Office telephone policy

We've been thinking about how we answer our phones and client expectations. We office in one of these set-ups where the landlord provides a receptionist to answer our calls but you pay an additional amount per month. Frankly I'd like to cut back on the expense. On the mornings when my legal assistant works she handles the phones and obviously is getting to know our clientele.

Alternatives? I do come into contact with the occassional lawyer who answers her own phones but we just do too much hourly stuff for it to be feasible for me to answer calls. Once while transitioning between office spaces we just used one of these commercial answering services. I was happy with that set-up but that cost is virtually equal to what we currently pay our landlord.

Is just sending client calls to voicemail directly an option? I surely call lawyers that do that. My opinion, you can't do it. Obviously just my opinion, but no live-person answering just says tacky and inattentive business. I know we have a bunch of real estate transactions right now where deals are being delayed/threatened because of staff-less lawyers on the other side.