Answering Legal Customer Case Study: The Fishman Firm

At Answering Legal, we love working with firms of all different sizes. However, we think some of the best work our phone answering service does is with solo practitioners, as our 24/7 receptionist team is able to elevate talented attorneys with limited staff to compete with the big guns in their area.

One of our favorite solo practitioners to work with over the years has been Philadelphia lawyer Brian Fishman. Answering Legal first connected with The Fishman Law Firm back in 2014, and ever since then we’ve been providing Brian’s practice with essential after hours phone coverage, and helping him succeed in the highly competitive and fast-moving criminal defense world.

In this customer case study, we’ll go into detail on why Brian felt it was time to invest in phone answering assistance, how exactly our service has benefited his growing practice and the assistance we’ve provided his firm during the pandemic.

Why Brian Fishman Chose Answering Legal

For criminal defense attorneys, new case opportunities can appear in an instant and be gone just as quickly. If you don’t act fast when an urgent call from a recently arrested person comes in, you won’t get new clients. Before teaming up with Answering Legal, this presented many challenges for The Fishman Law Firm.

“I was sharing a receptionist with another attorney whom I shared the office with,” Fishman said. “However, our answering system was antiquated and it was difficult to access the voicemail. I wanted someone that could answer phone calls after hours. In criminal defense specifically, issues are more time-sensitive, so clients may hire the first available lawyer they find. Previously, if I called someone back after they left a message, they would tell me they already hired someone else.”

Fortunately for Brian, our virtual receptionist team works on a 24/7 basis, and is always available to provide live phone answering assistance to after hours and weekend callers.

“Answering Legal allows (lawyers) to gain clients that they might’ve missed the opportunity to work with had the phone not been answered,” Fishman said. “The team is responsive, fair, and timely in their delivery. Answering Legal fields all our calls that come in between 5 PM and 9 AM. Even when we’re in the office during business hours, if we can’t answer the phone, they’ll pick up for us.”

All of our receptionist team members have gone through extensive legal phone answering training, and can be counted on to help any type of law firm secure new clients. We even train our receptionists on performing the legal intake process, which can be customized to a lawyer’s specific liking.

“I provided Answering Legal with a few questions to ask callers to help gauge if I would be able to help them,” Fishman said. “Their receptionists can call, email, and text my personal cell phone if I have a new client inquiry.”

It’s true! After every phone call our receptionist teams handles on behalf of a firm, we send an email and a text message over to the attorney, detailing all that was covered in the conversation. This gives attorneys the ability to monitor new client opportunities and existing client requests right from their smartphone, and do so without always having to put their day on pause.

How We’ve Helped The Fishman Firm During The Pandemic

Just about every law firm has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with solo practices being hit particularly hard during this time. Brian Fishman is one of many attorneys who saw a drop in new client opportunities this past spring, and was facing a much tighter monthly budget as a result. Answering Legal knows just how much attorneys like Brian can mean to their community during these times, which is why we’ve been offering financial relief to our customers whenever possible.

“I haven’t been getting many calls because the courts are closed as a result of COVID-19 restrictions,” Fishman said back in May. “I reached out to (Answering Legal), and they offered to give me a discount on their services. I really appreciated that.”

As the legal world starts to return to normal, The Fishman Firm is still able to enjoy 24/7 receptionist coverage from our team at the fraction of the price he would have to pay a new full-time employee.

“I only need to bring in one new client per month to make their services worth it, and I have been able to get new clients that I might not have been able to get if there was no one answering the phone after hours,” Fishman said.

Ready to experience Answering Legal for yourself? Get started with a free trial of our service here or call us at (631)686-9700 for more information.

You can also check out more of our case studies below:

• Brian D. Perskin & Associates P.C.
• Dale Carson Law
• Palumbo & Associates
• Smith & Eulo Law Firm
• Zirkin & Schmerling Law

All quotes from Brian Fishman in this blog post were collected via Clutch B2B Ratings & Reviews.