AI receptionist for law firms: intake handled

Keep the first conversation moving while your team is busy

A prospective client may call while your staff are helping someone at the desk. An existing client may only want to reach their attorney. A supplier may need the office manager. Sending every caller through the same intake questions makes each conversation harder than it needs to be.

We build separate paths for those calls. Your Smart Receptionist Agent™ can answer approved questions about your services and office hours, gather a new inquiry or warm-transfer a caller to the right team. You choose the questions, transfer destinations and limits before launch.

Ask for the details your intake team will actually use

Start with the information staff need to decide who should review the inquiry. Your firm's approved intake might ask:

• The caller's name and a reliable callback number.
• Whether they are a new inquirer or an existing client.
• The broad type of help they are requesting.
• The relevant location and any date the caller wants the team to know about.
• Their preferred language and a suitable way to get back in touch.

Your firm sets the order and how much detail to collect before staff review. If names are needed for your own conflict process, include only the questions your team approves. Capturing information is different from clearing a conflict or accepting a client.

Use the first-call intake checklist to choose the questions, handle missing details and prepare a note your intake team can act on.

A practical example: a new inquiry during a consultation

A caller asks whether the firm handles an employment matter. Staff are in a consultation. The agent can use your approved description of the practice, collect a callback number and a broad description, and follow the next step your intake team has chosen.

If the inquiry needs staff review before a consultation is booked, we build the call around taking a request and passing it to that team. Where your firm permits appointment booking, we scope the approved booking path. The caller should hear clearly whether an appointment is booked or a request is waiting for a response.

Your intake staff then receive an AI call summary with the information collected and the next step discussed. They can review the inquiry without starting from an unexplained voicemail. This is an illustrative scenario, not a client result.

Let current clients reach their team without repeating a new inquiry

An existing client calling about their matter needs a different path. We can build an approved live Clio lookup into the call and route the request to your chosen contact. Your firm decides what matching information is needed and which details the agent may use or share.

Clio and MyCase are verified integrations, but the actions for your particular setup are scoped before launch. An uncertain match should go to clarification or a person. It should not expose another client's information or turn a routine routing request into a discussion of sensitive matter details.

Give urgent requests a human route

A caller might mention a hearing, a letter or a date they are worried about. The agent can capture the caller's wording and follow the escalation path your firm sets. Your attorneys remain responsible for advice, deadlines and decisions about representation.

For a warm transfer, the recipient hears a private whisper briefing before joining the caller. Routing can follow business hours and holidays, with a backup group if nobody answers. Your firm approves the fallback message so a caller knows what happens next. A supervisor can also listen and take over when needed.

Keep follow-up consistent with the inquiry

When you want a callback or a longer follow-up sequence, Smart Engagement Agent™ can make outbound calls and Smart Micro Agent Solutions™ can handle SMS and email. We confirm the contact permissions, wording, cadence and stop rules for the build. An unanswered inquiry should not become an unapproved campaign.

The point is a clear next step for the person who contacted your firm: a call, an approved booking path or a handoff. We do not promise a signed engagement or a conversion rate.

Bring your real intake questions to the build call

Bring your practice areas, office hours, current intake script, consultation rules, Clio or MyCase workflow and transfer numbers. Name the staff member who will review summaries and tell us what needs adjusting.

Before launch, try a new inquiry, an existing-client call, an unclear name match and an unanswered transfer. Include a caller asking for legal advice and confirm the agent follows your approved human route. We build, connect, launch and tune the service around those conversations.

A friendly note: have your firm approve its privacy, recording and intake wording.