A well-established law firm in Oxfordshire approached Your Lawfirm Reception for help designing a call handling solution across a Head Office and four regional branches.

Each regional office housed three to four Fee Earners, along with PAs, a Manager, and Receptionists. The firm’s goal was to consolidate administrative support into a single centralised Head Office while maintaining the appearance of local presence and continuity for clients.

Previously, calls to each office were routed through a hunt group, ringing multiple phones until one was answered. This led to frequent disruption and made it difficult for callers to reach the right person directly. The firm wanted a more professional and efficient approach, with reduced interruption and improved call handling throughout.

Your Lawfirm Reception proposed a streamlined system where all incoming calls were routed to our receptionists using separate, location-specific virtual numbers. This allowed our team to immediately identify which office was being called and answer in the correct name and style.

Working closely with the firm’s Business Manager, we helped design call flows and procedures tailored to their specific needs. Each virtual number matched the location and branding familiar to their clients, preserving continuity across all marketing and communication materials.

Our receptionists were trained to follow the firm’s greeting protocols and understand which Fee Earners were associated with which offices. This allowed us to act as a seamless extension of their team, handling calls with professionalism and consistency.

We were also granted secure access to Fee Earner electronic diaries, enabling us to check availability and advise callers when their solicitor might be free. If the solicitor was in court or unavailable, we offered callers the option to speak with their PA or leave a message. If the Fee Earner was free, the caller could be transferred directly.

The results of this change met all the firm’s key objectives:

• Quiet, calm environment in the Head Office without the constant interruption of ringing phones
• Redeployment of most reception staff to other duties
• Significant reduction in Reception costs
• Reduced running costs for the regional offices

The Business Manager was able to monitor how calls were handled and advise PAs on how effectively they were supporting Fee Earners.

The following testimonial is from one of the solicitors who had been a Fee Earner at the firm featured in this case study, before later setting up her own practice. From day one, she chose to use Your Lawfirm Reception to support her and her staff.