I am noticing an increase in useless answering services or firms with one main line that you can’t bypass without spending no less than 5 minutes on the phone with a secretary. Why is it so difficult to get attorneys on the phone or at the very least get routed directly to their inboxes?

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If you really need to get a hold of me, email me to set up a call or get my direct line.

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OK, sorry, I must’ve missed in our convo where you said they have no direct lines at all. With that context, your complaint is totally fair.

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Case loads be heavy. Don't random call me and expect an answer to your question. Email me.

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I needed a good laugh today. I agree all these answering services are useless and becoming more AI driven.

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It’s such a waste of time and I’m sure money for whoever is fronting the bill!

Agree with SC1. This is intentional to protect the time of the attorneys. If you want/need direct access, ask for it from OC and they might give it to you. Or email them and tell them to call you directly.

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I only call after emails have gone unanswered. I understand no one enjoys an unexpected phone call but the time for me to email, wait days for a response or stay on hold with staff to be connected vs being routed to a voicemail you can call back on your own time seems like more of a time waste to me.

I worked at a firm and they refused to give each attorney their own line because it cost too much and needed too much coordination from multiple departments. Most the attorneys worked exclusively from their cell phones to bypass this. We had a receptionist but they were extremely hard to keep and not always at their desk. Our support staff complained if they had to answer phones as it was “too distracting” even with a schedule. We implemented an answering system after so many rings you could enter an ext or search my name, note however that this only worked if everyone set up their voicemails (which was a battle especially with associates). So in a nutshell the answer is firms are cheap and people are not always motivated to do their jobs!

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Because of recruiters and financial services sales folks calling all the time.

This doesn’t even make sense. We all have emails and whatever number is in the signature block from whoever we’re dealing with. If someone isn’t responding to emails and the only number in their signature block is to the firm’s main line then what?

Sorry SC1 but this doesn’t even make sense. We all have emails and whatever number is in the signature block from whoever we’re dealing with. If someone isn’t responding to emails and the only number in their signature block is to the firm’s main line then what?

I agree with SC1 about the “assume you are consenting” or otherwise stating “if I don’t hear from you by X date by phone or email, I will be doing/filing xyz”. Not uncommon for someone acting this way with you to be treating their clients the same way and ending up before their local legal ethics regulator about it 🤭

My firm doesn't use voicemail or direct lines. They want the paralegal to be able to direct a client's call to someone else if the attorney is not in. It is weird, but it works after having voicemail for 30+ years elsewhere. It may also work because of our practice area and how my firm operates.

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