AI Receptionist Legal Ethics: Boundaries for Intake

AI receptionist legal ethics starts with limited intake, clear disclosure and attorney supervision. We collect names before matter details, leave legal judgment to your attorneys and let you test those boundaries in the browser demo.

Hear a sample intake

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Close-up of a legal pad with blank lines, a pen and a closed laptop on a walnut desk, soft window light

No legal advice, case evaluations or invented fee quotes

Your receptionist takes intake information without advising callers about their legal position. It does not assess case strength, answer deadline questions or quote fees your firm has not supplied.

Advice stays with attorneysLegal questions become requests for attorney review, rather than answers.
No case predictionsYour receptionist does not estimate outcomes or tell callers they have a case.
Your fee policyOnly fees your firm has set may be shared with callers.

When someone asks, "Do I have a case?", your receptionist declines to evaluate the matter. It explains that an attorney will review the information and get back to them, then books a consultation or takes a message under your instructions.

A question about filing deadlines gets the same boundary: no deadline calculation and no statute of limitations answer. You decide which fee information the receptionist may repeat. Test a fictional case question in the legal intake demo and listen to how the conversation moves back to intake.

Callers hear that intake does not create representation

Your receptionist tells callers that the call does not create an attorney-client relationship. Booking a consultation or leaving a message is an intake step, with representation decisions reserved for your firm.

Clear roleThe greeting identifies your receptionist as a virtual assistant answering for your firm.
Representation noticeCallers are told that speaking with the receptionist does not create an attorney-client relationship.
No outcome promisesIntake records a request for review without promising representation or a result.

The receptionist makes its limited role explicit during intake. It does not tell a new caller that your firm has accepted their matter, and an appointment is not presented as an engagement.

This notice is a product boundary, not a conclusion about a caller's legal status. ABA Model Rule 1.18 addresses duties to prospective clients even when representation does not follow. Your firm still reviews incoming information and decides what to do next. Existing clients can leave messages for their attorney without receiving a case evaluation from the AI.

Names first, limited details for your conflict review

Your receptionist asks for the parties' names before inviting matter details. This supports your conflict review while keeping initial questions limited to the information your firm needs to decide its next step.

Parties before detailsIntake starts with names rather than an open request for the full story.
Focused questionsYour firm's instructions determine which basic facts the receptionist should collect next.
Firm reviewYour attorneys make conflict decisions; collecting names does not clear a matter.

The opening questions gather the caller's name and the names of other parties before moving into a limited description of the request. For example, family-law intake should begin with the relevant names rather than an invitation to describe private events at length.

ABA Model Rule 1.18 concerns prospective-client information and conflicts that may arise from it. Our intake sequence supports your firm's review; it does not search your practice-management records or decide that representation is permissible. Set the minimum questions your team needs, then review the resulting summaries before proceeding with a matter.

Recording choices and limited retention for intake data

We keep each firm's data separate and offer recording retention choices, including no recording. Your receptionist identifies itself as a virtual assistant and gives the required recording notice in the greeting.

Separate firm dataWe maintain per-firm data isolation for the information processed during your intake.
Recording controlsChoose a recording retention period or select the no-recording option for your firm.
Limited collectionAsk for necessary intake facts rather than inviting a detailed account of the dispute.

Recorded calls are kept for your chosen period of 30 or 90 days, then deleted. Firms may choose no recording at all. Transcripts and summaries remain while your account is open and are deleted within 30 days after closure or on request.

The AI model provider, OpenAI, does not use our API data to train its models by default. Your firm decides what information intake should collect and supervises its use. Review our data handling details alongside your firm's confidentiality requirements before forwarding calls that may contain sensitive information.

Your firm supervises the receptionist and reviews its work

Your firm sets the intake instructions and reviews the AI's work. We provide call summaries and settings you can change, so the responsible attorney can examine how your instructions work in practice.

Attorney oversightAssign someone at your firm to review intake behavior and correct unclear instructions.
Visible resultsUse summaries, transcripts and available recordings to examine what callers actually heard.
Tested instructionsMake a test call before forwarding goes live and review your escalation settings.

ABA Model Rule 5.3 addresses lawyers' responsibilities for nonlawyer assistance. ABA Formal Opinion 512 discusses ethical obligations when lawyers use generative AI, including competence and confidentiality. These sources inform the oversight questions your firm should consider; they do not approve this product.

Our practical approach is to give you instructions you can change and call records you can review. Test how the receptionist handles uncertain answers and urgent matters, then correct the setup in plain words. Review relevant state bar guidance as part of your firm's supervision, with responsibility assigned to an attorney who understands your intake process.

No cold outreach; requested follow-up needs firm review

We do not offer cold calling or purchased-lead dialing. The follow-up add-on calls only web-form contacts who checked a consent box naming your firm, and your firm reviews whether that use is appropriate.

Requested contactFollow-up starts only with a submitted web form and consent naming your firm.
Limited attemptsOne attempt and one retry follow the stated calling window in the contact's time.
Immediate opt-outsA request to stop is honored at once, without further persuasion from the receptionist.

ABA Model Rule 7.3 addresses solicitation, including restrictions on certain live person-to-person contacts and on coercion or harassment. A checked consent box is not presented here as a determination that a firm's outreach satisfies its professional rules.

Our add-on is limited to requested web-form follow-up, within about a minute, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the contact's time zone. It permits one attempt plus one retry and honors opt-outs immediately. Your firm keeps the consent records and reviews its proposed use before enabling requested lead follow-up.

Questions

Does the AI receptionist give legal advice?

No. It collects your approved intake facts, shares firm-supplied information and arranges the next step. Questions about case strength, legal rights or deadlines go to your attorneys. A caller asking for a case evaluation is told that an attorney will review the information and get back to them.

Does it run a conflict check for our firm?

It starts intake with the parties' names so your team can conduct its conflict review before discussing the matter further. It does not examine your practice-management records or issue a clearance decision. Your firm chooses the initial questions and decides whether it can proceed after reviewing the names and limited facts.

Can we turn call recording off?

Yes. Firms can choose no recording rather than keeping call recordings for 30 or 90 days. That choice concerns recording, not the separate handling of transcripts and summaries. The virtual-assistant disclosure and greeting notices remain mandatory. Review your settings and test the greeting before forwarding your firm's calls.

Does an intake call create an attorney-client relationship?

The receptionist tells callers that the call does not create an attorney-client relationship, and it does not accept a matter on your behalf. Your firm decides representation separately. That intake notice does not remove the need to review prospective-client information carefully; the receptionist gathers names first and limits further questions to your instructions.

Can urgent callers reach an attorney instead of booking a consultation?

Yes. You define urgent situations and the on-call contacts to use. An arrest tonight, court today or a protective-order matter can trigger a warm transfer or page in your chosen order. For a warm transfer, the attorney hears a short summary and presses 1 to accept the call.

How can we assess the receptionist before using it for intake?

Start with the browser demo and use fictional details to test advice refusals, parties-first intake and urgent routing. During setup, supply your firm's instructions and make a test call before forwarding goes live. Your supervising attorney should review the questions, greeting and escalation process before using it with prospective clients.

Test the intake boundaries in the demo

Ask a fictional legal question in the browser demo. Listen to the refusal, the intake questions and the proposed next step, then request a free trial.

Hear a sample intake Request a trial

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Where this comes from: americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publicati americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publicati americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publicati americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2024/07/aba-i americanbar.org/groups/business_law/resources/business-law-t