How Does a Law Firm Call Center Work?

In a perfect world, your law firm’s phone would ring off the hook five days a week. A reliable flow of qualified leads means plenty of new business and billable work for your legal team. And that’s the entire point of all your marketing efforts — to get leads to call and schedule a consultation, right? But what do you do when that strategy works, and your phone does start ringing day and night? How do you ensure that your team can balance critical administrative tasks like answering the phone and booking appointments with billable tasks like holding consultations and working on client cases? The answer for many practices is to turn to a law firm call center. 

What is a law firm call center?

Call centers are nothing new. They’ve been used in a wide range of industries for many years. If you’ve ever called a manufacturer for support, chances are good that your call went to a call center. The receptionist who answered was likely not employed by the manufacturer but worked for a call center contracted to handle customer service calls.

A law firm call center does the same thing but specializes in working with legal practices.

How do law firm call centers work?

It’s important to understand that while all law firm call centers share similarities, they’re not identical. Here’s a quick overview of the general process works:

1. A virtual receptionist will answer when a lead or existing client calls your firm.

2. The receptionist gathers information from the caller and then takes the appropriate action, which could be anything from taking a message to forwarding the call to the right person.

3. Virtual receptionists will also provide follow-up calls.

The point of this service is that your leads will have their calls answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means you’ll never have to worry about missing a client call or having a conversation with a prospect. 

A professionally trained receptionist who understands your firm and practice’s personality can help with a wide range of lead and client-facing situations, including:

• Answering questions about your practice area
• Providing additional details for leads considering your practice
• Conflict checks and referrals to other firms
• Answering questions from current clients involving appointments and cases
• Booking consultations and appointments

However, not all law firm call centers are created equal. You’ll need to know a few critical things to look for when considering a partner.

What to look for when choosing a law firm call center

Are you thinking about hiring a law firm call center? Doing so can free your team to focus on billable tasks, but choosing the right firm is essential. 

Beyond basic training

Any virtual receptionist can answer business calls. However, the law firm call center’s receptionists must have more than basic training. It goes far beyond general call etiquette and phone-handling skills. One example is legal intake training. Legal virtual receptionists should be trained to ask (and answer) the right questions based on your firm’s specific practice area and ideal customer profile (ICP).

Agency and the ability to go off-script

Call scripts and prompts can be very helpful. However, they’re not always enough. Your clients and leads can have a wide range of needs, and the virtual receptionists answering your phone calls must be able to go off-script, when necessary. This requires that they’re prepared for anything that might come their way.

Knowledge of your firm

Every caller deserves an on-brand experience. That means the virtual receptionists who answer those calls must understand your brand and how you position it. The right law firm call center will share your practice’s custom greeting and persona. The result? A seamless experience that helps build strong, lasting relationships. 

It’s also important to consider other aspects here. For instance, web chat is one of the preferred communication channels today, and AI can be a potent tool for lead conversion and building strong client relationships. However, it can be less than helpful if it’s not trained in your firm’s data. The right law firm call center will combine AI-powered web chat trained in your practice’s information and human receptionists to handle complex or sensitive questions.

Caller experience 

Finally, consider the overall caller experience. Every caller, whether an existing client or a lead, should have the same positive experience when they contact your practice. The law firm call center you choose should be committed to guaranteeing that. Whether the virtual receptionist is gathering contact information, answering questions about your firm’s practice area, or following up with a lead after an initial consultation, the interaction should be smooth, brand-aligned, and designed to leave the lead or client satisfied.

Smith.ai – a trusted law firm call center to support your success

A law firm call center can transform your practice, freeing your team to focus on billable tasks while ensuring that calls, emails, and web chats are handled promptly and professionally. However, your choice of call center is critical. 

At Smith.ai, our virtual receptionists have deep experience working with law firms large and small. Like legal call centers, we’re available 24/7. But unlike traditional call centers, our virtual receptionists work from quiet home offices throughout North America —  allowing us to provide superior experiences to our clients’ customers. 

We understand what it takes to deliver a positive, on-brand experience with each interaction. We also offer the most needed services, such as 24/7 answering, email and SMS follow-up, appointment booking, and AI and human-powered web chat. 

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