Contact the attorney to whom you intend to transfer the call, announce the caller by name, disclose the purpose of the call and transfer the call if the attorney is available. No caller should be left on hold for more than 45 seconds.
Mar 09, 2018 · Another important tip on how to answer a phone call at a law office is keeping a notebook around to note down the important information. Start by noting down the name as you will need to keep...
Sep 26, 2017 · Proper Ways to Answer the Phone at a Law Office. The initial communication between a prospective client and a law firm is usually over the phone, handled by a receptionist. As a result, it is important that firm's receptionist be professional and courteous at all times. Maintaining professionalism can sometimes be a challenge, however, especially for …
Oct 07, 2020 · Document this process so that anyone who may answer the phone understands their responsibility when taking a call. Ensure The Phone Is Always Answered. 74% of potential clients contact law firms by phone but more than one third of those calls go unanswered. Partner that with the statistic that 80% of callers whose call is unanswered will not leave a message, as …
Nov 11, 2019 · They maximize the value of their time by using attorney answering services. An answering service allows a lawyer to outsource the time-consuming and often distracting work of screening phone calls, conducting client intake, answering questions, and engaging in ongoing communication with the various parties involved in a legal matter. These services make use of …
Instead, consider hiring an answering service to provide your callers with a better experience and gather all of the information you need from each potential client.
Start your client relationships off on the right foor by answering the phone with a greeting that is friendly and announces the name of your law firm. Immediately, your client knows they reached who they intended and the call starts off with some positivity. It also helps to mention your own name so that the potential client knows who they spoke with should they need to reference it later.
You’re giving yourself an opportunity to be forgotten. As potential clients move down their list of law firms that might be able to help them, at least 25% of those firms will answer the phone the same exact way. This can lead to confusion and your potential client forgetting who they just spoke with. You don’t want your firm to be forgotten in a sea of law firms, right?
Nearly nine times out of ten, law firms fail to collect full contact information from their callers. This is alarming; those callers are your leads! Leads turn into clients – don’t let them walk away.
Every call that ends without collecting information from your caller is money out the window. You are now at their will and can’t follow up to sell your legal services to them. Not to mention, if they call back, you have no record of what happened during that initial call.
An important part of the client/attorney relationship is a feeling of trust and mutual respect. Whether you realize it or not, that relationship starts as soon as someone picks up the phone for your law firm! We all know that first impressions matter, and that first phone call is your chance to give a killer first impression. Don’t blow it with poor customer service, answering with a generic greeting, or by missing the call altogether.
Small talk is okay, but try to get straight to the point of what the caller’s needs are. Be friendly and upbeat while keeping them focused on their needs so you can understand exactly what they need help with. This avoids wasting anyone’s time and gets the potential client the help they need sooner rather than later.
At law firms, partners ask questions to gauge your knowledge of the specific field, understand how you balance your caseload and learn about your process for interacting with clients. It's important to know what kinds of questions to expect so you can prepare for your interview. When you deliver detailed answers, you can leave a lasting impression on partners, increasing your chances of getting a job offer.
Example: "I want to practice law because I'm passionate about bringing justice to clients and upholding the law of our country. I believe it's important to be fair and unbiased, and I'd like to help someone experience that in their case. Being an attorney is more than filing paperwork with the court—it's a chance to represent someone who needs help."
Especially if the law firm is well established in the community, the partners want to make sure you will continue to bring good representation to them. It's important to show that you have researched the firm and are excited to work there. You'll also be able to better explain what makes you a good fit for the firm and why you chose it as your new place of employment.
Employers want to know your strengths so they can see how you could work with their current team. Since your strengths are unique, you can use your response to stand out from other candidates. Answer this question by relating your strengths to the job you're applying for and the tasks you expect to be responsible for.
Generally, you'll address an attorney just as you would anyone else. However, you'll typically use a more formal title, such as "Esquire," if you're writing to an attorney in their professional capacity. When in doubt, err on the side of formality. You can always ask the attorney how they prefer to be addressed.
If the attorney has more than one degree, list the abbreviations after their name in order from highest to lowest. For example, if John Justice has a JD and an MBA, you would list his name as "John Justice, JD, MBA.". Tip: Even though JD stands for "Juris Doctorate," a JD is not a doctoral degree.
Tip: "Esquire" is a courtesy title that only has significance in the legal field. Don't use it at all when addressing an attorney socially, either in writing or in person.
For example, if you were addressing a wedding invitation to John Justice, who is an attorney, and his wife Jane, you would use "Mr. and Ms. John and Jane Justice" or "Mr. and Mrs. John Justice."
Try "Attorney at Law" as an alternative to "Esquire. " If using the courtesy title "Esquire" feels stuffy to you, "Attorney at Law" also conveys the same level of honor and respect. Instead of placing it after the attorney's name, use two lines with "Attorney at Law" directly underneath the attorney's full name.
Add "JD" after an attorney's name in an academic setting. Even if the attorney is licensed to practice law , if they're writing an article in a law journal or working as a law professor, you'll typically use "JD" instead of "Esquire.".
If you use "Attorney at Law," you should add "Mr." or "Ms." before the attorney's first name.
When you answer the phone, be warm, enthusiastic, and professional. Your voice on the phone is sometimes the only impression of your company a caller will get.
If you use voice mail or an answering machine to answer calls when you can't, make sure that you have a professional message recorded, that does the same thing as tip #3, and gives callers any other pertinent information before it records their messages. Update your voice mail message as needed.
Provide callers on hold with progress reports every 30 to 45 seconds. Offer them choices if possible, such as "That line is still busy. Will you continue to hold or should I have ________ call you back?"
Train your voice and vocabulary to be positive when phone answering, even on a "down" day. A positive vocabulary is one that focuses on helping the customer. For example, rather than saying, "I don't know", say, "Let me find out about that for you."
Even in these days of texting and email, the phone is still most business's primary point of contact with customers and the way your company's phone is answered will form your customer's first impression of your business. If the person answering the call is unprofessional, it may be that customer's last impression, too!
If you use "Attorney at Law," put it on the line below the name. Use one or the other. Do not use Esq. and Attorney at Law in the address.
Address the envelope to your attorney by name. There are a few rules in how to correctly address a letter to an attorney. The rules correspond to the reason you are writing. How you format the address and title gives a cue as to the reason you are writing.
Whether you are a client writing a letter to your attorney, a business hoping to sell products, a job seeker, or an organization looking for a speaker, your first contact with an attorney is often the envelope of your letter. By using a combination of traditional and modern addressing methods and conventions, you can put your best foot forward as ...
Add the business address. Using the preferred post office format , add the name of the law firm on the next line. Omit this step for lawyers that are solo practitioners. Check the law firm's website, business card, or telephone book listing to get the names, order, and spelling correctly. This is both a professional courtesy and shows you are taking your correspondence seriously.
The reason behind the letter will dictate the level of formality. Business to business includes sales pitches for products or services.
If your letter is damaged or mis-directed during the delivery process, it is key that the post office or a mail room can identify the sender in case the letter must be returned.
The standard way to fold a business letter is in thirds. Fold the bottom third first, and top third second. This is so the reader will see your name and return address as soon as he opens your letter. If you are sending a check, business card, or other small enclosure, insert it inside the first fold.