Phone service for a law firm: screening without losing clients

In small and medium-sized law firms, the phone is usually answered by whoever is available: the secretary, an intern or the lawyer himself between one hearing and another. The result is familiar: a new client's call that rings during a hearing, a message written on a piece of paper that disappears, a person who calls three times and gives up.

For the firm, every first contact is a potential client. For the person calling, it is often a difficult moment: a dismissal, a separation, an accident. Handling that first contact well is a matter of business and of respect. This article shows how to organize this, including with an AI attendant on the phone.

The types of calls a law firm receives

Almost every firm receives three groups of calls:

• New contacts: people who want to know whether the firm handles their case and how much a consultation costs.
• Current clients: they want to know the status of the case, send a document, speak with the responsible lawyer.
• Others: correspondents, notary offices, suppliers, service offers.

Each group requires a different path, and the common mistake is to treat them all the same way.

Screening: what to ask on the first contact

Screening is not a consultation. The goal is to understand, in a few questions, whether the case falls within the firm's areas and to route it. A good screening script asks:

1. Name and best phone number for a call back.
2. The area of the matter, in simple words (labor, family, consumer, social security, corporate, real estate).
3. A short summary of what happened, without unnecessary sensitive details.
4. Whether there is any deadline or scheduled hearing (this defines the urgency).
5. How the person found out about the firm.

And it makes the next step clear: "I will schedule a conversation with the lawyer" or "I will pass your contact to the team for that area".

What the attendant must never do

Whether a person or an AI, whoever does the screening must not:

• Give legal advice. No "you are entitled" or "this case is a winner". That is the lawyer's role, after analyzing the case.
• Promise a result. Besides being unethical, it creates an expectation that the firm does not control.
• Asking for sensitive documents over the phone. Documents are sent through a secure channel, later.
• Discussing third parties' cases. Case progress only to the client, and preferably through the responsible lawyer.

Also check the OAB rules on advertising and client solicitation, and align the script with them.

Where the AI attendant helps

An AI attendant on the phone can take over the repetitive part and make sure no call goes unanswered. In practice, for a law firm:

• Provide information: address, opening hours, practice areas, how the first consultation works.
• Book an appointment: the AI checks the firm's calendar and books the first conversation at the free time the person chooses.
• Take a note and send it on WhatsApp: when an existing client wants to speak with the responsible lawyer, the AI notes the case and sends it to them on WhatsApp, with the link to call the client.
• Take a note and send it on WhatsApp: outside opening hours or during hearings, the AI screens the call, notes the summary and sends it to the firm's WhatsApp, with a link to call the person.

What the AI does not do, and should not do, is give legal opinions. The script must state this in so many words: when the person asks "am I entitled to...", the answer is to schedule the conversation with the lawyer.

An illustrative example

Imagine (fictional example) a person who calls a labor law firm on a Saturday afternoon, after being dismissed.

The AI answers, explains that the firm is closed and opens on Monday at 9 a.m. It asks for the name, phone number, subject area and whether there is any deadline. It notes "dismissed on Friday, wants to understand the severance pay, no hearing scheduled" and offers a time in the calendar for Monday. The person chooses 10 a.m. The firm receives the summary on WhatsApp.

On Monday, the lawyer already knows who they will be speaking with and what it is about. The person did not have to look for another firm over the weekend.

Confidentiality and LGPD

Legal assistance involves sensitive information. Some practical precautions:

• Ask for the minimum during screening. A summary of the case, not the full story. Health data, for example, only if essential and later, with the lawyer.
• Control who sees the messages. The WhatsApp that receives the summaries must be the firm's, with restricted access.
• State the purpose. Callers must know that the data is used for the call-back and the appointment.
• Define how long to keep the records of people who did not become clients.

We have a specific guide: LGPD in telephone and WhatsApp service.

How to build the firm's script

1. List the areas the firm handles and the ones it does not (and what to say in that case).
2. Define how the first consultation works: in person or online, duration, whether it is paid.
3. Write the screening questions and what is urgent (deadline, hearing, arrest, injunction).
4. Define which team WhatsApp each type of message goes to (up to three numbers).
5. Write what to do outside opening hours: taking a note and sending it on WhatsApp is the most common.
6. Make test calls with varied cases and adjust.

Combot has a ready-made script for law firms, which follows this design and serves as a starting point. If you need help with the writing, see how to write the service script.

Summary

The first contact decides whether the person becomes a client of the firm. A short, respectful screening without legal advice, with an appointment booked or a message delivered to the team, already solves most of the problem. The AI attendant makes sure this happens also during hearings, at night and at the weekend, and leaves to the lawyers what only they can do. If your firm works a lot with scheduling, also read automatic scheduling by phone. The other sectors on the same system are in virtual attendant by segment.