Best AI receptionist for law firms: intake calls, confidentiality and price

Best AI receptionist for law firms: the short answer

A small law firm that wants a person on every intake call should pick Smith.ai or Ruby, which answer with live receptionists. A firm that wants an AI to take intake questions after hours can use My AI Front Desk, which is $99 a month, billed monthly, for 200 voice minutes, as read on October 23, 2026. Upfirst says it books into Clio Manage, from $24.95 a month for 30 calls.

Smith.ai's human Starter plan is $300 a month for 30 calls, and Ruby's first plan is $250 for 50 receptionist minutes. See Smith.ai alternatives and best AI receptionist for small business for wider lists.

Five services for a small firm, by monthly price

Prospective clients and confidentiality

The American Bar Association issued Formal Opinion 512 on lawyers' use of AI tools on July 29, 2024. Its news release says the model rules on competency, informed consent, confidentiality and fees principally apply, and that similar protections extend to former and prospective clients' information. Intake calls come from prospective clients. This page reports the ABA's published position and is not legal advice.

Intake questions, transfers and the lawyer on call

My AI Front Desk's help center says intake forms ask questions at the start of every call and save the answers as tickets in the dashboard. A transfer rule can run on business hours, weekends or a custom schedule. A Hot Transfer, which forwards the call from the receptionist's number, plays a whisper message so the lawyer on call hears context before speaking.

The vendor's law-firm page says it runs conflict-check questions and captures matter type, but its help center documents intake forms, not a conflict-check feature. The help center names Google Calendar, GoHighLevel and Housecall Pro as calendar providers, not a legal practice-management system. A firm that books consultations into Clio Manage should look at Upfirst, whose pricing page names it.

Recording and data terms to read first

My AI Front Desk's Trust Center describes consent gating: recording starts only after the caller confirms, and a caller who declines stays on an unrecorded call. Ask how call data is used: the Trust Center and the terms word it differently, and is My AI Front Desk legit sets out both.

The FCC's recording guide (last reviewed December 30, 2019, archived copy) says the FCC has no rules on recording of telephone conversations by individuals, but some state laws prohibit it. The federal wiretap statute, 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d), refers to prior consent by one party to the communication. State rules differ, so these are sources, not legal advice.

The pricing page offers a 7-day free trial of Business-in-a-Box, so a firm can write its intake questions and test them on its own phone before forwarding client calls. A test call uses voice credits. Usage fees still apply during the trial. If you continue, section 12 of the terms starts the subscription automatically and charges your provided payment method.