Choosing the right attorney answering service for your law firm is essential to the success of your practice, but it’s often difficult to find a provider that can offer the expertise and experience needed to handle these types of calls. It doesn’t matter what kind of law you practice – you need a professional call service on your side to field calls that may include complex legal information.

Finding a professional call center that can service the legal industry properly is no doubt a daunting task, and before you make your decision, you’ll want to ask a few questions. We’ve put together a list of helpful FAQs that you’ll definitely want to ask before you pick an answering service.

 

Does Your Answering Service Have Experience Working With Law Firms?

When choosing an answering service, you’ll first want to make sure that you work with a company that has experience working with law firms. You and your fellow attorneys will want to ensure that the receptionists answering the phones can deal with the needs of your clients while understanding a variety of cases, whether you specialize in medical malpractice, workers’ compensation or personal injury law.

 

A potential client dials an attorney’s office.

 

It is critical that the answering service you choose has training available to its virtual receptionists so that they are up-to-speed on the various types of law they may encounter while providing service for your firm. Untrained individuals could provide clients with incorrect information, putting your credibility at risk.

When Did Your Company Start?

It’s also a good idea to find out when the company started, since newer companies may not have the experience needed to service your law firm. At CCS, we have more than 40 years of experience in providing call center services to customers across the United States.

How Large Is Your Call Center?

The last thing your firm needs is a call center that operates on limited staff. You don’t want your clients being put on hold – that’s bad for your business. You want to work with a center that has plenty of operators on-hand to answer calls immediately, so your firm’s clients aren’t kept waiting. After all, 83 percent of consumers expect to interact with someone immediately upon contact (Salesforce).

Our call center for attorneys is large and fully staffed, ensuring that your clients are taken care of promptly when they call. And we’ll help your law office improve client retention, customer satisfaction and overall efficiency.

What Services Do You Offer?

At CCS, we offer a variety of different services to meet the needs of your law firm. We offer full-time call answering services, after-hours call answering, message-taking and process-outsourcing services.

One of the main benefits we offer is the ability to choose only the services that your law firm needs. We’ll customize a solution that meets your office’s specific needs.

Does Your Attorney Answering Service Charge by the Minute or by the Call?

Different answering services and call center providers may bill by the call or by the minute. Unfortunately, companies that charge by the call can be more expensive. Wrong numbers and hang-up calls can raise your bill.

You want to choose the call center that bills by the minute, ensuring that you only pay for the amount of time that’s actually being spent on answering your calls.

Is Your Call Center Affordable for Attorneys?

Many attorneys find themselves asking whether they should hire an in-house receptionist to deal with calls or if it’s more affordable to hire a call center. Hiring a quality legal receptionist can be very expensive, especially when you add up the cost of salary and benefits. While you definitely need a professional representing your firm, you may be looking for alternatives to growing headcount.

legal intake call center is an affordable solution. You’ll enjoy professional, experienced operators who are well-versed in offering legal information, yet you won’t have the overhead that comes with adding a full-time employee to your firm.

What Are Your Hours of Operation?

In today’s 24/7 world, people may try calling your law firm at any time of day. You don’t want to allow any calls to go unanswered – you could lose a potential client if you do. This is why it’s important to ask a company about their hours of operation. You’ll want to work with a company that provides you with 24/7 call answering services for your law office, so you never miss an important phone call.

Will My Calls Ever Be Answered Outside of the U.S.?

Some call centers do outsource outside of the United States. When it comes to the law, however, the last thing you want is your clients talking to someone who has little knowledge of American legal proceedings.

 

CCS attorney answering service agents are all U.S. based

 

 

With Customer Contact Services, you can be sure that your calls are always taken by professionals inside the U.S. who speak excellent English. Additionally, CCS representatives are trained to handle client calls according to your specific requests.

Do Your Operators Offer Professional, Exceptional Service?

Beyond experience working with law firms, you also want the answering service you hire to have operators who offer professional, exceptional service. These operators could be giving the first impression a client gets of your business, essentially marketing your law firm to the caller. Every operator who works for CCS is well-trained and professional, ensuring that every client who calls in receives the best possible service to help your law firm build and maintain an excellent reputation.

Choosing an attorney answering service may seem like a daunting task but, hopefully, these questions will help you narrow down the list of companies you are considering to assist in the growth of your firm. You can learn more about Customer Contact Services and our expertise in the legal industry by connecting with us directly and, in the meantime, dig deeper into more of our law firm offerings.