Your firm’s number is on its website, business cards and ads. If your phone provider offers call forwarding, callers can keep using that number when you add an answering service.
Forwarding sends calls to Lighthouse. A transfer connects someone already speaking with Lighthouse to your team. Lighthouse also saves the call details, can email your staff, and can send intake information to a connected Clio account.
Three phone terms explained
| Term | What it does |
|---|---|
| Call forwarding | Your phone provider sends an incoming call to another number, based on your settings. |
| Call transfer | Connects a caller already on the line to someone else. |
| Number porting | Moves your number to a different phone provider. |
Forwarding lets you keep your number with your current provider. Porting moves it to another provider. RingCentral’s forwarding guide and Zoom’s porting guide explain the difference.
You might forward calls after hours, when your line is busy, or when staff do not answer. Check which options your provider supports. Lighthouse also offers a new number that callers can dial directly.
How the call moves
During the call
Imagine a fictional after-hours call to a personal injury firm. The office is closed, so the firm’s phone provider forwards the call to Lighthouse. A caller describes a serious injury. Lighthouse asks the firm’s intake questions to see whether the case fits its criteria, then can offer to connect the caller to the right after-hours contact.
If the transfer succeeds, that person takes the call. If no transfer is needed, Lighthouse can finish the intake for staff to review later. Lighthouse saves the call details even if nobody takes the transfer. Test what happens if a staff member does not answer.
Your firm chooses who handles each type of call, during the day and after hours. A new inquiry might go to an intake specialist; a billing question might go to a billing contact. The customization guide shows how to choose those contacts.
Warm and immediate transfers
In a warm transfer, Lighthouse briefly introduces the call to the staff member before connecting the caller. The caller does not hear that introduction. An immediate transfer skips the introduction.
Zoom’s transfer guide explains warm and direct transfers in more detail. The steps depend on the phone system you use.
Where call details go
Once Lighthouse has finished handling the call and preparing the record, your team can review it in the dashboard. You can also receive an email summary or send details to Clio when those options are set up.
After the call
Review calls in Lighthouse
Lighthouse gives you intake fields, a short summary and the full transcript. The fields show the answers to your firm’s questions, so you can decide whether the case fits your process. Read the summary for a quick overview, or open the transcript to check what was said. For Spanish-language calls, you can read the English translation or the original Spanish.
The call-record guide explains these views. The record covers the conversation Lighthouse handles. Check whether your setup also records the call after it reaches staff.
Get updates by email
Turn on email notifications and choose who should receive them. Lighthouse can then send a summary for each call it handles, with callback details and a link to the record.
An email does not mean someone took the transfer. Agree on who will call back when follow-up is needed. The dashboard guide shows the emails and call results.
Send details to Clio
If you connect Clio, Lighthouse can find or create a contact and add a note with the call result, summary and intake fields. The full transcript and recording stay in Lighthouse rather than being copied into that note.
This sync adds a note to a contact. It does not open a matter or mark the case as accepted. Before going live, check that the note is added to the right person’s record.
Try a test call
Use made-up caller details. Try a normal intake call, then a transfer that nobody answers.
- Call your firm’s number. Check when calls reach Lighthouse, how long the office rings first, and when voicemail takes over. Zoom’s call-handling guide shows some of these choices.
- Try a staff transfer. Check who gets the call during the day and after hours, what they hear, and what happens if nobody answers.
- Check the phone numbers. Test caller ID. Use a staff number that will not forward the call straight back to Lighthouse.
- Find the call record. Check the caller’s details, answers and summary. Confirm whether the transfer succeeded.
- Check email and Clio. If enabled, make sure the right staff receive the email and the note reaches the right contact. Decide who handles the next step.
- Keep a way back. Ask your phone provider how to restore your previous settings and whether forwarding adds charges.
Bring your phone provider, coverage hours, staff contacts and case-management system to a Lighthouse demo. Follow one call through to see how the setup would work for your firm.