A person with a legal problem usually calls more than one firm, and the one that answers is the one that gets the consultation. That is why intake is the most expensive phone job in a law office. An unanswered call at 5:40 PM, or while everyone is in court, is often a matter that went somewhere else.
Intake also has a consistency problem. It depends on who picks up. One person asks about the opposing party and the deadline, another forgets, and the attorney gets a message that doesn't say enough to decide anything.
Our view is that intake is a script problem before it is a staffing problem. If every call gets the same questions in the same order, and every call gets answered, you've fixed most of it. An AI receptionist is one way to do both.
What legal intake calls look like
Airhug's legal page lists the calls a firm gets: new-matter intake with your screening questions, consultation scheduling, urgent matters routed to an attorney, case-status callbacks for existing clients, and directions, fees, and document requests.
They split into two very different groups:
- Prospective clients, who need to be screened, kept warm, and booked.
- Existing clients, who want a status update from their attorney and shouldn't be treated like new leads.
Mixing them up is a common intake mistake. Your receptionist should recognize the difference from the first question.
What it should never do
Start here, because it defines everything else.
It doesn't give legal advice. Airhug never gives legal advice. It collects information, books consultations, and routes everything else to your team. A caller who asks "do I have a case?" gets a friendly "that's exactly what the attorney will discuss with you, and I can set up a time," not an opinion.
It doesn't create a client relationship. Decisions about whether to take a matter belong to your attorneys. The receptionist screens and schedules.
It doesn't promise outcomes, fees, or timelines you haven't approved.
Your firm's ethics obligations vary by state, and this guide isn't legal advice. Talk to your bar's ethics resources or counsel about how your rules apply to intake. It's worth knowing that the ABA's Model Rules address people who consult a lawyer but never become clients. Rule 1.18 says a lawyer who has learned information from a prospective client generally can't use or reveal it, and it points to taking reasonable measures to avoid exposure to more information than is reasonably necessary to decide whether to take the matter. Your state's version may differ.
That last point has a practical consequence for intake design: collect what you need to check conflicts and decide whether to schedule, and no more.
Designing the intake questions
Write the screening script before you set up anything else. It should fit on one page.
A workable order:
- Who is calling: name, best phone number, and email if they have one.
- What kind of matter: the practice area in the caller's own words. "Car accident," "custody," "I got a notice from immigration."
- The basic facts, briefly: when it happened, and where, if relevant. Enough to route it. Not a full narrative.
- The other party's name, if relevant, so you can run a conflict check.
- Any deadline or court date. This is the item that turns a routine call into an urgent one.
- How they heard about you.
- The best time for a consultation.
Two habits help. Keep the first version short, because callers who feel interrogated hang up. And write each question the way a person would ask it out loud.
Airhug asks your intake questions the same way every time, books the consultation, and sends the summary to the right attorney. That consistency is the value: every attorney gets messages in the same format, so they can decide in seconds.
Urgent matters
Some calls can't wait, and for a firm the list is specific. It might include someone who has just been arrested, an imminent court date or filing deadline, a protective-order situation, or a person who says they're in danger.
Write your list, and name who gets the call and a backup. Airhug routes urgent matters to an attorney, and to the people you choose. Include how you want a caller in real danger handled. Airhug tells callers with a real emergency to dial 911, which should be the first instruction in any safety situation.
Keep the urgent list short. If every call is urgent, the on-call attorney will stop answering. See when your AI receptionist should hand off to a person for how to write the rules and test them.
Booking the consultation
The goal of intake is a scheduled consultation with the right attorney. To make that work:
- Set consultation types by practice area and attorney, with the length of each.
- Offer times on the call. Airhug checks your calendar and offers real open times.
- Use request-only for matters an attorney should approve before a slot is confirmed. The caller hears "we'll confirm shortly."
- Send the paperwork right away. Intake forms, engagement information, or a document list can go out when the consultation is booked. See digital intake forms.
A caller who leaves the call with a booked time, and a form to fill out, is much less likely to keep shopping.
Existing clients
A client calling for a status update doesn't need intake. They need their attorney or a paralegal to know they called and why.
The receptionist can take a complete message, attach it to the client's record, and route it to the right person. It shouldn't share case details. Decide in advance what, if anything, it may say to an existing client about their matter, and the answer for most firms is nothing beyond "I'll get your message to [attorney] and someone will reply by [time]."
Airhug's People & Pipeline keeps a record for each person who reaches out: contact details, conversations, appointments, and documents. That's what lets a status call land in the right place.
After hours and busy times
Legal calls don't follow office hours. People search for a lawyer at night, on weekends, or right after something goes wrong. Court days also take your attorneys away from the phone.
That makes after-hours answering worth a careful look for a firm. The setup is the same: decide what's handled on the spot, what waits for morning, and what can't wait.
Setting it up
- Write your one-page intake script and the list of matters you take.
- List the matters you don't take, so the receptionist can decline politely and, if you like, point callers to a referral resource you approve.
- Write your urgent list and name an attorney and a backup.
- Write the never-do list: no legal advice, no case opinions, no fee promises, no case details to callers.
- Set consultation types and request-only rules.
- Forward your line and test with a new matter, an urgent matter, an existing client, and someone who asks for legal advice.
- Read the summaries for the first week. Adjust the questions if the attorneys still can't decide from them.
The legal intake industry page has the overview.
Frequently asked questions
Does the AI receptionist give legal advice?
No. Airhug never gives legal advice. It collects information, books consultations, and routes everything else to your team.
Can it ask my firm's own screening questions?
Yes. It asks your intake questions the same way every time, books the consultation, and sends the summary to the right attorney.
What happens with an urgent matter after hours?
Airhug routes urgent matters to an attorney and the people you choose, and tells callers with a real emergency to dial 911. You define what counts as urgent and who is on call.
Can it handle calls from existing clients?
It can take a complete message and route it to the right person on your team. Decide in advance what, if anything, it may say about a case. For most firms the safest rule is to share nothing beyond a promise that someone will reply.