The short answer
An AI receptionist for employment lawyers built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.40 per answered call, or $88 a month for 220 calls averaging 5 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 66 of those calls (30%) would come outside office hours, which is where an AI answering service earns its keep. Emergencies, complaints and anything needing judgment should go to a person.
What the AI should handle
Identify the side
Ask whether the caller is an employee, a job applicant or someone representing an employer, and explain which side the firm represents.
Capture key dates
Ask when the termination or other event happened and whether any agency charge has been filed, and flag anything that may be near a deadline.
Collect conflict details
Take the caller's name, the employer's name and any managers involved, and stop before the details of what happened.
Book the right consultation
After clearance, book a standard consultation or a short severance review, and text a list of documents to bring from personal files.
What to send to a person
- Any question about whether the caller has a case
- Deadlines that may be only weeks away
- Callers asking how to gather evidence at work
- Media, class action or whistleblower inquiries
HighLevel's voice agents can transfer a live call, create a task, or trigger a workflow that texts the owner. Set the handoff rules before the agent goes live.
Cost per call and per month
Assumptions for a typical employment law firm: 220 calls a month answered by the AI, averaging 5 minutes. Phone minutes are billed per call and rounded up, so each call bills 5 phone minutes at $0.01165.
| Setup | AI cost | Phone line | Per month | Per call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay per use, Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $74.80 | $12.82 | $88 | $0.40 |
| Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $96.80 | $12.82 | $110 | $0.50 |
| Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) | $220.00 | $12.82 | $233 | $1.06 |
| AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat | $97.00 | $12.82 | $110 | $0.50 |
The breakdown of every Voice AI charge is in our Voice AI pricing guide. Agencies can price this as a monthly service with the calculator's Price a client tab, preloaded for a employment law firm.
Compared with staff time
Those 220 calls take about 18 hours of talk time a month. At the US median receptionist wage of $18.27 an hour (May 2025, Bureau of Labor Statistics), that talk time alone is worth about $335, before hold time, breaks, benefits and the calls that come in after hours. An AI receptionist does not replace a good front desk; it catches the overflow and the evenings, and frees staff for the people in front of them.
Sample call
AI AGENTThank you for calling Graham Workers' Rights Law. I'm the firm's virtual assistant. I can't give legal advice, and this call doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Our firm represents employees. Are you calling about your own job?
CALLERYes. I was fired last week, two days after I complained to HR.
AI AGENTI'm sorry that happened. What's the employer's name, and on what date were you let go?
CALLERBrightway Logistics. It was September 22.
AI AGENTThank you. For our conflict check, may I have your full name and the names of any managers involved?
CALLERI'm Kevin Tran. My manager was Laura Webb.
AI AGENTThank you, Kevin. Please save other details for the attorney. Once staff clear the check, we'll send you a consultation link. What personal email and phone should we use, rather than work ones?
CALLERUse my personal Gmail, and this cell is mine.
Prompt tips
- Tip 1State in the prompt which side the firm represents and give the agent a polite referral line for callers on the other side.
- Tip 2Tell the agent to ask for the date of the key event and any agency filing on every call, and to flag timing without working out a deadline itself.
- Tip 3Instruct the agent to collect personal contact details only, and to confirm them back, so no message ever lands in an inbox the employer controls.
Rules to watch
Agency filing deadlines. The EEOC says a discrimination charge generally must be filed within 180 calendar days, extended to 300 days where a state or local agency enforces a similar law, and federal employees usually must contact an EEO counselor within 45 days. The AI should flag timing, never calculate a deadline.
Conflicts and prospective clients. Model Rule 1.7 covers conflicts with current clients, and Rule 1.18 protects information from prospective clients even if the firm declines. An employee complaining about a company the firm represents is a likely conflict, so staff must clear the employer's name before any facts are discussed.
No advice and truthful advertising. Model Rule 7.1 bars misleading statements about a lawyer's services, including implied results. The AI must not say whether a firing was illegal or estimate what a claim is worth, and it should state that the call does not create an attorney-client relationship.
General information, not legal advice.
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Questions
Can an AI receptionist tell a caller whether they were wrongfully fired?
How does the AI handle EEOC deadline questions?
Can the AI screen out employers if the firm only represents employees?
What does an AI receptionist cost an employment law firm?
Sources
- HighLevel pricing
- HighLevel help: AI Voice Agents overview
- HighLevel help: AI product pricing
- EEOC: Time limits for filing a charge
- ABA Model Rule 1.7: Conflict of Interest, Current Clients
- ABA Model Rule 1.18: Duties to Prospective Client
- ABA Model Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- AI Voice Agents overview
- HighLevel Phone System pricing and billing guide
- BLS Occupational Outlook: Receptionists (May 2025 pay)