After hours answering for law firms
A client who calls at ten past six is usually calling because something happened today. This guide covers what those callers need, what an after hours answering service for a law firm must never do, and how to have every after hours call written up and on the file before you sit down in the morning.
Why after hours calls matter more for a law firm than for most businesses
Most businesses lose a sale when they miss a call. A law firm loses something harder to get back. A new client who is frightened about an intervention order, a purchaser whose settlement is tomorrow, or an executor who has just been told about a caveat is calling several firms in a row, and Clio's 2024 Legal Trends Report found that only 40% of 500 secret-shopped firms answered the phone at all, with 48% unreachable by any channel. The firm that picks up, explains the next step and books the appointment is the firm that gets the matter.
The second reason is the file. A call that is answered but not written up is a call that did not happen as far as the matter is concerned. After hours calls are the ones most likely to be handled from a mobile in a car park, and the ones least likely to end up as a file note.
What callers actually need at 6pm
Very few after hours callers need a lawyer on the line that minute. Most need three things: to be answered by a person or a service that sounds like it belongs to the firm, to be told what happens next, and to be confident that somebody will call them back. An answering service for a law firm should be built around those three things rather than around "taking a message", which is what voicemail already does and what 39% of callers in Clio's earlier study got instead of a person.
There is a fourth group: existing clients with something urgent on an open matter. For them the question is whether the service can recognise who they are, know which matter they belong to, and get the right lawyer on the line if the rules say so.
What an after hours service must never do
The rules for an answering service on a legal line are stricter than for a plumber's line, and they should be written down before the service takes its first call.
- Never give advice. Not "you probably have time", not "that sounds like a breach". The service captures the question and passes it on.
- Never confirm or deny that someone is a client. The fact of a retainer is confidential. A caller who asks "is my husband a client of yours" gets the same answer whether he is or not.
- Never discuss a matter with a caller whose identity has not been verified. Caller ID is not identity. A greeting by name is fine; the contents of a file are not.
- Never take a payment or a document instruction. Those are for the lawyer, in the morning, in writing.
- Always disclose the transcription. Every caller is told at the start of the call that it is being transcribed.
How EzyBiz Lex handles the line after hours
EzyBiz Lex gives your practice a business number and an answering service that picks up in your firm's name. You choose how it handles the line, and you can change the mode in the app on the way out of the office.
support_agentUnavailable
The answering service takes every call.
The usual after hours setting. It answers as your firm with your practice areas, your hours and your rules about what it will not discuss. It qualifies the caller, books the consult into your diary if you allow that, or takes the message, and it never gives advice.
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Genuine callers are put through, everyone else stops at the front desk.
For the lawyer who is on call. Every caller is greeted first. Real enquiries are put through with a one-line summary of what they want, and if you do not pick up they are booked or their message is taken. Cold callers and wrong numbers never ring your phone.
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Calls ring straight to you, briefed.
For the evening you are expecting a particular call. The screen shows who is calling, which matter they belong to and the last thing they said to you before you answer.
What is on the file by morning
Every after hours call becomes a summary and a transcript within about a minute of the caller hanging up. If the firm is connected to Smokeball or Clio, the record files to the matter as a finished file note with the transcript underneath, and new callers are created so the enquiry has somewhere to live. On Microsoft 365, the same record becomes a document in your SharePoint library under the contact. Either way it is in the app with a push notification, so the lawyer on call can read it in bed and decide whether it waits until nine.
Bookings made overnight are confirmed to the caller by SMS and appear in your agenda. Where a caller asked to be called back, the message says so, with the number and the time they asked for.
Setting it up
- Keep your existing number and forward it on no answer, or after hours only, to your EzyBiz Lex number. Nothing changes for callers during the day.
- Tell the service your practice areas, your hours, and what it must not discuss. During the pilot this is done with the founder on a setup call.
- Decide the after hours rule: take every call, or put genuine callers through to the on-call lawyer first.
- Connect Smokeball, Clio or SharePoint once, for the whole firm, so the records file themselves.
After hours answering, the questions firms ask
Does the answering service give legal advice after hours?
No. It takes the enquiry, the caller's details and what they need, books a consult if you allow bookings, or takes a message. It tells the caller plainly when a question is one for the lawyer, and it never advises.
What does the caller hear when the office is closed?
The service answers in your firm's name. It tells the caller the call is being transcribed, asks what the call is about, and follows the rules you set for after hours: book, take a message, or put an urgent call through to the on-call number.
Can urgent calls still reach someone?
Yes. In Screen mode genuine callers are put through with a one-line summary of what they want. If nobody picks up, the service takes the message and files it, so the caller is never left with a dial tone.
Where does the record go?
Every call becomes a summary and a transcript. It files to the matter in Smokeball or Clio as a finished file note, or to your SharePoint library under the contact, and it is in the app with a push notification the moment the call ends.
Do I need to change my number?
No. Forward your existing number on no answer, or after hours only, and EzyBiz Lex handles just the calls you did not take. A dedicated Australian business number is available when you want one.
See one call go from ring to file note
Book a setup call with the founder. You get a number to try on your own phone, and the answering service configured for your practice areas, your hours and your rules.