Answering Legal

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a solo criminal defense practitioner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

I didn’t always have someone in the office to answer the phone. I needed back up and decided to hire Answering Legal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

If a call’s unanswered in my office, it’s forwarded to Answering Legal’s number. Their team answers the call and takes down information including which services the caller needs. They either patch the call through or send me an email and a text.

What is the team composition?

There are a number of individuals who answer our phones.

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

I either found them on the internet or they reached out to me. I looked at their services and went with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $25,000 a year on their services. The price is adjusted based on the number of phone calls, so I agree to pay a certain amount per month based on my call history.

What is the status of this engagement?

I initially engaged them around 2010, and our partnership’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

It’s been helpful to have them on board. They make sure our clients receive attention. Answering Legal has an intelligent team that communicates well. They record accurate information and immediately send it to me.

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

We normally communicate by telephone. I primarily talk to the company’s owner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I can't ask for more than what Answering Legal provides. Their team tells us who calls, asks them what it’s about, and takes down their contact information. They create accurate notes. Their team gives us a call back number and the number from which the individual called. I’m satisfied with Answering Legal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They do a good job. You can negotiate their rate.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have a small law practice focused on criminal defense.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

I’m a sole practitioner and I had no clerical support. It got overwhelming to answer the calls myself, especially since many of my clients contact me for services after hours.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They answer all the calls that I can’t 24/7. They then call, email, or text me with the name of the person who called and what they need. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is the owner, Rob. 

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

I got an email or phone call solicitation from their sales team. They did a free trial period, and I was satisfied so I decided to continue working with them. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spend about $500 per month currently. The cost is based on the volume of calls. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around August 2015, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I have the ability to field more calls which keeps me from missing out on potential business. Callers can’t tell that they’re talking to an answering service. The team is pleasant and intelligent. 

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

Every time I’ve had to reach out to them, things have been resolved quickly, and I don’t have to reach out to them often. Everything runs smoothly. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The staff is professional and provides a high level of customer service. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. Sometimes I get calls asking about services that I don’t offer, but they handle it well. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

I try to be courteous to the staff which I think is helpful to show that mutual respect.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing partner for a law company that runs two firms. One firm does criminal defense and family law, and the other does consumer bankruptcy law.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

I was looking for a cost-effective alternative to hiring an in-person receptionist to answer phone calls.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They answer all our calls 24/7, including on the weekend and at night. Their service also helps filter out calls because they understand which are more urgent and which can wait if our in-office staff isn’t available. They also have a service where they can schedule meetings with the office calendar. 

What is the team composition?

I talk to the owner about pricing packages and services. 

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

I don’t remember how I found them. 

How much have you invested in them?

The cost varies depending on how much of the service I’m using. I think right now, we’re spending between $500-$600 per month. The bill includes a set number of hours, and if they go over that because they’re on the phone for longer, we get billed for additional time. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I think we started working together in May 2017. Their work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

People have told me that they sound very professional. Even other attorneys can’t tell that the person answering the phones isn’t an in-office employee. It’s very seamless. 

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

If I have a question or concern, they get back to me immediately. They’re also very flexible. When COVID-19 hit and businesses started shutting down, I called them because we were experiencing a dramatic reduction in business. They were flexible in offering us a new payment plan that better fit our needs. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism and specialization in the legal industry make them stand out. I also appreciate their 24/7 availability. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only criticism is that sometimes with high-traffic call times, calls go to voicemail. However, I don’t know how they could improve that since it’s part of the nature of the business. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

I was skeptical at first. However, they offered me a free week of service, and I never looked bad. I recommend trying them out if you’re unsure. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sole proprietor of a law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

I was using an answering service that I wasn’t thrilled with. My business was growing and I wanted a service to help grow with me.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Answering Legal takes all of my calls. As a sole practitioner, it’s very helpful for them to take messages to me and get information to me as quickly as possible.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Rob (President & Co-Owner).

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

Rob himself reached out to me and offered me a free trial of his services.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $12,000 – $13,000.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2013, and we’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They certainly make my team bigger and allows me to focus on my clients’ needs

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re pretty consistent and responsive to my needs. Whenever I shoot them an e-mail I immediately get a response. They’re very easy to get ahold of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The workers seem smart, educated, and knowledgeable about my business model. They put extra care into their training and it shows.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. They’ve provided services that I didn’t even know I needed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There is no shortage of answering services out there. Answering Legal is different because it has backed up all of the promises they made when they were trying to earn my business. They tell you what they’re going to do, and then they do it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a solo practitioner operating in a small law firm suite with other attorneys who are sharing costs and other expenses. My primary practice areas are personal injury, criminal law, and real estate. I’ve been my own practice since 1986.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

After I leave the office, there are clients who may call. I was tired of having those calls sent directly to my cell phone, so I searched out an answering service that could notify me of potential new clients in these cases.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I wanted to insulate myself slightly from direct contact with potential new clients after the workday and on weekends. After three rings, they pick up the call and have a conversation with the client. After that, they attempt to alert me of the interaction by reaching out to my cell phone.

Before calling, they make sure they assess the urgency of the matter. Then, they’ll send me a text and an email containing the client’s contact information and a brief synopsis of the case. That way, I have the information I need to determine whether or not I should call the client immediately. 

What is the team composition?

If I have an issue, I’m able to reach their CEO or supervisor without any trouble. 

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

I reached out after hearing about their services. On that call, they gave me a rundown of their services, and I decided to try it.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $10,000 on their services.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our engagement in January 2015, and our teams are still working together. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I think they have a good model for determining when and how they should reach me. Because they’ve been able to reach out to me so quickly with client information, I’ve been able to retain many of the clients that call into their services. I’ve received cases on the criminal and civil sides of my work through these services. Clients don’t like to wait to speak with somebody, and they’ve been able to prevent that wait time.   

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been good. Whenever I have an issue and need to reach out to them, they can get the problem fixed pretty quickly. They’re very accessible and responsive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a responsive and diligent team with multilingual capabilities. I don’t have too many clients that speak Spanish, but they make me more accessible to those who speak Spanish primarily. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been a few instances where they haven’t picked up by the fourth ring, but that’s been the only issue we’ve run into. It’s may also be helpful if they could train their team on how to weed out clients that may not be worthwhile. However, that can be a difficult task.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand that there are many benefits to the service but also a few limitations. They not able to be as selective with clients, but that shouldn’t deter you from engaging with them. I haven’t heard of a bad interaction between a potential client and their phone operators.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a law office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

I share my secretary with another law firm, so I hired Answering Legal to help me out. I don’t ever answer the phone, so I needed someone to answer for me. They specialize in attorneys.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They answer my phones and do intake services. They send me text messages and emails in real-time. They’re available 24 hours a day. They take down the information from all my clients, even if it’s in Spanish.

What is the team composition?

I have a customer support person. I call her, and we quickly discuss whatever issue we have.

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

He approached me, saying I should have an answering service. He told me to try it for a month for free and it’s lovely.

How much have you invested with them?

I spend $150–$160 a month, because I don’t have the highest volume of calls. I’ve spent about $1,800 a year, for seven years.

What is the status of this engagement?

I hired them back in November 2013, and they’re still going strong for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Most of the time my clients don’t realize it’s an answering service because they’re courteous and respectful. They’re nice on the phone, and they take down the information. I rarely got complaints.

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve never had a problem with them. Everything works really well. I find them extremely convenient — if you don’t respond expeditiously to a new client in my business you lose them. They prevent that. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a reliable and incredibly courteous service that specializes in lawyers. They also have a very convenient forwarding system.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were only two times that I received complaints from clients that they were on the phone for a while without someone answering. I told them, and they solved the issue quickly. Everything works really well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to schedule your day. Multitasking is never good for legal businesses, you have to focus on a client. They help with that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a law firm. We handle bankruptcy and real estate cases.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

I didn’t like the option of just having voice mail. You might miss some clients that way.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They take the calls at certain times of the day. They follow up with a text or an email and transfer me all new clients.

What is the team composition?

I generally just interact with the owner.

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

I googled a bunch of people and contacted 3–4 of them. They answered on the first ring, so I went with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I spend $450 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

I hired them back in June 2014, and they still work for me.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I have no meaningful numbers, but they’re beneficial from a pure convenience factor. We’re a small firm — if we’re all on the phone they take the calls.

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s very easy to get in contact with them. If I call them they’ll either give me a quick answer or call me back with a solution in a few minutes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do their job well. Otherwise I wouldn’t stay with them. They transfer the calls well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s occasionally a lag in the calls, a brief hesitation.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at a law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

After my receptionist left my firm, I decided to replace those skills with an answering service. We weren’t satisfied so we switched to Answering Legal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Answering Legal screens our calls, patches those calls through our cell phones, and takes messages that we receive via text.

What is the team composition?

We have one point of contact: the owner. The support team helped us set up the technical aspects of it, but the owner is the person we have contact with.

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

They cold-called us and advertised their services. I felt they understood law firms much better than general answering services we were using, so I hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018 and still do.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Answering Legal answers the phone much more professionally. They’re able to obtain appropriate data from clients and transfer those calls when they get their consent. I think it helps us retain clients.

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve had issues from time to time, but they have a pretty good IT system. We can send a support ticket, receive an immediate reply, and have our issue resolved in 24 hours or less. Answering Legal will also change our message when we go on vacation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Answering Legal really understands the information they need to get from callers and is very good about transmitting that information to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, when we’re experiencing a high volume of calls, callers will go to a recording instead of a live person for a few seconds. It does flip, but occasionally, there is a gap in coverage.

Any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of the free trials they give. We had a trial for 10–11 days, looked at our average calls per day, and came up with pricing that way. It gave us a very accurate understanding of how many calls we get and a price tailored to our firm’s needs. We were even able to get feedback from clients as well!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sole proprietor of the Law Office of David T. Cox. I’m a solo practice immigration attorney.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

It’s always been important to me to answer my own phone whenever I can. However, as my business grew, I often missed calls because I would be on the phone with another client. Answering Legal offered a great solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team picks up my phone whenever I can’t, and they answer as though they’re a professional sitting in my own office. Answering Legal also offers my clients the opportunity to be patched through to me directly if needed. If not, the team will take the message and email it to me. 

What is the team composition?

I have one main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

I was referred to them by another attorney.

How much have you invested with them?

Their pricing is based on the volume of calls they take for me, so as my business and the volume of calls have grown, so has the total spend. We started at about $100 per month, and I’m currently paying just under $600 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in October 2015 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Since I’ve started using their services, I feel as though I offer a more professional public face to my clients. The only time they ever have to leave a message is if there’s a technical problem with the phone forwarding, and I can count on one hand the amount of times that’s happened. 

Also, many people who contact me tell me they’ve spoken to my secretary, not realizing they were connected to Answering Legal. The fact that my clients assume the team is working in my office is great; it’s exactly what I wanted. I’m very pleased with their services.

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform very well. My point of contact for pricing is always the same, and he’s always fair and personable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I hear about other attorneys in my business using services like Answering Legal, and I think they’re getting a less professional product, because I often hear them complain about it. With Answering Legal, I feel I’m getting the best answering service available. They’re super professional, and when I compare the cost of the service to the value I get, it’s well worth it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be really great if they included the clients’ email addresses when they forward messages to me. Right now, they just provide the name and the phone number.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would really encourage attorneys who use Answering Legal and aren’t used to answering their own phone to use the call forwarding opportunity to do that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own a criminal defense law practice. I’m a self-practitioner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Answering Legal?

I have a high volume practice and am not in a position to hire a secretary. Before COVID-19 hit, I was in court 2–5 hours every day, which led me to miss a lot of phone calls and texts. I heard from various lawyers that having an answering service can be more beneficial for my business than using my personal voicemail. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Answering Legal answers my phone 24/7. If it rings four times, and I don’t pick up, a live operator from their team will take the call. If it’s a new client or a staff member calling from the court, they’ll attempt to patch me in. If it’s a current client, Answering Legal will take a detailed message and send the contents to me over text and email.

What is the team composition?

I work with a couple of people. They’re responsive when I have a technical issue or want to change the contents of my message. I reached out to the owner a few months ago for financial relief when COVID-19 hit and the courts closed. 

How did you come to work with Answering Legal?

They reached out to me directly on a cold call. I thought they sounded good and decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I spend about $300–$330 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s been about two years since we started working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

My practice has been around for five years. Every year, I’ve seen 10%–15% growth in gross revenue. I can’t pinpoint one factor, but most of that growth, I think, comes from organic growth.  I don’t do a lot of marketing; most of my business comes via word-of-mouth from repeat customers and referrals from professionals. I do think the answering service helps; people prefer to speak to a person rather than a voicemail.

How did Answering Legal perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good. At one point about a year ago, I was having trouble where my calls had gone to voicemail rather than the answering service 2–3 times. It wasn’t Answering Legal’s fault; I had switched cell providers right before it happened. It was a pain to correct, but they were responsive to the issue and got it resolved. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve never had an answering service before, but it’s good that they send me so much detail about each call via text and email and that they try to patch me in when they can.

Are there any areas they could improve?

With criminal defense, everything is very county-specific: the classification system, courts, and inmate numbers, and state ID numbers vary county by county. Lately, I’ve had a lot of potential new clients whose cases Answering Legal hasn’t been able to ascertain that much information about. That’s because they don’t have knowledge of the individual court system I work with and can’t gather that information. Unfortunately, that means I need to do a callback before I can pull up all the information and answer the clients’ questions. 

Answering Legal is a nationwide service, so I understand why they don’t dive that deep. However, if they can improve their working knowledge of the court system, I’d find that helpful. 

Any advice for potential customers?

If you have a high-volume practice, I think Answering Legal is worth the investment. There’s a lot to be said for a caller to talk to a live person rather than an answering machine. It also takes stress off me; I can take the time to do other work because don’t need to answer the phone all day. It’s a nice step between answering the phone yourself and hiring a staff member in your office, which isn’t as cost-effective.