MyCase Client Portal

Today the Jeff Parker Law Firm announces the introduction of a new and sophisticated communication tool for our clients called MyCase. Our clients will now have 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week secure and protected access to the attorneys and staff of our law firm as well as access to the details of their legal matter through what is known as a “client portal.”  MyCase enables a secure and encrypted link to be made directly between our client management software system and our clients.

This new feature, provided at no cost to our clients, has many exciting and useful features which will ensure that none of clients will ever have to wonder what is going on with their case. With MyCase, our clients will always know what is going on and what is going to happen next.

MyCase does this by giving each of our clients a separate, private and secure website where we can share the calendars, documents, and billing details of each case with each client. Additionally, every item uploaded by our staff and by our clients into MyCase has a comment stream associated with it. Both the attorney and the client can use the comment stream to give status updates and leave comments. When that happens, real-time notifications are sent to all relevant parties, thus ensuring that everyone is kept up-to-speed about what is going on with each case and thereby guaranteeing that our clients are always aware of the progress of their case.

Furthermore, MyCase is the most secure way to protect attorney-client communication. Recent case-law has held that the attorney-client privilege may be waived if a client uses an unsecure method of communication. This could include not only emailing an attorney using a person’s work computer or a shared computer which anyone else has access to, but it could even include calling an attorney on an employer’s telephone or with any other unsecured telephone. Additionally, cell phone communications have been intercepted in the past, and therefore the privilege could be waived by something as simple as using a cell phone to discuss privileged information with an attorney.

In order to avoid any potential problems, we have begun using the MyCase client portal to guarantee privacy with all communications between ourselves and our clients. MyCase, in addition to providing our clients with access to relevant court dates and documents in real-time, allows our clients to communicate directly with us in a safe and secure manner–thus ensuring protection of the attorney-client privilege. Our clients can send us secure messages and upload protected documents to us directly from within the MyCase portal, thereby eliminating the danger and risks associated with sending sensitive and privileged information through unsecure email addresses across the Internet.

Additionally, all information stored in the MyCase system is transmitted using the same 128-bit SSL encryption used by health-care providers, banks and other financial institutions. The information is then stored on the Amazon S3 system using 256-bit AES encryption. S3 storage systems are distributed throughout the country in nondescript facilities which are protected by military grade perimeters where physical access to the hardware is strictly controlled by two-factor authentication and 24-hour security escorts (additional information regarding these security precautions is available here).

Finally, each and every document stored in our MyCase system is encrypted using a new and unique encryption key for each individual document, thus providing an additional layer of security. In other words, no unauthorized persons can get to our client data, and even the ones with physical access can’t do anything with it because it is encrypted beyond their ability to view it.

Unlike with many law firms, our clients do not sit around wondering what is going on with their case, they know! To use our MyCase portal, and have 24/7 access to all of the important details of your case any time you desire along with protected and private communication with us, we must first create a new private portal for you. So, the first step in getting access to MyCase on our system is to notify us that you want access.

This is achieved by providing us with your email address, as your email address will function as your user name on the system. Once we have confirmed the validity of the email address, and that you are the person requesting access to your own matter, an account will then be created. Once that is completed, a confirmation email will automatically be sent to you, providing you with instructions for completing the sign-up process.

The confirmation email will look like this:

Once you click the link to activate your account, a webpage will open allowing you to choose a password. It will look like this:

After choosing a password, you will then be asked to confirm your address:

After updating your address, you will be taken to your new client homepage:

From the homepage, you can access your calendar events, upload and download documents related to your case, send and read secure communications between us and yourself, and access billing information, if any. If you owe an outstanding balance, you can view that information here and even make payments online!

When a new event, document or comment is added to your case, you will receive an email notifying you that something has been added to your case. The email will look like this:

You will notice that none of the confidential details of the event, document or comments are sent using an unsecure email. The email simply notifies you that you need to log in and access the new information using the secure, encrypted client portal.

Once you log back in, the event appears under your calendar page like this:

Once you view the calendar entry, you can review details of the event – including whether your appearance at the event is required or not!

Additionally, the system is designed to send you an email reminder (and you can choose when and how often you want those reminders, as well). An email reminder for an event you will be required to attend will look like this:

I have added the red box to show you where to look for attendance requirements. If you are not required to attend, the email reminder will look like this:

Should you have any questions about the MyCase portal, please do not hesitate to ask.

You can access the portal directly by going to https://jeffparker.mycaseinc.com or by clicking the MyCase logo on the top right of any page on our website.

Federal Courts to Require PDF/A Filings

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts is changing the technical standards associated with CM/ECF filings. The reason for the change is to ensure that, in the future, we will still be able to view electronically filed documents as they were originally filed.

Normally, Adobe Acrobat saves a document without including the font as part of the file (it just assumes that everyone else will have the same fonts already installed on their computers, thus keeping the file size smaller). The problem, though, occurs when someone does not have a particular font installed. In that situation, the PDF viewer program has to substitute another font which the user does have installed in place of the missing font. The result, though, is that the viewer is not seeing the document as it was meant to be viewed.

The solution to the problem is to save your PDF files with the font (or fonts) which you used to create them. That way, future viewers of the document will be able to see the document the way you intended it to be seen.

The way to do this is to save the PDF documents with the PDF/A settings. PDF/A stands for “PDF for Archiving.” It is a standard format which is meant for long-term archiving of documents. I believe that all law firms should already be saving their files this way, just to future-proof their paperless office systems.  Who knows what types of computers and operating systems and software we will be using next year, much less decades from now.  Wouldn’t it be nice to still be able to view your saved documents quickly and easily?

Also, when a person later opens a PDF/A file, that format will limits what a viewer can do with it. The reason is because the document is being viewed in “archive mode.” Think of that as a hands-off, final form view of the document. For lawyers, think of it as a kind of as a type of document which has been “file-marked” (it isn’t literally file marked, I just mean that the document is the type of document which can no longer be changed). A user can, of course, go back into Word or WordPerfect and create a new version with whatever changes need to be made and then save it again as a new PDF/A document; but, a PDF/A version of a document cannot be changed itself.

I do realize that most attorneys already think of PDF documents that way, so this shouldn’t be that difficult of a mental change. We usually don’t create the PDF version of a document until we are done editing, and then the document is ready to be filed or sent to someone. However, for other users, they are aware that it is possible to open a PDF document and add comments and make changes even after it was created. PDF/A stops that, though.

So, how do you create a PDF/A document with Adobe Acrobat? If, like me, you “print” to the Adobe Acrobat print driver in Windows, simply click “Printer Properties” in whatever program you are “printing” from, and in the Default Settings box, choose “PDF/A-1b:2005 (RGB).” You can go to the Control Panel, under “Devices and Printers,” right-click on the “Adobe PDF” printer, and change the printing preferences to default to “PDF/A-1b:2005 (RGB).”

For more information, here is a blog entry on Adobe’s own website which contains more background information and links to other ideas about this topic.

Welcome to the Bell County Justice Center

The Bell County misdemeanor courts and associated departments are now fully moved into their new building at what the County is calling the Bell County Justice Center.  While it is too early to tell if adding the county departments to the building will mean that justice finally makes an appearance in the Justice Center, it will be welcome news for many now that both the felony and misdemeanor courts are in the same building for the first time in quite a few years.

Instead of the “temporary” courthouse annex on Second Avenue, all of the misdemeanor courts are now next to the district courts.  The physical address for all of the criminal courts is now 1201 Huey Road, Belton, Texas 76513. Here is a Google Map of the entrance from Loop 121 onto Huey Road.  You can click on the link labeled “Directions” to get detailed driving instructions from your location to the new complex:

Once you arrive at the intersection above, you can see the complex over to your left.  The turn onto Huey Road looks like this:

As you can see, the street sign indicates it is the 1200 block of Huey Road (even though Google thinks it is Huey Drive).  It intersects with the 2200 block of Loop 121.

Once you enter onto Huey Road, you’ll drive just a short bit to get to the entrance to the complex. 

The complex now consists of the county and district courts, the county and district prosecutors, the county and district clerks, the Indigent Defense department, the Pretrial Services department, the Bell County Jail, adult probation, and the Justice of the Peace for Precinct One.

There is only one public entrance for the entire building, and there are deputies on duty manning the metal detectors.  Therefore, please leave all of your guns, knives and bombs at home.

I cannot imagine what a nightmare the Justice Complex is going to be on Monday mornings when the parking lot is full of potential jurors, defendants, lawyers and the rest of the public trying to fit through the bottleneck that will undoubtedly occur.  I suppose the lesson is, “be early.”

If you are going to the Bell County Jail, you’ll turn to your right and just keep driving as far as you can.  Eventually you’ll run into the jail.  The entrance is in the corner, and you’ll have to walk a

bit across a little foot bridge to get there.  They have a beautiful round entrance area which you’ll see on your right as you walk by it with the summer sun beating down on you from above, but someone decided to put flag poles right in the middle of the driving surface and then on top of that someone roped off the entrance anyway.  A beautiful and convenient drop-off location blocked off with $3 worth of cheap rope.  That’s classy!

Regardless, the new courthouse complex is fantastic and it looks like a million dollars (though I suppose I should say it looks more like almost $100 million dollars)!  Even though the voters repeatedly voted it down, and even though the public may scream about the expense, I (for one) realize how badly the county needed this expansion.  Also, as a criminal defense attorney I previously spent a good chunk of my day driving back-and-forth between the district and county buildings.  At long last, I have one-stop shopping since the county’s “Justice Complex” is now open for business.  Let’s just hope that not all of that complex justice is out-of-stock.

See you at the new courthouse!

Ruby’s iPhone App Reviewed

For those of you who enjoyed my last posting about my receptionist, Ruby (Ruby Receptionists: Reception Specialization), you’ll be interested to know that Ruby has now gone high-tech—she now has a free iPhone app!

You can easily download the app from the iTunes store (or just click here).  Once you install the app, just enter your email address and password which you use to access Ruby already, and voila! You now have easy access to your phone call data and a really quick and easy way to update your status.

The photo above on the right shows you the main screen which opens once the app is started.  It also shows the date and time of the last update.  In this example, it shows that Ruby is following my default call routing instructions.  If you click the button labeled “Special”, you can change those default rules.

This photo on the left shows the screen which then comes up.  From here, you can select the amount of time which the temporary routing instructions should be followed (either “For the Rest of Today”, “Until Further Notice” or until a specific date and time).  Then, you can choose to route the calls during this period of time to any of the phones setup in your plan, or you can select “Message Only”, “Voice Mail or Message”, or “Other.”  If you choose other, you can then explain what that means in the Special Instructions box at the bottom of the form at left.

When you click on the Special Instructions option, a blank white page opens up.  Just touch anywhere on the screen and the keyboard will appear.  If you do not select that option, then no special instructions will be sent.  If your status changes, all of you have to do is go back to the “Whereabouts” screen and look for the button at the top-right which will say “Clear.”  Press that button, and as easy as that, your default call routing rules will be back in use.

The “Activity” button at the bottom of the screen will take you to a report showing all of your activity for a given amount of time.  These are the same reports which are available on the callruby.com website.  This feature is great when you have already deleted an email message, but you need the message again while out-and-about.  Or, it’s also handy for finding that phone number for that great new client who called you last Friday right as you walked in the door and you need to call them right away before you can back to the office.

The “Account” button is where you can change your account information to access Ruby.  Finally, the “Ruby” button will take you to the “About Ruby” screen.  That screen also has a link to a help file to explain the use of the app in more detail.  That page is actually a webpage on Ruby’s website, and you can access it here, if you’re curious.

So, how does it work?  Flawlessly.  I have experimented with the program now for a few weeks and from what I can tell, the program is merely an interface which creates a custom email, which is then sent to the staff at Ruby.  The “Clear” button also simply sends Ruby an email with the subject line “Clear W/A for…” and then it adds your name and account number.

The easiest way to update your status with Ruby prior to this app was to send a quick email with all of your temporary routing rules explained.  What the iPhone app does is that it creates that customized email for you.  It is quick to touch and click a few times and there it is—all of your special call routing instructions sent to Ruby as easy as can be.  It is especially simple to clear those custom routing rules and go back to the default instructions with this iPhone app.

Over the past week I have timed the response times using both traditional email notification and the new iPhone app.  In my test, the average response was about one minute.  The longest response time was three minutes, but that happened only once, and it happened one time for each system.  Therefore, it would appear that the app is just as efficient as a regular email would be at updating your status.  Plus, this iPhone app makes you look super cool when you lean over and explain what you’re doing to the other lawyers in the courtroom!

Overall, it’s a great app and the price is right—free.  If you use Ruby (and I know more and more of you are, because I hear from you all of the time), you need this app.  Also, if you haven’t broken down and bought an iPhone yet—this is the perfect excuse to get one now.  Explain to the significant other that you HAD to get the iPhone so you can use the Ruby app.  If you already have an iPhone, then use this as your excuse to get the new iPad in a few months.  That’s my excuse for getting one!

Ruby Receptionists: Reception Specialization

As a board certified criminal defense attorney, I am a firm believer in specialization.  I believe that a lawyer should concentrate on what he or she does best, and then do that one thing better than anyone else.  A company called Ruby Receptionists apparently believes the same thing, because they have chosen to focus on answering phones–and they absolutely do it better than anyone else!

In my experience, a law firm’s receptionist is the single most important employee in the firm.  Sure, a law firm obviously needs lawyers; and those lawyers often need legal assistants, secretaries, bookkeepers, accountants and even office managers.  However, it is the receptionist who greets the firm’s callers.  She, or he, is most often the first person a potential new client talks to.  The receptionist is also the gatekeeper, one who must ensure that only the right calls get through at the right time.

A receptionist can easily make or break a firm.  That is why I have been using Ruby Receptionists for the past few months, and will continue to use them from now on.  Having now completed my second paid month, I wanted to report on my great satisfaction with this fantastic service. 

Ruby is more than just an answering service, they are my receptionists (though it just so happens in this case that my receptionists show up for work in Portland, Oregon).  Ruby answers my phones as if they were actually in my office, though.  In fact, I have found Ruby Receptionists to be so good at their job, that I have forgotten that they were not actually in my office on more than one occasion!  That is why you will see me refer to this wonderful service just simply as “Ruby.”  I have come to think of Ruby as a singular, always present and pleasant employee.

The way it works is explained best on the Ruby Receptionists website.  Basically, though, I forward my incoming phone line to a special toll-free number which Ruby arranged for me.  I could give out this toll-free number, but I already had a toll-free number setup to forward to my incoming main line so I just continue to give that toll-free number out to everyone.

When someone calls my main number the call is automatically forwarded to Ruby’s call center in Portland, Oregon.  Ruby promptly answers the call with a greeting of my choice.  Ruby knows whether I am available or not because I send an email to Ruby anytime my status changes.  Ruby also has a set of default “call handling rules” which I created at the time I started using Ruby.  The rules can be changed at any time, either temporarily or permanently.  All it takes is a quick phone call to my own number to speak with Ruby, or an email to Ruby at any time.

As an aside, I have found that setting up an “auto text” entry in my Blackberry works great for updating Ruby on my status.  I have customized my Blackberry so that I simply have to type #r and then press the space bar on my Blackberry to have it create an email with all of the available status choices already there.  I just delete what does not apply and I am left with a great form email that explains where I will be, for how long, and how to reach me (if I can be, or want to be, reached).

When I am at the office, Ruby calls me on my second phone line (my “Line Two”).  Ruby can not call on Line One, though, because that line is forwarded to Ruby.  I do make my own outgoing calls on Line One, though.  This is so that Line Two will remain available for Ruby to call me.  I am a solo attorney, and I only have two phone lines plus a fax line.  If you only had one phone line, then I suppose you would have to use a cell phone to receive the calls from Ruby.  If you have a good Bluetooth headset, that might not be that bad of an idea, though.

When I am out of the office, Ruby can call my cell phone.  While I usually do not like speaking with clients on my cell phone (since I do not have a client file there in front of me to answer any real questions), it can be useful if I am expecting a particular call or if I have decided to sneak out to do some quick shopping and I would rather not shut the whole office down.  When I am at home, Ruby can call my home phone.

Regardless of where I am, when I answer a call from Ruby a friendly voice identifies herself by name and states that she is a receptionist for Ruby.  She then tells me the name of the caller she has on hold.  While we are discussing who the caller is and why the person is calling (Ruby will ask whatever questions I want Ruby to ask the caller, depending on the type of caller), the caller is listening to pleasant “hold” music.  I mention this only because I’ve had a couple of clients mention it to me.  When was the last time a client commented favorably on your hold music?  Apparently during the holidays, they were treated to some nice seasonal tunes.

If I agree to speak with the caller there is a seamless, noiseless, and instant transfer of the call to me.  Just as soon as Ruby finishes saying “here s/he is”, the caller and I are connected.  If I decide not to take the call, I can direct Ruby to take a message or I can have Ruby deliver a message if the caller just needs an answer to a quick question.  I could also have Ruby forward the caller to my voicemail, but then I’d have to listen to the message and return the call only after doing so.

Of course, oftentimes I am in court and unavailable for almost all calls.  For those situations, Ruby knows to not even bother trying to reach me–that is, unless it is a judge or other court personnel, Ruby will always attempt to track me down for that type of phone call.  That is just one of the many call handling rules I have set up.  If I wanted to have a rule that says a fellow attorney’s calls always get through regardless of any other rule, Ruby can do that (and that actually is one of my handling rules).  The possibilities are endless.

Whenever Ruby takes a message for me, I receive an email from Ruby which provides me with the name of the caller, the caller’s telephone number which the caller provided, the caller’s actual phone number from Caller ID if it is different from what the caller provided, and the message from the caller.  Because the call goes to Ruby over a toll-free number, the number shows up on Caller ID even if the caller tried to block it.  This is a little-known benefit to having a toll-free number.

The email message is also a great written memorialization of the call which can be easily attached to a client’s electronic case file (or printed out and stuck in the client’s file).  Plus, if the caller is asking something I know the answer to, I can simply reply to the email and ask Ruby to call the person back and deliver a response.  What a time saver!  I can not count the number of times I have sat in court waiting for a case to start, and I have used Ruby to satisfy a client’s desire to have an immediate response regarding some simple question.  I have turned what would have been wasted time sitting in a courtroom into productive, and billable, time.

Even better, I can send a list of calls which I would like Ruby to make, and she will.  For example, each time I have a busy court week I email a list of client names, phone numbers, and the corresponding court dates and times.  Ruby then calls each person and reminds them of their upcoming court date and the need to be there.  Once she is done, I get a full report back by email of who answered, who was left a message, and who says they can not show up that day!  I then attach the report to each person’s electronic case file and I then have documentation showing each person’s knowledge regarding the need to be in court.

Probably the greatest benefit of using Ruby is that my clients absolutely love speaking with her!  My callers get a real-live person listening to them, and assisting them with their problems.  In my experience, clients hate leaving voicemail almost as much as I hate listening to it.  Also, my clients usually get a response from me, through Ruby, a heck of a lot faster than they would get if they had to wait until the end of the day for me to check my voicemail or to read a bunch of pink message slips, and then reply.  Even if I do not have the exact answer for a client, a quick return call from Ruby saying that I have acknowledged their inquiry and will expect to have an answer to them at a specific time does wonders for client satisfaction.

In fact, since I started using Ruby, I believe that my clients’ satisfaction with my firm has gone up tremendously.  I hear compliments about Ruby all of the time.  I especially hear compliments from fellow attorneys and judges who love the professionalism Ruby brings to every one of my calls.  So far, only a few fellow attorneys have figured out that Ruby is not actually in my office.  One figured it out because, as he later explained to me, “no receptionist that good would work in a town this small.”

Ruby is also always pleasant, regardless of whatever mood the caller is in.  Of course, Ruby does not hesitate to let me know about a caller’s impatience or bad attitude on the occasion when that happens, but that is exactly what I need to know.  She also puts comments about other impressions she gathers from speaking with the caller, if relevant (i.e. “she seemed anxious”, “she sounded worried”, “she commented that she did not expect you to call her back today”, et cetera).

Plus, when Ruby connects a call to me, she always sounds so happy!  It is like she actually enjoys being able to connect the call to me!  That is astounding!  I have never had a receptionist as pleasant and joyful as Ruby is every single time!  Ruby apparently never gets “a case of the Mondays” or otherwise has a bad day.  Incredible!  I have to wonder what they put in the water there in Portland, and I wish I could import some of that magic elixir here for my own use!

One of the other greatest things about Ruby (and yes, I know I keep saying the next thing is the greatest thing, but there are just so many great things) is that she works from 7am until 8pm every Monday though Friday (Central Standard Time).  And on Saturdays she works from 11am until 8pm.  After hours and on Sundays, the calls go to a voice mailbox.  Or, I could just un-forward the phone and answer the calls myself.  Keep in mind, too, that Ruby does not take smoke breaks or ask for time off.  She is working constantly, answering my incoming phone calls–even during lunch!  How many receptionists would I have to hire to get this type of telephone coverage day-in and day-out?  At least three, if not four! 

How does Ruby do it?  She has at least 21 receptionists answering my calls, that’s how!  Each one tells me her name when she connects a call to me, and the Ruby website gives a short biographical note on each of them.  What an interesting group of people!  Each one of them alone would be the single best employee I could ever find, and together they form an unbeatable team.

Naturally, one would assume that a service as great as this is prohibitively expensive.  However, I have found the opposite to be true.  I have had in-office receptionists before, many of them.  Before Ruby, that was the only option.  However, I noticed Ruby’s advertising in the Texas Bar Journal some time last year.  I did a lot of research and I liked what I discovered about Ruby.  Ruby has been around for years, and she is not going away anytime soon.  She also has an excellent history of working with small businesses, especially small law firms.

I told myself that the next time I needed a new receptionist, I was going to try out Ruby.  So, when my last receptionist quit suddenly, I needed someone answering those phones quickly!  I called Ruby, and within two days I was forwarding my phone calls and starting my free trial.

Now, granted, I will admit that nothing beats having an actual person in the office to be that “first face” a client sees when they walk in the door.  Also, someone needs to be in the office to speak with visitors when I am not present.  Documents and paperwork just have to be dropped off and picked up sometimes.  Most importantly, payments need to be made.  However, there is no reason that this point-of-contact person has to be the receptionist.  It could just as easily be a legal assistant, or the office manager.  There is just no justification anymore for an on-site receptionist given the quality of service which Ruby provides, not to mention the cost-savings realized by outsourcing that position.

Figure that even paying the minimum wage for a receptionists (and good luck keeping the receptionist if that is all you are willing to pay) at $7.25 an hour.  At that rate, you would pay $290 a week for a 40-hour work week.  Add on the 8.63% that a small business employer pays in taxes over-and-above the hourly rate, and it will cost you $315.03 a week for that 40 hours of receptionist work.  That turns in to $1,365.14 a month, on average.  And that is minimum wage for one employee!

Ruby, on the other hand, costs significantly less.  There are three pricing plans available.  The first option includes only 100 receptionists minutes, and costs $199/month (that is $1.99 for every minute that Ruby herself is working a call).  The second includes 200 receptionists minutes, and it costs $329/month (or, $1.65 a receptionist minute).  The final option includes 500 receptionists minutes, and costs $669/month.  At that rate, it is supposed to be $1.34 a minute for actual receptionist time, though my calculations indicate it may be lower in actual use.

I selected the third option, as I knew I would use at least 500 minutes of receptionist time each month.  Ruby keeps a log of every phone call and message, which is a nice backup tool.  Mainly, though, it helps me analyze how I am using the service.  The following chart shows the number of phone calls I made and received during my first two months of paying for Ruby.  The number in the center indicates the number of calls I received on that day of the week, during each of the last eight weeks which I have been paying for Ruby:

I leave the phones forwarded all of the time, even after hours and on weekends.  So, these numbers also include voicemail calls as well.  Of the 945 calls my firm received during November and December 2009:  646 messages were taken and emailed to me [68%], 246 were connected to me at the office [26%], 41 went to voicemail because it was after hours [4%], 10 were connected to my cell phone [1%], and 2 were hang-up calls [<1%].

A wonderful thing about Ruby, though, is that I only pay Ruby when Ruby herself is working.  Voicemail calls do not cost a cent.  Nor does the time I spend talking to my callers after the call is connected.  Only the actual time that the receptionist is either making or receiving a call and connecting it does it count.  And, Ruby bills in thirty second increments!

My first paying month (after the expiration of my actual first month which was part of the free trial period, though that trial period is now a 14-day trial period instead of the month I received) was November and I used 505.5 receptionist minutes.  The cost was $656.10, partly because my service was prorated because the free trial did not end until the fifth day of November.  As a result, I was billed starting on the 6th day of the month.  During this past month, December, I used 704.5 minutes.  The cost was $844.17, though that bill included the one-time $95 initial setup fee which was assessed after I decided to keep using the service after the first thirty days.

As you can see, instead of paying one minimum-wage earning receptionist $1,400 a month at the very least, I pay Ruby about half of that amount.  And, I get thirteen hours a day during the work-week, and nine hours on Saturdays, of receptionist availability.  That is 74 hours a week, instead of a mere 40 that the one receptionist could provide.  In a month, Ruby gives me over 320 hours of receptionist availability!  If I had to pay Ruby the federal minimum wage for all of that availability, it would cost me over $2,500 a month!

Further, if you count all of the hours that Ruby is available to receive a call; even with the $844.17 cost for the month of December, I actually paid an effective hourly wage of just $2.43 an hour for every hour that she was ready to help (with deducting for that that 8.63% employer tax).

This is important to keep in mind because as we all know, in the typical small law firm the phones are, unfortunately, not ringing off the wall most days.  Just look at the chart above.  One day I received 60 calls, but on another I received only 7 (the day with zero calls was Christmas, the day with one call was Thanksgiving). 

The average call volume for me is 17 calls per day.  Or, if you only count work days, it is an average of 22 calls per day Monday through Friday.  The average call took 1.28 minutes of receptionist time.  That is a total of 28.16 minutes of receptionist time that I have to pay Ruby for each day.  But, with a traditional receptionist I would be paying for a full eight hours—even though the receptionist would be sitting there with nothing to do for 7.5 hours.  With Ruby, unlike with the typical small firm receptionist, I am not paying Ruby to sit around and read magazines or surf the internet for the majority of time each day.  I only pay Ruby when she is actually working for me!

One other thing that bears mentioning is how thoughtful Ruby is.  Of course, this also shows that Ruby is a master of marketing, as well.  During the free trial period, I received a box with a free coffee mug and some coasters—all with the Ruby logo.  It’s a great mug, and I’m glad to use it every day.  Plus, I received at least one note in the mail every day or two from one Ruby or another during those first few weeks.  Each one welcomed me to the Ruby family. 

The cards were small handwritten cards, and each had something nice to say about how much they appreciated me.  Ruby appreciates me?  That’s the craziest idea ever—do they not realize that I appreciate them far more than they could ever appreciate me?!?!  I should be sending them thank you cards every day of the week. 

Also, I should point out that it really is more than just a marketing gimmick.  One Friday morning about a month ago, I had a small automobile accident.  While waiting on law enforcement to show up, I emailed Ruby that I was going to take the rest of the day off to get the car in the repair shop and line-up a rental car.  Imagine my surprise when a few days later I received a hand-written sympathy card in the mail from the Ruby I had communicated with!

During the first 30 days of service, you can cancel Ruby at any time without notice.  After the first 30 days, though, Ruby does require a thirty day notice of cancellation.  Other than that, though, there is no commitment.  It is strictly month-to-month.  I suppose I would be billed a prorated portion of a month for that final part of the 30 days, but I do not intend to ever have to find this out for sure.  I would not quit using Ruby if I had a free receptionists walk in the door right now!

To be fair, I should address the negatives of Ruby, as well.  I have only had one problem, though it has occurred a few times.  On a few occasions, Ruby has managed to get a name wrong.  It is usually close enough that I can figure out who the caller was, or the caller will let me know when I ask for the wrong person when returning a call if it was someone I was not familiar with.  Admittedly, even with normal in-office reception work this is a common mistake.  So, I do not count the occasional mistake by Ruby to be a significant problem. 

On the other hand, I do practice in Central Texas.  As a result of this, I have a fair number of clients who only speak Spanish.  For this reason, I usually have tried to hire a Spanish-speaking receptionist.  As best as I can tell, not too many people in Portland, Oregon, speak Spanish, though.  This has not been a big issue thus far, but it would be a nice addition to Ruby’s repertoire if she could find at least one Spanish speaking receptionist.  Until then, Ruby can simply automatically forward those calls to my legal assistant for direct handling by her.

As I am sure you have already gathered, I enthusiastically endorse and highly recommend Ruby Receptionists.  They have chosen to specialize in answering calls, and I truly believe they are the best in the business.  The next time you find yourself in need of a telephone receptionist, give Ruby a try. 

Even better, Ruby would be a great service to have on stand-by even if you have an in-office receptionist right now.  That’s because Ruby can always take calls for you whenever your receptionist is on break, at lunch, enjoying a Saturday off, or is out of the office on vacation.  Ruby would be a fantastic back-up receptionist, ready to fill-in at a moment’s notice.  All you would have to do is forward your phone when you need her, and un-forward when you are done.

The truth is that I do not intend to ever hire a receptionist again.  I would rather have a legal assistant up front to greet whoever walks in the door.  I much prefer to have Ruby take all of the firm’s calls, and then forward them to the appropriate person.  That way, my callers will always receive a prompt and pleasant greeting from a true professional every time!  The receptionist is the most important employee in any law firm, and with Ruby I always have the best receptionists available.

If you decide to give Ruby Receptionists a try, tell them Jeff Parker referred you to them.  You will get 14 days of unlimited use to try out the service.  If you decide that it is not for you, just say no thanks and it will not cost you a cent.  Plus, you can always “un-forward” your phone calls at any time you decide to stop using Ruby.  However, if you decide to keep using Ruby, I will get a $50 referral fee and you will get good karma.  Now that’s a win-win-win scenario.