Why does my law firm miss so many new client calls?
By the Margin Media team · Updated
A law firm misses new client calls because people ring when they are free to, which is when the firm is least able to answer: at lunch, after five, at the weekend, and while intake is already on another call. A new caller who reaches voicemail seldom leaves a message. They ring the next firm.
When do the calls get missed?
They get missed in the same few gaps every week. Each one is ordinary on its own, which is why nobody at the firm notices how many there are.
- Lunch, when callers are on their break and so is the front desk.
- After five and at weekends, when an arrest, a crash or a family row sends someone looking for a lawyer.
- Court mornings, when a solo attorney's phone is switched off.
- Busy lines, when one person is handling an existing client and a new enquiry rings behind them.
- Staff holidays and sick days, with nobody assigned to cover.
How do you find out how many you miss?
Run the test yourself. Ring your own main number at a quarter past twelve, at twenty to six and on Saturday morning, and count the rings. Then pull a week of your phone system's call log and count the calls that were never picked up, and how many of those numbers ever rang back.
What are the ways to fix it?
There are four honest options. Stagger lunch breaks and assign cover, which costs nothing and closes one gap. Hire another person for intake, which gives the best conversations in office hours and leaves nights open.
Use an answering service, which answers at any hour and usually takes a message. Or use an AI receptionist, which answers every call at once and can book the consultation. A firm can combine its own staff with one of the last two.
How does Margin cover the gaps for a law firm?
Margin puts Mia, an AI receptionist, on every call or only the ones your team misses. She answers questions about the firm, takes the caller's details and books a consultation, and the office is told. A caller who hangs up is texted back within a minute, once phone carriers approve the firm's texting number. She says she is an AI when asked, and what she may say is agreed with you first.
What Margin sets up for this.
- Mia, the AI receptionist, on every call
- Missed calls texted back within a minute
- Booking onto your calendar
What a business needs is decided on its audit. It is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee, with exact numbers on the audit.
How Margin works for law firmsSee the portal with a sample business
Related questions
Do people really not leave a voicemail for a law firm?
Some do, but a new caller has no reason to wait. They have a list of law firms on their screen and a problem that feels urgent, so trying the next number is easier than explaining a private matter to a recording.
Is it better for a law firm to call back quickly or answer live?
Answering live is better. A quick call back from a law firm still reaches a person who may have spoken to someone else in between. If live answering is not possible, a text within a minute is the next best thing.
How can a law firm tell new client calls from the rest in its call log?
Look for numbers that have never called before and are not in your client list. A law firm's phone log will not label them, so a week of checking by hand is the simplest way to get a first count.