New! Smith.ai Receptionists Can Run Conflict Checks for Your Law Firm

Smith.ai receptionists can now check for conflicts of interest for your law firm during calls with new potential clients. This adds a whole new level of lead qualification to your Smith.ai receptionists. Not only can we qualify new clients based on location, services, price, and other determining factors, but we can actively check your systems to flag prospects you may be barred from representing!

It is increasingly common for law firms of all sizes to perform conflict checks digitally, but why do the work yourself when you can have your receptionist take care of it for you?

‍What is a Conflict Check?

According to Rule 1.7 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, “a lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest.” Because of the nature of legal representation, attorneys are blocked by screening not necessary for other businesses: The need to ensure client’s opposing and associated parties have never been represented by anyone in their firm.

In the past, conflict checks involved sifting through a rolodex or reading a physical list of previous clients. With digital spreadsheets and practice management software the process is much quicker, but searching a new lead for conflicts still interrupts your day. It also makes potential new clients wait to hear whether you can represent them. It’s time to outsource this distracting, unbillable work.

Enter Smith.ai conflict checker.

Why Should I Have Smith.ai Receptionists Check for Conflicts?

Smith.ai is already the front line of your business — we answer calls, qualify leads, schedule consultations, accept payments, and more. But, in most cases, conflict checks should be done before you even schedule a consult. 

So have us run your conflict check first. Reduce your own manual process, avoid wasting time on clients you can’t represent, and get consultations with quality leads booked immediately — increasing overall conversions.

Example: Family Law Firm

Let’s say you run a family law firm and a new client calls because they need representation for a divorce. A Smith.ai receptionist answers the phone and qualifies the lead as a fit for your firm. Then, the receptionist will ask about the opposing party or any other parties related to the case, and check your system for the person or business’ name. We’ll let you know whether our check produced a match. That way, you can move on with peace of mind — and without wasting time on leads you are unable to represent!

How Does It Work?

Our conflict checker is quick and secure. Here’s how it works:

1. The receptionist asks new qualified leads for the name(s) of opposing parties in their case.
2. They then plug either a first and last name or business name into our proprietary Smith.ai system. We can run as many names as needed in one check.
3. The system searches your CRM or a Google Spreadsheet for a matched name.
4. In your call summary, we’ll let you know that we did the search and whether the name matched with any in your system.
5. Optional: you can choose to have the receptionist take a different action according to whether there was a match or not.
   

Note: Our technology only checks a business or person's name for a match in your platform; we take no legal responsibility for mismatched names or misspellings.

How Can I Use Conflict Checks with Other Features to Take Even More Work Off My Plate?

Add scheduling, payments, and a CRM integration to your receptionist service for a fully outsourced lead capturing system. That way, when a new lead calls your business, we can:

• Qualify them based on your custom criteria
• Check for conflicts with your firm’s current and previous clients
• Schedule new qualified leads for consultations on your calendar
• Take a payment for your consultation fee immediately
• Have all call details logged in your CRM 
  

Every new, qualified lead will be booked on your calendar and your consultation fee will be pre-paid (if you charge for them), all while you work, uninterrupted. When you’re ready to prepare for the meeting, the information you need will already be in your CRM!

Note: We are currently doing conflict checks in Clio, Lawmatics, and Google Spreadsheets, but we are actively adding new CRMs. Let us know what CRM you use and we may add it!

Questions? Let Us Know

Want to add conflict checks, a CRM integration, scheduling, payments, or any other add-ons to your account? Let us know at support@smith.ai or call us at (650) 727-6484. Get started with our virtual receptionist service risk-free, covered by our 14-day money-back guarantee.