How to Protect Your Billable Time with a Law Firm Answering Service

Are you spending too much time fielding random phone calls and not enough time on cases for your clients? As a lawyer, your professional expertise is in the legal field, not administrative work. It can feel like a challenge to focus on your legal caseload when all the little details need your attention. The solution? Absolve yourself of the responsibility by investing in a law firm answering service. 

According to research, 48% of each eight-hour workday is spent on administrative and non-billable tasks. That’s almost four hours a day, or 20 hours a week. Imagine what you could get done with another 20 hours of productivity. Here’s how an answering service can help with that. 

What can a law firm answering service do?

The better answer to this question would be, what can’t they do? Answering services today are dynamic partners that can provide a host of solutions for law firms and plenty of other types of businesses. In addition to answering the phones, they can also assist with the following:

• Client screening and intake 
• After-hours calls and messages 
• Bilingual support 
• Live chat and chatbots 
• Appointment scheduling
• Overflow and holiday coverage
• Sales outreach
• SMS text answering 
• Other campaigns and services as needed 

An answering service can act as an extension of your legal practice. They will ensure that any calls that need to be routed to you or your partners get there and that they handle whatever they can to save you time. 

Plus, when you choose to outsource, you’ll get all this for a fraction of what it would cost you to hire even one or two people to handle everything in-house. 

The benefits of a law firm answering service 

Several benefits come from investing in an answering service for your law firm. 

Eliminate interruptions 

How much of your day is spent trying to recover from interruptions? Phone calls, emails, text messages, clients popping in, and other things can all come up and stop the flow of your work. That means you’re spending more time trying to get back on track and less time dealing with your caseload, which is where your focus should be. 

When you have a team of dedicated receptionists to handle your various administrative needs, you’ll be able to stay focused and eliminate as many interruptions as possible so that you are making the most of your billable hours. 

Streamline routine tasks 

You might not have time for all the tedious administrative work that it takes to run a law firm. That can make it hard to develop routines and put plans into place to get things done. With an answering service to handle all the routine work that you do in a day, you’ll be able to spend more time on your billable cases and less on the tedious details. 

Answering services can take care of all manner of administrative tasks. They can handle basic inquiries and other questions, as well as tips and assistance for growing your business and getting more done in less time. 

Growth and scalability 

With an answering service, you will have a resource that can grow and change with your business. You will have a team of dedicated receptionists who can direct calls and handle incoming inquiries so that there’s less to do on your part and more ways to get things done. You can choose a team of virtual receptionists that will grow as you go, giving you the chance to invest in resources as you need them. 

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a position where you need a little extra support temporarily. Maybe there’s an overflow situation where you only need a few agents for a certain event or time frame. Whatever the case may be, answering services will be there to grow as you do. 

Legal-specific answering services 

Our 24/7 answering support includes legal intake, scheduling, outbound and inbound calls, live chat and text services, after-hours and overflow support, and dedicated bilingual solutions for law firms in regions with high Spanish-speaking populations. We can provide support for all kinds of client intake and screening, along with anything else you may need. 

Plus, our tools and solutions integrate seamlessly with tons of software and legal tools, giving you the chance to provide your clients with the support they deserve. Not all answering services can work with legal clients. It takes those with dedicated expertise and attention to detail, which is where law firm answering services come in handy. 

How to maximize success with law firm answering services 

As you can see, several benefits come from investing in a law firm answering service. You can choose a customized solution that includes dedicated virtual assistants that are ready to help whenever the need arises. Look at all of the different services that are available and consider how you can incorporate them into your business. 

Take the time to look for a reputable law firm answering service that will take care of all the admin details so that you can focus on taking care of your clients. Then, you’ll be making the most of your billable time and ensure that your leads and clients are getting the attention they deserve. 

Enlist the assistance of the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai 

At Smith.ai, we take pride in delivering support and solutions for all clients, including law firms and legal practices. The virtual receptionists on our team will work as part of yours, providing assistance for lead intake, appointment scheduling, and even live chat while acting as your 24/7 answering service so you never miss an opportunity. 

At Smith.ai, we understand the unique needs of legal practices and their clients, and we will do whatever it takes to deliver on those needs. We can provide support for live chat, an AI virtual assistant, and even assist with your outreach campaigns to drive leads in the first place. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai. 

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