than per call. One minute can cost from $2 to $4, depending on the experience of the hired attorney answering service.

Prices for legal phone answering services can also be categorized in the following way:

• Up to 50 minutes per month costs around $200-$300
• Up to 200 minutes are $700-$850 per month
• Up to 500 minutes per month expenses from $1500 to $1800

You can also arrange a tailor-made package focused on your company’s needs.

How to Find the Right Legal Answering Service

Once you get additional support from legal answering services, you should determine which agency you want to hire. There is specific knowledge that operators need to offer for the benefit of your company.

Clients expect your attention immediately, especially when the case is time-sensitive. Having the support of a live professional receptionist means every call is answered on time and with a personalized message.

When searching for the perfect agency, inform yourself about the reasons behind the agency’s structure and management:

Reason #1: Staff Training

Every attorney answering service firm is managed and structured differently, so it is crucial to find highly trained staff to answer the calls.

Some of the agencies have niche-focused teams, such as legal divisions. These teams can handle calls that need an understanding of specific situations and terms.

Your company’s answering service is a client's first impression when getting in touch with your company. You must ensure that the person taking the call is well-trained for your particular needs.

Reason #2: Calls Efficiency

A quality answering service for lawyers always has a precise plan for time-sensitive calls. They must have a system where they store all the inputs, and that includes:

• First name and last name
• Phone number
• Time of call
• Needs

You do not have to worry about clients and cases slipping through unanswered calls.

Reason #3: Script Customization

The best service providers have an organized approach to understanding your company’s unique specific preferences.

You should be able to choose from several options when it comes to script customization. Talk openly with the agency and set your parameters.

Reason #4: Niche Specializations

Search for services that fit your niche. Some of the specializations of the answering services for the legal industry are:

• Criminal law
• Employment law
• Bail agents
• Family law
• Personal injury
• General practice
• And more

5 Questions to Ask Attorney Answering Service Firms

The process of finding a long-term business partner is not easy. You need to outsource high-quality legal answering services that match your company’s needs.

When interviewing potential agencies, take into account the following questions:

Question #1: How many years of experience do your operators have?

Ensure that the legal answering service company you choose has experience in your niche. Explore their portfolio and find case studies or other information about their previous work.

In addition, research beyond the official website to find reviews by previous clients.

Question #2: What is your weekly availability for covering the arranged benefits?

The answering service availability is essential to consider because some of the calls might be coming from different time zones. You must ensure that the operators can handle the call volume whenever their assistance is required.

Question #3: Does your agency cover legal intake?

Legal intake is crucial for the successful implementation of the work plan. The vital service that these companies provide is ensuring new clients are heard, and cases are carefully taken on.

Therefore, it is important to have a well-structured system of receiving and screening hundreds of calls and submissions daily.

Question #4: In the case of a non-English speaking client, can you provide us with a bilingual operator?

Providers of these services should be able to offer several language options and staff who are fluent and functional in communicating the law terminology.

Another point to consider is having an operator who communicates in sign language and other methods for disabled individuals.

Question #5: Are the operators in your agency trained specifically for answering services for the legal industry?

The operators working at the agency you hire should be highly professional and knowledgeable individuals who will secure a client for your company.

A courteous agent can immediately establish trust with the caller. This means finding someone familiar with general procedures and industry terminology.

Takeaways On Legal Answering Services

Legal answering services should provide your company with an intake process and knowledgeable answers for your firm’s niche and specialties.

Benefits of these services include:

• Message delivery via email, fax, and text
• 24/7 live operators
• Unique phone number only for your company
• Customized greetings or hold messages
• Holidays coverage
• And more

Finding an ideal business partner is indeed a long process but it can bring the desired results and contribute to your company’s development.

We hope that we have provided you with all the information needed for a successful selection process.

Best of luck!

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