A general practice law firm in Hamilton, Montana with 6 attorneys and 4 support staff had been running on an aging on-premise PBX system for over a decade. The system worked — barely. But when their senior partner started working from home two days per week and a new associate needed a phone line, the limitations became impossible to ignore.
The Problem
The firm's PBX required a $300 technician visit every time a line needed to be added or a setting changed. The senior partner working from home had no access to the office phone system — clients calling the office couldn't reach her, and she had to use her personal cell for business calls. There was no call recording for documenting client instructions. The maintenance contract cost $125/month on top of line charges. Adding a line for the new associate would require $800 in wiring and hardware.
The Solution
Big Sky Telecom installed hosted VoIP with 10 user lines, an auto attendant, call recording, voicemail transcription, business SMS, and mobile softphone apps for all attorneys. The transition took one business day with zero downtime — number porting was seamless over a weekend.
The Results
40% cost reduction: Monthly phone costs dropped from $650 (lines + features + maintenance) to $390 (10 users at $29/month + taxes). Annual savings: $3,120.
Remote attorney access: The senior partner now answers office calls from home using the softphone app. Clients see the firm's number on caller ID. Internal transfers to and from the home office work seamlessly. Two other attorneys adopted the mobile app for courtroom days when they're away from the office.
Call recording for client protection: Every client call is recorded and archived. When a client disputed verbal instructions given during a phone consultation, the firm pulled the recording and resolved the issue in minutes. The managing partner called this "the single most valuable feature we gained."
Professional auto attendant: The previous system had the receptionist manually routing every call. Now the auto attendant handles routing: "Press 1 for [attorney name], Press 2 for [attorney name]..." The receptionist handles walk-ins and higher-value tasks instead of being chained to the phone.
What the Managing Partner Said
"We should have done this five years ago. The call recording alone has already paid for itself. And having our remote attorneys fully connected to the office system means we never miss a client call — no matter where our team is working from."
Is Your Firm Ready?
If your law firm is running on an aging PBX, paying for expensive maintenance visits, or struggling with remote attorney access, the switch to hosted VoIP is straightforward and fast.
Big Sky Telecom provides hosted VoIP, business phone systems, and managed IT services to small and mid-sized businesses across Western Montana. Locally owned and operated in Missoula, MT since 1998.