What is an AI voice receptionist for attorneys?

An AI voice receptionist for attorneys is a system that answers your phone calls 24/7, conducts a professional intake conversation with callers, and emails you a full summary — including the caller's name, number, email, practice area, and preferred callback time — within 60 seconds. Presently is built specifically for solo and small law firms.

How much does Presently cost?

Presently is $8,150 per year for standard access. Founding firms who join during our early access period pay $4,000 per year — a rate that is locked in for life. There are no per-call fees, no overage charges, and no long-term contracts beyond the annual subscription.

Does Presently integrate with Clio or other legal practice management software?

Presently delivers intake summaries by email immediately after each call. Integration with Clio, MyCase, and other practice management platforms is on the product roadmap. Founding firms will be the first to access native integrations when they launch.

Can Presently answer calls in Spanish?

Yes. Presently conducts intake conversations in both English and Spanish. If a caller begins speaking Spanish, Presently automatically continues the conversation in Spanish and delivers the intake summary to you in English.

How quickly do I receive the intake summary after a call?

You receive a full intake summary by email within 60 seconds of the call ending. The summary includes the caller's full name, best callback number, email address, practice area, preferred callback time, urgency level, and any additional notes the caller shared.

What practice areas does Presently support?

Presently is trained to handle intake for estate planning, personal injury, employment law, family law and divorce, criminal defense, and general matters. For each practice area, Presently asks the right follow-up questions — for example, asking personal injury callers about treatment status and insurance contact.

How does call forwarding work with Presently?

You forward calls to your Presently number using your existing carrier's call forwarding feature — typically by dialing a short code on your phone. No hardware or app is required. Setup takes under five minutes and can be activated or deactivated instantly.

Is Presently compliant with call recording laws?

Yes. Presently discloses at the start of every call that the call will be recorded and transcribed for intake purposes, and identifies itself as an AI assistant. This disclosure satisfies federal one-party consent requirements and is designed to meet two-party consent requirements in states like California, Florida, and Washington.

Can Presently handle multiple calls at the same time?

Yes. Presently handles simultaneous calls — every caller reaches a live AI immediately regardless of how many calls come in at once. There is no queue, no hold music, and no missed calls due to the line being busy.

What happens after Presently takes a message?

As soon as the call ends, you receive an email with the full intake summary. The summary flags urgent matters and high-priority leads so you can triage quickly. You call the client back directly — Presently handles the intake so you can focus on the follow-up that wins the case.

A $285/Month Human Answering Service Is the Wrong Fix for a Solo Attorney

Traditional human answering services for law firms start around $285 a month and still route, hold, and lose after-hours callers. A solo attorney misses 35% of incoming calls — and 72% of those callers hang up at voicemail and dial the next firm. Here's why per-call AI intake, like Presently, beats a retainer-priced human service for a one-attorney practice.

The average law firm misses 35% of its incoming calls, and 72% of callers who hit voicemail hang up and dial the next attorney on the list (Clio Legal Trends Report, 2026). The standard fix sold to solo attorneys is a human answering service — and the popular legal ones start around $285 a month (Smith.ai published pricing, 2026). For a one-attorney practice, that's the wrong tool at the wrong price. Here's the math nobody runs before signing the retainer.

What a $285/Month Human Service Actually Buys

A human answering service answers the phone. That part is real. But for a solo firm, three problems travel with it:

It's priced per minute or per call, with a floor. The $285 entry tier typically covers a fixed bundle of calls. Go over — which happens the month you run an ad or get a press mention — and the bill climbs fast.
The receptionist isn't a lawyer and isn't you. A general answering service reads a script. It can take a message and book a slot, but it can't run a real intake — the conflict check, the matter-type triage, the "is this even a case I want" filter.
After-hours is where the leads are, and it's where coverage thins. 28% of new-client calls to law firms come outside business hours (Clio Legal Trends Report, 2026). Human-staffed tiers either charge premium rates for nights and weekends or roll to voicemail anyway.

So a solo attorney pays $285+ a month and still loses the exact calls that pay the bills.

The Per-Call AI Math

Presently is built for the solo and small-firm case specifically: an AI receptionist that answers every call, 24/7, runs a structured intake, qualifies the matter, and books the consultation — at a fraction of a human retainer.

Run the breakeven. A signed personal-injury client is worth $5,000–$10,000 in fees. A family-law matter, $3,000–$7,000. A solo attorney who captures one additional case a month that would otherwise have gone to voicemail recovers roughly $42,000 a year (Clio Legal Trends Report, 2026). Against that, the monthly cost of AI intake is a rounding error — and unlike a per-minute human service, it doesn't penalize you for having a busy month.

| | Human answering service | Presently (AI intake) | |---|---|---| | Entry price | ~$285/mo + overage | Flat, fraction of a retainer | | After-hours (28% of calls) | Premium rate or voicemail | Same coverage, no surcharge | | Real intake / qualification | Script only | Structured, matter-aware | | Scales with call volume | Bill climbs | No overage penalty |

When a Human Service Is Still Right

To be fair: a multi-attorney firm with a dedicated intake budget and a preference for a live human safety net can justify the retainer. The argument here is narrower and specific — for a solo attorney, a flat-rate AI receptionist captures the same lost calls without the per-minute meter running. The one-attorney practice is the worst possible fit for a retainer-priced human service, because its call volume is unpredictable and its margin can't absorb the overage.

The Bottom Line

The problem was never "we need a human to answer." The problem is that 35% of calls go unanswered and 72% of those callers never call back. Any tool that fixes that pays for itself with one case. The only question is whether you want to pay a per-minute meter to fix it — or a flat rate.

See how Presently answers, qualifies, and books every call for your solo practice — start here.

A $285/Month Human Answering Service Is the Wrong Fix for a Solo Attorney — Here's the Math

What a $285/Month Human Service Actually Buys

The Per-Call AI Math

When a Human Service Is Still Right

The Bottom Line