The final days of December — and first couple days of January — are popular vacation dates for consumer law firms across the U.S. And while every business needs downtime and time for employee vacations, law firms often miss out on a competitive opportunity to acquire new clients during this time.

If your firm is closed, at the very least, you should continue to answer the phone.

Potential clients don’t take a holiday from needing legal help. They are still seeking out and making calls to consumer law firms.

5 Tips for Answering the Phone When Your Law Office is Closed

While many firms simply close their doors, the ones that continue to be accessible to new prospects are the ones that will get the new cases. This way you won’t miss out on generating new clients to start the coming year. You can, of course, set new client appointments for January when you and your staff return to the office.

1.  Ring multiple phones

Set up a digital phone service, such as Google Voice, that allows multiple phones to ring for incoming calls. Add your cell phone, or that of an associate, to the list of phones that ring while your office is closed.

2.  Hire a temporary answering service
A temporary answering service can easily answer calls when your office is closed for an extended time. You can then personally return calls to prospects while your reception staff is on holiday.

3. Hire a virtual assistant
Virtual assistants can work during the hours your office is closed — even over holidays. Read more about the benefits of using a virtual assistant.

4. Change your office voicemail message
During the holiday break, include a direct number in your message to reach you any time — and recommend new inquiries call that number while the office is closed.

5. Keep at least one person on duty
Schedule a “skeleton” crew to keep your office open during the holiday season, even if the majority of employees will not be in the office. Alternate days in which staff members jump in to answer phones, so everyone gets a holiday break, but the office continues to stay open.