Call answering and call management for law firms are specialist services

Law firms come in all shapes and sizes

Law firms, often referred to as solicitors’ practices, are among the most interesting and complex of Paperclip’s call-answering clients. This article looks at some of the key factors that make call answering for law firms a ‘specialist service’.

Law firms come in all shapes and sizes. From a sole practitioner specialising in a specific field such as family law, through to law firms with multiple offices covering many different areas of legal practice. For the purposes of this article, I have concentrated on the latter, although the points raised are equally applicable to a self-employed freelance solicitor. 

Whatever the size and diversity of the law firm’s offer, the emphasis is on Paperclip working in partnership with the practice to create a call answering solution that is tailored to their specific requirements. As the following points indicate, there are many factors to take into consideration.

The role of the receptionist

Most law firms of any size will have one or more receptionists handling incoming calls. They may be in a single ‘head office’ location, or each branch may have a multi-tasking receptionist.

Invariably, law firms experience peak call volumes on Mondays and Fridays, and this is when calls are frequently missed. If a call isn’t answered within, for example, fifteen seconds the practice could choose to have it diverted to the Paperclip team (a ‘delayed divert’). Alternatively, if the receptionist is ill or on holiday, all calls could be diverted through to Paperclip (a ‘full divert’). When a call is answered by the Paperclip team, their screen ‘pops’ with the name of the law firm and the relevant instructions agreed with the client. Consequently, the caller believes they are speaking to a member of your team.

Lockdown and home working

The Covid pandemic led many law firms to switch to a hybrid home/office working model. Solicitors may, for example, work from home on Tuesday and Thursday, but be in the office on other days. The systems used by Paperclip are location agnostic; we can put calls through to a home number or a mobile number just as readily as to an office. A solicitor may request a different treatment for calls when they are working from home to when they are in the office (see below).

Bespoke treatment of calls

Law firms are unusual in that each solicitor, or for that matter each paralegal, is in effect a ‘senior manager’ handling their own caseload. In a practice with, for example, 100 partners, solicitors and legal advisers, each may want their calls treated in a specific way. They may be happy to have their calls put straight through, or for calls to initially go to their secretary or support team, or simply for a message to be taken and emailed or texted to them. 

In some law firms each solicitor is allowed to decide how their calls should be treated, other firms prefer to establish a standardised protocol that all employees are asked to follow. From the perspective of a call answering provider like Paperclip, managing such a complex set of arrangements requires structured systems, well-trained and empowered staff, and open lines of communication with the law firm’s Operations Manager.

Calls from prospective new clients

The previous paragraph is predicated on the assumption that the caller knows the name of the solicitor they want to speak to. Often this is not the case, an obvious example being an initial call from a prospective new client. This is where the skill of the Paperclip team really adds value. 

Asking questions to clarify the caller’s needs, the Paperclip team member is able to direct the call to the most appropriate law firm contact. Larger law firms often have new business teams and this may even extend to each legal specialism having its own new business team. Ensuring a prospective new client’s first engagement with your law firm is treated with patience, respect and in good time is a strong foundation from which to win that business.

Hunt groups

When we first speak to potential new law firm clients, they often say that they don’t miss calls because they transfer peak calls into a hunt group. Hunt groups have their place, but they cause tremendous disruption to employees’ attention spans and, therefore, to their productivity. They can also lead to frustration and resentment as some team members are prepared to shoulder their share of the burden and answer hunt group calls, whilst others remain silent. We’ve all been there!

The language of law

The language of law, like the language of medicine, is often very specific. A first-time house buyer may not know they need to speak to the practice’s conveyancing team – they may have never heard the term conveyancing before – but they do know they need to speak to a solicitor to help them get the house of their dreams. The term ‘instruction’, as used in the legal sense, often confuses people. 

The Paperclip team are not solicitors or paralegals, but being trained to have a good understanding of basic legal terminology enables them to deal effectively with your calls.

Empathy and professionalism

In some areas of law, for example, family law and criminal law, callers are often under severe emotional stress. The skill of the Paperclip team is to empathise with the caller’s situation whilst remaining professional at all times. The prime objective is to get the caller to the correct destination as quickly as possible. 

As anyone who has studied the UK’s criminal justice system will recognise, some defendants may be struggling to cope with mental health issues. In such cases, it is important to reassure the caller that their voice is being heard and to take the right amount of time to discover how best to direct their call so they can access the advice they need.

Paperclip team members receive awareness training in areas such as dementia, depression and mental health. This training helps team members recognise tell-tale signs that the caller may be struggling in some way, and respond accordingly.

Managing expectations

Paperclip operates between 8 am and 6 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 4 pm on Saturdays. Consequently, we often take calls outside our law firm clients’ office hours. In such circumstances the skill is in managing the caller’s expectations in terms of the time it may take to respond to their query. 

The same scenario applies when handling calls for a specialism that is not covered by the practice; very few law firms in the East Midlands or South Yorkshire have a maritime law team regardless of their size! 

When a new law firm client joins Paperclip, part of the set-up phase is agreeing on protocols for how such calls should be answered. Does the client want to capture the call and refer the caller to a practice which has reciprocal links? The instruction may be to put the call through to the new business team, regardless of whether the specialism is covered by the practice or not.

A specialist service

In summary, large law firms covering multiple specialisms present specific challenges from a call answering perspective: the planning ahead of implementation; the language used; peak call volumes at specific times; emotional or stressed callers; different call handling instructions for each solicitor or paralegal; confidentiality, and more. 

These challenges, when combined, illustrate why call answering and call management for law firms should be considered as a specialist service.

You can access brief video testimonials from two of our legal clients on the Paperclip website.

Speak to Paperclip

Would you like to find out how call answering and call management could help your law firm? Simply call the Paperclip team on 01246 418181 and we can talk through your challenges and aspirations. 

We are ready to answer your call.

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