Question For Practitioners

I'm always surprised when I call another attorney's office and nobody asks who I am before transferring me right to the attorney's extension. It is so useful for me to know who it is who's calling before I get on the phone. Mostly I take the call (although I'll confess to ducking from opposing counsel or a particularly demanding client from time to time) but sometimes I have to call them back or let it go to voicemail, either so I can be prepared with the right stuff in front of me when I return the call or because what I'm wrapped up in is more important than what's trying to come in by phone and if I switch gears in the middle there will be this inevitable delay when I start back up again and try to figure out where I was and what I was doing when I got interrupted. You guys who don't screen calls -- how do you do it? And why?

Comments

[RLD]

I'm a corporate/securities lawyer (which means I've never been to court and I live on the phone) and I almost never screen my calls.

The reason why is probably because I hate being screened myself. Also, it's difficult to get people on the phone, so I try to grab any call that comes in for me immediately rather than screen it and hope that my secretary is at her desk to grab it.

As for how I do it, after 6 1/2 years I have come to the realization that I can't anticipate what the caller wants - so I just wing it. I don't fake it - if I don't have a good answer, I'll just tell them that I can call them back or shoot them an e-mail after further research. Generally, it seems like they don't mind hearing that you're not sure of the answer; they're just happy to have spoken with someone (it's amazing how many lawyers don't return calls) who is working for them.

And that usually how it works anyway - you talk on the phone about general stuff and you write down (in a memo or letter) the substantive legal advice. It's also something you get much better at as you gain experience. When I started practicing, I hated not having all the information at my fingertips. Now, I know enough to be dangerous, so I can speak generally on the phone and deal with the specifics as we progress through the project.

But the attorney in the office next to me - a partner who has practiced for 12 years - screens all of his calls. So it must be a style thing as well.

[Scipio]

Our office doesn't screen calls. We have three attorneys and two secretaries and seven phone lines, so a lot of the time attorneys have to answer the phones themselves. Of course, it's a small-town practice, so there may be a different vibe to your office.

[Ted Frank]

I have caller ID on my office phone, which effectively allows me to screen calls without the middleman.