Handling calls, callbacks and voicemail
Accept a call, classify and verify the caller, hold, transfer, take notes, then wrap up with a disposition and follow-ups.
For: Staff
On this page
This page walks through a call from the moment it is offered to the wrap-up. You need a reception role with call handling, and you must be the call's handler to use its controls. Others see the controls disabled with the reason.
Live carrier service is not available yet. These steps are what the product does today with a simulated carrier; live calls on your firm's numbers arrive once the carrier connection is certified.
1. Accept the call
An offered call appears as a notification and on the Queue. Only a call offered to you can be accepted.
- Choose Accept, or press Enter on the highlighted row in the queue.
The active call screen opens with the firm's identity, the line the caller dialed and whatever LegalBook already knows about the caller.
2. Classify and verify the caller
Classify the caller: New prospect, Existing client, Court, Government, Opposing counsel, Vendor, Representative, Unknown caller or Spam. The classification decides which playbook and actions you get.
For an existing client, run caller verification (press v to jump to it). Status details stay locked until the caller passes.
3. During the call
| Control | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Hold / resume | h | Puts the caller on hold |
| Mute / unmute | m | Mutes your microphone |
| Keypad | k | Sends digits |
| Transfer | t | Opens the transfer dialog |
| Add | p | Adds a participant (conference) |
| End | Shift+E | Ends the call |
| Note | n | Jumps to the internal note |
Press ? for the full list.
Warm transfer
- Choose Transfer. The directory lists attorneys and staff with their availability; people assigned to this caller's matter come first.
- Pick the person and type a short whisper: what they hear or read before they accept.
- LegalBook calls them first. If they accept, the caller is connected. If they decline or do not answer, the call comes back to you without dropping the caller.
Transfers are warm by default. A cold transfer (no introduction) is offered only where your firm allows it.
Escalate to an attorney
If a caller asks for legal advice or a legal judgment, do not answer it. Use Escalate to an attorney (on the call screen or as a wrap-up follow-up). It opens an escalation routed to the right attorney under your firm's escalation tree. See Service levels and escalations.
Recording
Calls are recorded only where your firm's recording policy allows it, and the disclosure is read in the caller's language with wording an attorney approved. The default is recording off. See Phone numbers and call routing.
4. Wrap up
When the call ends, the wrap-up replaces the centre of the screen.
- Choose a disposition (press d to jump to it). The defaults include Resolved — status provided, Appointment booked, Intake started, Callback created, Transferred, Escalated to attorney, Message taken, Wrong number and Spam. Your firm can change the list.
- Confirm the outcome.
- Accept or dismiss the proposed follow-ups: a callback, an attorney callback, a service ticket, an escalation to an attorney, starting an intake, booking an appointment, resending an upload link, a payment follow-up or a text.
- Save. LegalBook creates the follow-ups you accepted and tells you what it created.
The save button stays disabled until a disposition and an outcome are set. A countdown shows the wrap-up time your firm allows. If it runs out, the call's work item is closed as pending, and you can still save the disposition within the edit window.
If a follow-up cannot be sent (for example, the person opted out of texts, or it is quiet hours), LegalBook opens a work item for a person to follow up instead and says why. Nothing is dropped silently.
Not available yet: an AI-suggested call summary, labelled Suggested, not approved, appears in the wrap-up once AI and transcription are configured. You would approve, edit or reject it there.
Callbacks
Open Callbacks to see callbacks due now, upcoming, attorney, overdue and done.
- Call now places the outbound call and records the attempt against the callback.
- Record attempt logs an attempt without calling.
- Reschedule, complete or cancel (cancelling needs a reason).
Attorney callbacks are shown but greyed for staff who are not attorneys. Outbound calls always show the firm's caller ID, never your own number. An overdue callback alerts once; a callback not completed within a day of its window expires.
Voicemail
Open Voicemails. Each voicemail plays with its transcript beside it where one exists. Every playback is audited.
- Take it (press t) to assign it to yourself.
- Call back (press c) opens the outbound dialog, which shows the firm and caller ID before dialing.
- Mark it handled with an outcome (press h). Choosing callback scheduled opens the callback form.
- Link it to a person or a matter.