AI Receptionist for Law Firms: 24/7 Client Intake

Short answer: An AI receptionist for a law firm answers your phone when your team cannot, asks the intake questions you define, checks whether the matter fits your practice areas, books consultations and passes urgent calls to a lawyer. It never gives legal advice. At The House of Solutions, custom legal intake voice agents start from $2,999 USD, for firms in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Why do law firms lose potential clients on the phone?

People usually call a lawyer when something has just happened: an accident, an arrest, a dismissal, a family breakdown. They often call in the evening or at weekends, and they call more than one firm. If they reach voicemail, many will try the next firm instead. Lawyers in court or meetings cannot answer, and reception staff are busy with existing clients.

What does a legal AI receptionist do?

• Answers every call 24/7 with a professional greeting in your firm’s name.
• Runs a first intake: name, contact details, type of matter, key dates, location and how the caller heard about you.
• Checks fit against your practice areas and jurisdictions, and politely refers out matters you do not handle.
• Collects conflict-check details such as the names of other parties, so your team can run the check before the consultation.
• Books consultations into lawyers’ calendars, and can explain consultation fees you set.
• Routes urgent matters, such as a client in custody or a court deadline, to the on-call lawyer using your rules.
• Answers practical questions about office hours, location, parking and what to bring.
• Logs every call in your practice management system or CRM with a summary.

What must it never do?

• Give legal advice or predict the outcome of a case.
• Promise that the firm will take the matter before your conflict check and review.
• Collect more confidential detail than intake needs. The full story should be told to a lawyer.
• Pretend to be a person. Callers should be told they are speaking with an AI assistant.

What about confidentiality and professional rules?

Law firms have strict duties around confidentiality and client communication, set by the law society or bar in each jurisdiction, alongside privacy law such as PIPEDA in Canada, UK GDPR in the United Kingdom, and state laws in the US. The intake script, data storage location, call recording consent and who can access transcripts should all be agreed before launch. We build the call flow around your firm’s policies, and we recommend checking the guidance from your regulator on using AI tools.

How much does it cost?

Custom builds start from $2,999 USD, plus monthly usage for calls, the phone number and the AI. The price depends on the number of practice areas, the intake questions, and the systems we connect, such as your calendar and practice management software. See how much an AI voice agent costs and our pricing page.

A sensible way to start

1. Start with after-hours and overflow calls only.
2. Review every intake summary for the first few weeks and adjust the questions.
3. Add consultation booking once you trust the intake quality.
4. Add a website chatbot that uses the same intake rules, if many enquiries arrive online.

Hear it first

Talk to Ava, the free THS AI voice agent demo, to hear how natural a voice agent sounds. Read what an AI receptionist is for the basics, then see our AI agents service or book a free consultation.