Saving your minutes and data:

The firm purchases a limited number of talk time minutes and data packets to be used each month.  I’m sure you are all concerned that the firm does not incur overage charges for going beyond the pre-purchased limits.  There are a few things you can do that can greatly reduce your usage.

Go Crazy on Nights and Weekends

When talking on the phone, calls made during nights and weekends do not count toward your monthly limits.  Calls made before 6:00 AM or after 9:00 PM are not counted, nor are any weekend calls.  So while you may want to be careful with your minutes during weekdays, feel free to chat to your heart’s delight late at night or on weekends.

Call other Cell Phones

Also, calls made between two Verizon Wireless cell phones are not counted toward minutes. If you need to call another attorney on their cell phone, it is actually better to call from your cell phone rather than a land line.  Similarly, if you are initiating a call from your cell phone, call the recipient on their cell phone rather than a land line.

Use Wifi

Data usage (that is going on the Internet, emails, etc.) is counted regardless of when it is used.  No nights and weekends break there.  However, you can greatly reduce your usage by connecting to Wifi where available.  The only thing is that you must make the connection one time.  It is especially helpful to do this at home or in the office where you are likely to use your phone a great deal.  

On either type of phone, simply open SETTINGS then WIFI, make sure it is turned on, find your local Wifi connection and connect.  You may be required to enter a pass code to connect.  You can contact the Help desk for any passwords required for Wifi in any of the offices.  Hopefully you know your home Wifi.

You may also see Comcast Wifi available in many locations.  If you have Comcast at home for Internet, you may use these Wifi hot spots at no additional charge.  Simply connect using your Comcast or Xfinity login name and password.

It is always best to do heavily data intensive tasks, like updating Apps, or downloading large attachments while using Wifi rather than your 4G data connection.  Best of all, the Wifi is also usually much faster, meaning you have incentive to use it beyond simply saving the firm money.