How You Forward Your Calls to Us
Read about our dynamic call forwarding methods and choose which will work best for your firm.
Home / How It Works/ How You Forward Your Calls to Us
Choosing Your Method of Call Forwarding With Answering Legal
One of the most important parts of setting up your answering service with Answering Legal is making sure that your calls actually can be answered by the virtual receptionists here. The way you actually get your calls to ring here at Answering Legal’s call center is by utilizing call forwarding.
At Answering Legal, we don’t just use one single method of call forwarding, where you have to change the way you handle your calls inside your law firm in order to fit the way our service works. We use several methods of call forwarding in order to cater our service to your unique firm, and become an extension of your practice. Here are some of our call forwarding methods:
Rollover Call Forwarding and How It’s Utilized
Rollover call forwarding is the method wherein your call forwarding is always active, and automatically forwards your calls over to Answering Legal after a predetermined amount of rings on your end first. Most law firms using rollover call forwarding prefer to have their own phone ring 3-4 times so that they have the opportunity to answer the call, before it is forwarded over to the virtual receptionists, and your clients never reach a voicemail system.
Law firms love rollover call forwarding because you never have to remember to turn on and turn off call forwarding, and no matter what, every caller to your law firm always speaks to a live representative from your practice. This keeps your existing clients feeling cared for, and lets potentially new clients know that you are ready and able to handle their business.
Time of Day Call Forwarding and How It’s Utilized
Time of day call forwarding is the method whereby your calls are automatically forwarded over to Answering Legal at a predetermined time of day. This means you never have to remember to turn off call forwarding when you arrive at your office in the morning, and you never have to remember to turn on call forwarding when you leave at the end of the day.
For example: If your normal business hours are 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, your calls will automatically ring inside of your office during those times. Outside of those hours, and all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, your calls will come directly to us at Answering Legal.
This method ensures that you are always able to answer the calls you are in the office for, and never sends your callers to a voicemail system when you are out of the office on nights and weekends. You never have to worry that you may have forgotten to forward your calls when you leave for the weekend, because time of day call forwarding will work automatically. Straight Call Forwarding and How It’s Utilized
Straight call forwarding is the method wherein you forward your calls directly to us at Answering Legal, and you forfeit the opportunity to answer the calls in your own office. The first ring is inside of Answering Legal’s call center, which means a quicker pickup time for your callers. Here are two ways law firms use straight call forwarding with Answering Legal.
Manual Call Forwarding
Manual call forwarding refers to the process by which law firms physically turn on and turn off their own call forwarding. Upon arriving to your office in the morning, you might turn off your call forwarding to Answering Legal so that you and your staff can answer your own phone calls during the day. Upon leaving your office for the evening, you would activate your call forwarding to Answering Legal so that callers always speak to a live representative of your office during the times you and your staff are not in the office. This means you’ll always be able to answer your own calls during the day, keep your overall minute usage with Answering Legal down, and have all of your night and weekend calls answered so that you never miss the new client who is trying to reach you.
Total Screen & Transfer
Total screen & transfer call forwarding is the method wherein you use Answering Legal as your “front office” for every call that you receive. No matter who is calling, whether it be a new or existing client, an insurance company, a judge, opposing counsel, or anything other than a nuisance call, Answering Legal’s virtual receptionists will obtain the information about the person is calling you, and then will call you up and see if you would like to take their call.
In this way, you present your firm in a more professional way, as you always have a cheerful, professional, and polite representative of your firm answering your calls, and you never have to stop what you are doing to take a phone call you are too busy for. If you are free, you can have your calls transferred to us when we present you with the option, and if you are busy, you’ll receive a detailed message about whomever was trying to reach you, so that you can call them back at your earliest convenience.
More on how it works...
How we answer your phones
Here's everything you wanted to know about how our virtual receptionists greet your callers when answering your phones.
Read morePatching, messages, & intake
Read how our virtual receptionists transfer callers to you, how you get your messages, and our legal intake processes.
Read moreSetup & Customization
Learn how you get started with Answering Legal, and how you customize everything about our service for your unique firm.
Read more