If you own a law firm, then your job already requires long hours. Having to pick up the phone at all hours of the night just makes your day impossibly long. And you don't want to send potential clients to your voicemail when they are nervous and panicking about their legal situation! A good alternative is to hire an answering service to pick up your calls after-hours. Here are three such benefits of doing so:
The answering service can ask questions.
If you just send clients to your voicemail after hours, then the next day when you listen to your messages, you have to figure out what they are trying to tell you and read between the lines if you have any questions. On the other hand, if you have an answering service pick up the phone, the receptionist can ask any questions if the client's needs are unclear, and then pass this additional information along to you with the message the next day.
Your clients won't have to wait.
When someone has just been arrested, in a car accident, or otherwise injured late at night, they will be feeling panicky. They are in need of advice, and they will probably take it from the first person who offers it. If they cannot reach your law firm, then they will call another -- and then you have lost their business. On the other hand, if your answering service picks up, gives them some basic information, and ensures them that you will call them back the next day, they will be calmed and will feel like the situation has been handled. If something is an emergency and needs to be dealt with immediately, then the answering service can call you.
You'll only have to talk to relevant clients.
Usually, receptionists who work for legal answering services have legal training to a certain degree. They can at least make a determination of whether or not a potential client is someone you can help. This cuts down on the number of calls you have to follow up on the next day. For instance, if you specialize in car accident injuries and someone calls who has been injured in a supermarket, the service can turn them away, so you don't have to.
To learn more about the benefits of hiring a 24-hour answering service, talk to one in your area. They can let you know how their other clients have benefited from their service.