Extension Numbers on the Move
Judging from Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft, one of Germany’s biggest corporate law firms, IP is now a favorite among lawyers. This is because lawyers need to be available to their clients at any time of the day, whether they are in their offices or away on business. That’s why Luther uses the Internet Protocol (IP).
What is it that makes the solution developed by T-Systems for Luther so special? All the employees always have their own five-digit extension number with them. If a lawyer based in Düsseldorf has to spend a day in Cologne, he first diverts his line to his secretary. On arrival in Cologne, he then re-registers his phone and is then once again available at the usual office number. In the old days, lawyers had different numbers, depending on where they were working at the time. Clients found this very confusing. These days, an employee even retains the same extension number if he moves permanently to a different city.
At the same time, IP telephony supports the move toward internationalization: This is because the firm is a member of an international network of corporate lawyers, the Pinsent Masons Luther Group (PMLG). “That’s why it was so important for us that our software and systems should be compatible from the start”, explains Dr. Stefan Kraus, managing partner at Luther. In the future, this system will allow all the firms in the group to network in the same way as in an open-plan office. The phone numbers of all employees are stored in a telecommunication system and all existing call and callback functions can be used in all countries. In the past, this would have required several different systems.
But Luther is already saving money with VoIP (Voice over IP): The 13 German offices operate within the VPN (Virtual Private Network) like extensions on an exchange. This means that all internal calls are free. Luther is charged for all other domestic calls at the local rate.
