Automated Client Intake
24/7 enquiry handling captures new clients while you focus on billable work.
Document Processing
Extract key data from legal documents automatically, saving hours of manual review.
SRA Compliant
Built for UK legal requirements with full audit trails and data protection.
60% Time Savings
Reduce administrative burden so your team can focus on client matters.
Everything your practice needs
Our AI integrates with your existing practice management system and handles the administrative tasks that consume your fee earners' time.
Works with your practice management system
An AI receptionist that turns missed calls into instructed matters
A new client rarely rings a law firm twice. If the call goes to voicemail at lunchtime, on a Friday evening or while the receptionist is dealing with a courier, the enquiry usually goes to the next firm on the search results. An AI receptionist answers every call on the first ring, works out whether it is a new enquiry, an existing client or a cold sales call, and does the intake your front desk would do if it had unlimited time: it captures who is calling, what the matter is, who else is involved and how urgent it is, then books a consultation into the right fee earner’s diary.
AIEngine builds and runs the service for your firm. We configure it around your practice areas, your intake questions and your diary rules, connect it to your existing phone number, and keep a person one transfer away for anything that needs one. Fee earners get a written summary of every new enquiry before they pick up the phone, and nothing is lost to an answerphone.
Why intake is where law firms lose work
Most firms measure conversion from consultation to instruction. Far fewer measure how many enquiries never reach a consultation because the call was not answered, was answered by someone who could not take a proper note, or was answered and then forgotten in an inbox. Those calls are the most expensive ones a firm has, because the marketing that generated them has already been paid for.
The people best placed to handle intake are usually the busiest. Receptionists are covering post, visitors and the switchboard. Fee earners are in meetings or at court. A paralegal taking a message at 5.55pm will note a name and number and little else, and the caller will still be waiting for a call back when they instruct somebody else the next morning.
There is also a compliance angle. The SRA expects firms to identify conflicts before taking on work and to give clear price information for certain services under the Transparency Rules. An intake process that captures the other party’s name and the type of matter at the first call makes both of those easier, not harder.
What the AI receptionist handles, call by call
These are the call types we configure for a typical firm. Every path follows the questions your firm sets, and every call is transcribed and logged for your file.
| Call type | What the AI receptionist does |
|---|---|
| New enquiry | Identifies the practice area from what the caller describes, asks your intake questions for that area, captures name, contact details, the names of any other parties, a summary of the matter and any deadlines, and books a consultation into the appropriate fee earner’s diary. Emails the intake summary to the firm immediately. |
| Existing client chasing an update | Confirms identity against the details on file, records what the client is asking about and routes the call to the fee earner or their assistant. If nobody is available, it logs a callback request with the matter reference and the client’s preferred time. |
| Conveyancing chain calls | Recognises estate agents, brokers and other solicitors, takes the property address and the point in the chain the call concerns, and passes a structured message to the conveyancer rather than a scribbled note. |
| Court date or urgent matter | Applies your urgency rules. Hearings, bail, injunctions, limitation dates and detained clients are transferred to a person straight away, with the summary already captured so the caller does not repeat themselves. |
| Complaint | Records the complaint in the caller’s words, explains that the firm has a written complaints procedure and that the Legal Ombudsman exists, and routes the record to your complaints handler. It never argues, apologises on the firm’s behalf or offers a remedy. |
| Cold sales and recruitment calls | Takes the company name and reason for calling, offers an email address and ends the call politely. Fee earners never see them. |
| Out of hours | Full intake continues overnight and at weekends. Urgent matters follow your out-of-hours protocol; everything else is waiting in the firm’s inbox when the office opens. |
Working with the systems your firm already uses
The receptionist sits on your existing phone number and passes what it captures into the tools your team already opens every morning.
- Your phone system
- Answers on every ring, on overflow only, or out of hours only. No number change and no new handsets.
- Fee earner diaries
- Books consultations against real availability and the booking rules you set for each fee earner and practice area.
- Email intake summaries
- A structured summary of every enquiry, sent to the firm’s intake address and the relevant fee earner within seconds of the call ending.
- Practice management systems
- Integration is scoped at discovery, for example with Clio, LEAP or Actionstep, so new enquiries can be created as contacts or matters rather than retyped.
- SMS confirmations
- Consultation confirmations and reminders sent from the firm’s name, with the details the client needs to bring.
- Call recording and reporting
- Every conversation transcribed and searchable, with weekly reports on enquiry volumes by practice area, source and outcome.
Confidentiality, UK GDPR and what the receptionist will not do
Callers tell a law firm things they would tell nobody else. All call audio, transcripts and intake data are processed and stored in UK data centres, encrypted in transit and at rest, and retained only for the period set in your data processing agreement. AIEngine acts as your data processor, and we provide the documentation your firm’s data protection lead needs before go-live.
The receptionist is a receptionist. It does not give legal advice, does not comment on the merits of a matter, does not quote fees unless your firm supplies a fixed price list for it to read from, and never tells a caller that the firm is acting for them. Those are decisions for a solicitor, and the scripts are written so the boundary is obvious to the caller.
- Other-party names captured at the first call so a conflict check can run before any consultation.
- Existing clients verified against the details on file before any matter information is discussed.
- Full transcript and audio of every call retained for the file and for complaints.
- Scripts reviewed with your compliance officer for legal practice before launch.
When a person takes over
We agree the handoff rules with your practice manager before launch. Urgent matters, distressed callers, anyone who asks for a person, complaints once recorded, and anything the receptionist is not confident about are transferred to your team with a written summary of the call so far. If nobody can take the transfer, the caller is offered a callback at a time they choose and the request is logged with a deadline.
In practice the receptionist handles most routine enquiries end to end, and the calls that reach your staff arrive with the intake already done. Fee earners spend their time on the conversation that matters, not on asking for a postcode.
How we set it up
Most firms are live within two to three weeks. You keep your phone number, your diary system and your intake forms.
- 1
Discovery call
We map your practice areas, intake questions, diary rules and urgency criteria with the practice manager and a fee earner from each department.
- 2
Scripts and compliance review
We write the conversation flows, agree what the receptionist may and may not say, and review them with your compliance officer.
- 3
Integration
We connect the receptionist to your phone system, diaries and, where scoped, your practice management system, and sign the data processing agreement.
- 4
Test calls
Your team rings the test line and tries every path, including the awkward ones, until they are satisfied.
- 5
Soft launch and tuning
The receptionist starts on overflow or out of hours, then takes the front line. We review transcripts with you weekly for the first month.
Frequently asked questions
How is the service priced for a law firm?
We quote a flat monthly fee per site after the discovery call, so a busy week never costs more. The fee depends on your call volumes, the integrations you need and how many sites you run, and it always includes setup, integration, script writing, staff training and ongoing changes to your scripts. There are no per-call or per-minute charges. Call 07340 891928 or email contact@aiengineltd.com for a quote.
Does the receptionist give legal advice or quote fees?
No. It captures the enquiry and books a consultation. It does not comment on the merits of a matter and it does not quote fees unless your firm provides a fixed price list, for example for conveyancing or wills, for it to read from. It never tells a caller that the firm is acting for them.
How does it help with conflict checks?
At the first call it asks for the names of the other parties involved and records them in the intake summary alongside the matter type. Your team can run the conflict check before the consultation rather than discovering a conflict in the meeting.
Is it compliant with UK GDPR and SRA requirements?
Call audio, transcripts and intake data are stored in UK data centres and processed under a written data processing agreement with AIEngine as processor. The scripts are designed around the SRA Standards and Regulations, including the Transparency Rules on price information, and are reviewed with your compliance officer before launch. Your firm remains the regulated entity and the data controller.
What happens with urgent matters and existing clients?
Urgent matters such as hearings, bail, injunctions and limitation deadlines are transferred to a person immediately under rules you set. Existing clients are verified against the details on file and routed to their fee earner, or a callback is logged with the matter reference if nobody is free.
Can it work with our practice management system?
Integration is scoped during discovery. Where the system supports it, for example Clio, LEAP or Actionstep, new enquiries can be created as contacts or matters directly. Every firm receives email intake summaries and diary bookings regardless of integration.
How quickly can it be live?
Most firms are live within two to three weeks. Discovery and script writing take the first week, integration and compliance review the second, and a soft launch on overflow or out of hours follows before the receptionist takes front-line calls.
Will callers know they are speaking to an AI?
Yes. The receptionist introduces itself as the firm’s AI receptionist at the start of the call and offers a person on request. Callers who prefer to speak to someone are transferred or offered a callback rather than pushed through a script.