Should Your Firm Use Microsoft Teams as a Phone System?

If your firm is already using Microsoft 365, chances are you’re also using Microsoft Teams, at least for internal chat and collaboration. Most firms we work with have adopted some kind of messaging platform, and for the majority, Teams is the default. A few still run Slack. Some haven’t adopted anything yet (which is a separate conversation), so the question naturally comes up: Should we use Microsoft Teams as our phone system too? At Clear Guidance Partners, the answer is: it depends. Teams Phone has some compelling benefits, but also a few landmines you’ll want to avoid.

Where Teams Phone Works Well

If your firm already operates in a headset-and-laptop world—no desk phones, everyone comfortable with digital tools—Teams Phone can work really well. It’s cost-effective, integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, and lets your staff make and receive calls from their computers or mobile devices without switching tools. But that’s not every firm.

The Two Big Gotchas

Here are the two biggest issues we see:

1. Physical Handsets
   Many firms still like having a physical phone on every desk. That’s fine—but Teams-compatible handsets come with quirks. The biggest pain point? Microsoft controls all handset updates, and changes roll out whether you like them or not.

   For example, an update earlier this year introduced a 30-second timeout when dialing a number. If you don’t finish dialing within that window, say you’re reading a number off an email and get distracted, the call cancels itself. It’s a small thing, but incredibly frustrating in practice.

2. Inconsistent Ringing Behavior
   Sometimes, Teams will only ring on your computer, not your desk phone. That means users have to be more aware of where their calls are coming in and how they’re configured. Again, manageable, but not seamless.

One More Curveball: Call Parking

Some older phone systems, like Avaya (still popular in many law firms), rely heavily on features like call parking. In those systems, you can “park” a call on extension 99 and pick it up from another phone. Teams has a version of this, but it’s not the same, and frankly, most firms ditch parking entirely after switching.

Bottom Line

If your team is already living in Teams and doesn’t rely on physical phones or legacy features, Teams Phone is a solid, low-cost option. But if you have a more traditional setup, or attorneys who still like to take their time dialing, you’ll want to test carefully before making the jump.

Have questions or thinking about a migration? Fill out the form below if you have questions about various phone systems in law firms: