Every spring, the North Carolina Bar Foundation (NCBF) turns one day into a lifeline. Their annual telethon, 4ALL - Lawyers on Call Day, invites anyone in the state to pick up the phone and speak with a volunteer attorney for free. It’s a massive public-service undertaking, and for the past five years Telzio has powered every call.
Below, we break down how Telzio’s cloud phone system helps the NCBF manage thousands of calls, support hundreds of volunteers, keep wait times to seconds, and deliver a professional, neighbor-next-door experience for every caller.
A mission that scales
Organization: North Carolina Bar Foundation Sector: Legal / Non-profit Volunteers: 376 legal professionals (324 attorneys + 52 intake) Event: 4ALL - Lawyers on Call Day
From civil disputes to estate planning, the telethon connects North Carolinians with quick, reliable legal guidance - at no cost. Scaling that mission means handling surges of simultaneous calls without ever dropping the human touch.
Telzio in action
Telethon Stats (2025)
Total calls received: 7,689 Average call length: 7 min 56 sec Average wait time: 1 min 42 sec Queues created: 37 (including a dedicated Spanish-language queue) Missed calls: 75 (0.97 %)
Why it works
Custom call flows & queues – 37 queues mapped to practice areas - civil, family, estate planning, employment, contracts, business law, and more; intelligent routing and overflow rules keep every line open.
Any-device volunteering – Attorneys answer from Telzio’s mobile or web app - office, home, or courthouse; no on-site phone banks required.
Polished caller experience – Queue announcements, hold music, max-hold timers, and real-time agent availability cut abandonment to just 2 min 21 sec.
Real-time visibility – Live dashboards show intake teams where to shift resources on the fly.
Voices from the front Line
“With minimal orientation, our volunteers log on and start taking calls. If anyone hits a snag, Telzio’s customer-care team jumps in immediately.”
- Kim Bart Mullikin, Senior Director, NC Bar Foundation
Impact beyond the numbers
State-wide reach: Callers from the coast to the mountains get the same access to help - no travel, no cost.
Volunteer satisfaction: The top volunteer handled 141 calls; the top ten averaged 99 each without burnout, thanks to clear, streamlined workflows.
Community trust: Consistently low wait times and a professional greeting reinforce the Foundation’s reputation for reliability.
Dedicated customer support, start to finish
Pre‑event strategy – Months before 4ALL, a dedicated Telzio Account Executive met with NCBF staff to map objectives, blueprint call flows, and schedule key milestones.
Hands‑on configuration – Step‑by‑step guidance inside the Telzio dashboard to build 37 queues, upload bilingual greetings, set max‑wait timers, and test every routing path.
Volunteer onboarding – Telzio provided quick‑start guides and personalized live support so attorneys could download the app, log in, and feel confident before the phones lit up.
Day‑of live support – Three Telzio engineers shadowed the telethon, monitoring call metrics in real time, helping volunteers get online, and jumping on chat or phone the moment a question popped up.
Post‑event wrap‑up – A data‑driven debrief with recommendations on how to optimize onboarding and call handling even further for future telethons.
Why the NC Bar Foundation chooses Telzio
Instant scalability – Handles thousands of calls in a single day without new hardware.
Customizable queues – Mirrors 37 areas of law for faster triage.
Mobile flexibility – Lets attorneys volunteer from anywhere, widening the pool of expertise.
User-friendly UI – Volunteers up and running in minutes, not hours.
Stellar support – Telzio’s team on standby before and during the event.
Looking ahead
With Telzio as its communications backbone, the North Carolina Bar Foundation is already underway with additional telethons to support their community.
Telzio powers mission-critical communications for nonprofits around the world. Ready to see how we can amplify your impact?