A minute with Barry Manilow is enough to lose you a fortune in new work. The use of the answering machine, on the other hand, is often unavoidable, particularly in the smaller practice. It is an unfortunate fact that new business will most often opt not to leave a message. Too busy to take calls The screening of calls, where the solicitor becomes available or not, only after clients say their name, is an unpleasant and patently obvious practice. The client screened out invariably feels insulted.
Many firms now have a policy that their lawyers are never too busy to take a client call.
In practical terms, however, client conferences and those other unspeakable times make call quarantines unavoidable. The key is to appear to be consistent and not discriminating. If calls are off, they are off from the beginning of the interchange with your assistant. It will still be possible to salvage an urgently awaited call after the caller identifies. New client inquiries A potential new client with a serious inquiry can startle various administration staff who must try to find someone appropriate to attend.