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.

76% of DUI Arrests Happen Between 9pm and 3am — The Attorney Who Answers Gets the Case

Criminal defense clients don't wait until morning to find an attorney — 76% of DUI arrests happen overnight, and the first attorney who answers at 2am wins the case every time.

76% of DUI arrests in the United States occur between 9pm and 3am (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts, 2025). The client — or their spouse, parent, or bail bondsman — calls an attorney within minutes of the arrest. The attorney who picks up gets the case. Everyone else gets a voicemail they'll never hear back from.

Criminal defense is the only practice area where the client's decision window is measured in hours, not days.

The 2am Call Is the Case

A DUI arrest follows a predictable sequence: traffic stop, field sobriety test, handcuffs, booking. Somewhere between booking and the first call from the jail, someone close to the defendant opens Google and searches "DUI attorney near me."

They call the first number. If no one answers, they call the second. If no one answers that either, they call the third. By the time a solo criminal defense attorney checks his voicemail at 8am, the case has been signed by someone who answered at 2:17am.

According to the ABA's 2025 Legal Technology Survey, 68% of criminal defense clients who called after hours and reached voicemail hired a different attorney — not because the first attorney was less qualified, but because someone else was available.

Criminal Defense Clients Cannot Wait Until Morning

Civil clients can wait. A person researching estate planning on a Tuesday afternoon can call back tomorrow. A person sitting in a holding cell cannot.

The emotional window for criminal defense retention is immediate and narrow. Fear is highest in the first two hours after arrest. The family member making the call is panicked. They need to hear a human voice — or something close enough to one — confirm that their person will be represented.

An attorney who answers that call at 2am with a complete intake process — case type, charges, arresting jurisdiction, defendant's full name and booking number, family contact information — wakes up with a retained client. An attorney with voicemail wakes up to a missed call.

What 2am Intake Actually Looks Like With AI

Presently handles criminal defense intake the same way at 2am as at 2pm. When a caller dials, Presently introduces itself as the attorney's intake line, conducts a structured intake — charges, arresting agency, bail status, relationship to defendant, urgency level — and delivers a complete report to the attorney's phone.

The attorney can review the intake summary, call back when appropriate, and walk into the conversation fully briefed. The client's family knows someone took their information and will follow up. The case is effectively retained before the attorney has opened their eyes.

Presently handles both English and Spanish intake — critical for criminal defense attorneys in markets with large Hispanic populations, where a family member calling from a holding cell parking lot may not speak fluent English.

The Average DUI Case Value Makes the Math Simple

The average DUI defense case fee ranges from $3,500 to $10,000 for a first-time offense, and significantly higher for felony DUI, DUI with injury, or repeat offenses (NACDL Fee Survey, 2025). A solo criminal defense attorney who converts one additional after-hours DUI call per month recovers the annual cost of Presently — $8,150 — in 30 days.

The attorneys losing those cases are not losing them to better lawyers. They are losing them to lawyers who answered the phone.

FAQ

Can Presently handle criminal defense intake at 2am without supervision? Yes. Presently operates 24/7 without supervision. It conducts a structured intake — charges, jurisdiction, bail status, defendant name and booking number, family contact — and delivers the full report to the attorney immediately. No supervision required, no delay.

What happens if the caller is distressed or hard to understand? Presently is built for high-stress intake scenarios. It maintains a calm, clear tone, asks clarifying questions when needed, and does not rush the caller. For criminal defense, it is trained to capture the information that matters at booking: charges, arresting agency, defendant location, and family contact.

Does Presently work for other criminal defense case types beyond DUI? Yes. Presently handles intake for all criminal defense case types: assault, drug charges, domestic violence, white-collar, federal cases. The intake structure adapts to the case type based on what the caller describes.

What if the attorney needs to call back urgently? Presently flags high-urgency intakes — cases involving detention, imminent arraignment, or bail hearings — in the delivery report so the attorney can triage immediately. A solo attorney can review the report, assess urgency, and call back in minutes rather than discovering the case cold at 8am.

Solo criminal defense attorneys who close their office at 6pm are not choosing to miss cases. They are choosing voicemail over intake — and their competitors who answer at 2am are winning those cases by default.

Presently answers at 2am. Every time. → presently.legal/join