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When I imagine what challenges I would have with running a small firm, it would be answering the phone. Often, potential clients want to speak with an attorney as soon as possible. Time you wait to talk to that potential client is time that they can be choosing to work with another law firm. Asking existing support staff (if any) to answer the phones takes away their time from other tasks and servicing your existing clients. Hiring a receptionist can be costly, especially when you want to compensate your staff well enough to retain them and prevent turnover. I can answer the phone myself, but what if I am meeting with a client or in a court hearing? The small firm solution is here: virtual receptionists.

The Florida Bar offers members discounts on using Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service. With this service, your phone will always be answered, and you can decide how much information the virtual receptionists collect. The virtual receptionists can gather information about the potential client’s case, filter out cases not in your practice area, and even schedule consultations. Thinking about my potential small firm, having the virtual receptionist service gather the potential client’s contact information and basic information about their case would help prepare me to speak with that potential client and ensure that the phone is always available for new leads.

Smith.ai states on its website that it uses AI to assist its virtual receptionists and will be rolling our AI receptionists soon. The development of virtual receptionist service is a great example of how technology is making solo law practice more attainable.