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AI receptionist for law firms: cost per call, setup and a sample script

What an AI phone agent built on HighLevel Voice AI costs a law firm, what it should and should not handle, and how a call sounds.

By Zaib Khan Prices checked against official pages Updated

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The short answer

An AI receptionist for law firms built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.32 per answered call, or $96 a month for 300 calls averaging 4 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 90 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 matter type

Ask what the issue involves and in which state, then say whether the firm handles that kind of matter, using the practice list in the knowledge base.

Collect conflict check details

Take the caller's name, the names of other parties and a one-line description of the matter type, and stop there; detailed facts wait until staff clear conflicts.

Give the no-advice notice

Tell every new caller that the assistant cannot give legal advice and that the call does not make them a client, and repeat it whenever they ask what they should do.

Route existing clients

Recognize callers who say they are current clients, take a message for their attorney or paralegal, and flag anything with a court date or deadline as urgent.

What to send to a person

  • Conflict checks and the decision to accept a matter
  • Any question about what the caller should do legally
  • Callers who mention an imminent deadline, arrest or hearing
  • Calls from opposing parties, their lawyers or the media

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 law firm: 300 calls a month answered by the AI, averaging 4 minutes. Phone minutes are billed per call and rounded up, so each call bills 4 phone minutes at $0.01165.

Setup AI cost Phone line Per month Per call
Pay per use, Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini $81.60 $13.98 $96 $0.32
Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini $105.60 $13.98 $120 $0.40
Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) $240.00 $13.98 $254 $0.85
AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat $97.00 $13.98 $111 $0.37
Our estimate from HighLevel's published rates, checked 2026-09-29. Token use is estimated. Highlighted row is the cheapest at this volume.

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 law firm.

Compared with staff time

Those 300 calls take about 20 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 $365, 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

Example AI receptionist call for a law firmIllustration

AI AGENTThank you for calling Hartwell and Price Law. I'm the firm's virtual assistant. I can't give legal advice, and this call doesn't make you a client of the firm, but I can help you reach the right person. What kind of matter are you calling about?

CALLERI think my landlord is keeping my deposit illegally.

AI AGENTI'm sorry you're dealing with that. Our firm does handle landlord and tenant matters. Which state is the rental in?

CALLEROhio.

AI AGENTThank you. Before an attorney can speak with you, we run a quick conflict check. Could I have your full name and the name of the landlord or property company?

CALLERJordan Ellis, and the landlord is Crestview Properties.

AI AGENTThank you, Jordan. Please hold any other details for the attorney. Our intake team will run the check and text you a link to book a consultation. Is this the best number?

CALLERYes, this number is fine.

AI AGENTGreat. If you have a court date or a deadline in the next few days, tell me now and I'll mark it urgent for the team.

Prompt tips

  1. Tip 1Write the no-legal-advice and no-attorney-client-relationship statement word for word in the prompt, and tell the agent to repeat it whenever a caller asks what they should do.
  2. Tip 2Give the AI a short list of intake fields, such as name, other parties, matter type, state and deadlines, and tell it to stop gathering facts after that until conflicts are cleared.
  3. Tip 3List every practice area the firm handles and those it refers out, with referral wording the partners have approved, so the agent never guesses about scope.

Rules to watch

Prospective clients and confidentiality. ABA Model Rule 1.18 treats what a prospective client shares as confidential even if the firm never takes the matter, and significantly harmful information can disqualify the firm from representing someone adverse. The rule's comments advise limiting the first conversation to what is needed to decide whether to take the case, so keep AI intake short.

Supervising the AI. Model Rule 5.3 requires reasonable measures so that nonlawyer assistance is compatible with a lawyer's duties, and ABA Formal Opinion 512 says lawyers using generative AI must consider competence, confidentiality and client communication. Treat the AI receptionist like a new intake hire: review its prompt, transcripts and data handling.

Advertising and solicitation. Model Rule 7.1 bars false or misleading statements about a lawyer's services, and Rule 7.3 limits soliciting employment through live person-to-person contact, including real-time phone calls, for pecuniary gain. States adopt their own versions, so check your state bar's rules before any outbound AI calling.

General information, not legal advice.

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Questions

Can an AI receptionist for a law firm give legal advice?
No, and it should say so. Set the agent to tell every caller it cannot give legal advice and that the call does not create an attorney-client relationship. Its job is intake and scheduling: identifying the matter type, collecting conflict check details and booking a consultation once staff clear it. Any request for guidance goes to an attorney.
How does an AI receptionist handle conflict checks?
It should not run them. The AI collects the names needed for a conflict check, such as the caller and the other parties, and hands them to staff. Only after a person clears the check does the prospect get a consultation link. The order matters because Model Rule 1.18 can disqualify a firm that receives significantly harmful information from a prospective client.
Are AI call transcripts confidential for a law firm?
They contain information relating to a possible or current representation, so treat them that way. Model Rule 1.6 requires reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure. Limit who can see call logs and transcripts in HighLevel, review how the AI providers handle data, and ask the vendor in writing where recordings and transcripts are stored.
What does an AI receptionist cost a law firm?
At an assumed 300 intake calls a month averaging four minutes, pay per use bills about 1,200 minutes of voice engine at $0.045 and a standard voice at $0.015, plus model tokens and phone minutes at $0.01165. AI Employee Unlimited at $97 a month per sub-account covers Voice AI under fair use and may be cheaper at that volume.

Sources

  1. HighLevel pricing
  2. HighLevel help: AI Voice Agents overview
  3. HighLevel help: AI product pricing
  4. ABA Model Rule 1.18: Duties to Prospective Client
  5. ABA Model Rule 1.6: Confidentiality of Information
  6. ABA Model Rule 5.3: Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistance
  7. ABA Model Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services
  8. ABA Model Rule 7.3: Solicitation of Clients
  9. ABA Formal Opinion 512: Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools
  10. HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
  11. AI Voice Agents overview
  12. HighLevel Phone System pricing and billing guide
  13. BLS Occupational Outlook: Receptionists (May 2025 pay)

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