#1 on EVA-BenchEVA-Bench is ServiceNow's independent benchmark for voice agents in enterprise workflows like customer support. It scores each agent on how accurately it completes the task and on the caller's experience.
#1 on Speech Agent ArenaSpeech Agent Arena is Artificial Analysis' independent benchmark for grading speech to speech models on enterprise tasks using human evaluators.
Legal answering service that gets messages to the attorney.
Clients can learn where their attorney is, leave a message tagged by deadline, and reach the attorney on call.
Trusted by leading teams
Ranked #1
on EVA-Bench and Speech Agent Arena
Get every client message to the right attorney in time
Clients learn where their attorney is, and a deadline today reaches the attorney on call.
The agent answers practice areas and hours from your approved list. It gives no legal advice.
The agent reads the attorney's calendar status, asks what is due soon, and tags the message This week or Routine from the answer.
A new caller hears that an attorney decides whether the firm takes the matter. The agent still asks what is due and tags the message.
For a filing or court deadline today, the agent pages the attorney on call and transfers when one picks up. If nobody does, it saves an urgent message.
A legal answering service that asks what's due
What is a legal answering service?
A legal answering service picks up a law firm's phone when no attorney can. This one is a voice agent. It tells callers where their attorney is, asks whether anything is due soon, and saves a message tagged Today, This week or Routine.
- Check attorney status
- Save a message for the attorney
- Page the attorney on call
- Transfer to the attorney on call
What happens to a filing due at 5 p.m. today?
The agent tags the message Today, pages the attorney on call with the deadline, and transfers the caller to whoever picks up. That works at any hour, so it runs as a 24/7 legal answering service. With no pickup in five minutes, it saves an urgent message.
A judge's order says I have to file by 5 today, and my lawyer isn't picking up.
I can't advise on the order, but I can page the attorney on call. What's your name, and who has your case?
Dev Malhotra. Mr. Ostrander has my case.
How does a legal office answering service sort calls?
It asks every caller what's due, and the answer sets the tag. A hearing Thursday lands near the top of the callback list. A question about Friday hours gets answered from your approved list. Where an attorney is comes only from calendar status, such as in court until 2 p.m.
- Filing due today, Mr. Lindgren2:04
- Hearing Thursday, note for Ms. Pell1:58
- New matter, contract dispute2:21
Is this an answering service with legal intake?
Not quite. New callers leave a tagged message and hear that an attorney decides whether the firm can take the matter. The agent won't give legal advice, rate a matter or explain a document. To book new clients onto an intake calendar by phone, see the AI legal assistant page.
Message tagged by deadline
Did the agent save a message tagged with what is due, and page the attorney on call when a deadline was today?
What changes when every message carries a deadline
An answering service for legal intake collects a new client's details. This line sorts messages by what's due, and here's how that plays out for attorneys, staff and clients.
Callbacks come in deadline order
Today, This week or Routine goes on each message from the caller's own answer, so the list is sorted before you walk out of the courthouse.
Clients hear where their attorney is
In court until 2 p.m. beats unavailable. The agent reads the calendar status it's given and says nothing past it, which heads off the second and third call.
A same-day filing finds an attorney
A deadline today pages the attorney on call with the details and transfers the caller to whoever answers. If nobody does within five minutes, an urgent message waits.
Messages land on the matter
Through tools you configure, the agent reads attorney calendars and saves messages to the matter record in Clio, MyCase or Lawmatics, so nobody retypes a phone note.
New callers get a straight answer
Someone who isn't a client yet hears that an attorney decides whether the firm can take it, then leaves a tagged message. Nobody gets told they have a case.
The line gives no legal advice
A caller can read a judge's order aloud and ask what it means. The agent won't explain it, rate the matter or suggest a next step. It takes the deadline and gets it to an attorney.
Handles a client who's reading from a court notice
Legal callers quote dates, case numbers and names they've never said aloud. Cartesia's speech models take that in without making them repeat it.
- $0.03per minute
- #1on Speech Agent Arena and EVA-Bench
- 24/7answers every call, at any hour
Catches dates and deadlines
A hearing on Thursday, a response due in three weeks, a filing by 5 today. The agent lets the caller finish before it tags anything, even when they stop to find the page.
An LLM limited to your list
Pick any LLM you like and limit it to four jobs, which are checking attorney status, saving a message, paging the attorney on call and transferring the call.
Skylar
Corey
JessicaA composed voice for a stressed client
One steady voice from Cartesia's library handles the lease question and the 5 p.m. filing alike, so the firm sounds the same to both callers.
Choosing between a live legal answering service and an AI agent
Firms shopping for the best legal answering service usually start with live operators, and many have voicemail as the fallback. Each handles a law firm's calls differently.
| Cartesia agent | Live legal answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers nights and weekends | Yes, every call | Yes, if your plan covers those hours | No |
| Asks what is due | Every caller, before saving the message | If it's in the script | Only if the caller thinks to say |
| Sorts messages by urgency | Today, This week or Routine | Often urgent or not, by operator judgment | You sort them as you listen |
| Reaches an attorney on a deadline | Pages and transfers for a deadline today | Usually, by working your on-call list | No |
| Knows where the attorney is | Reads calendar status | Usually only what you've told them | No |
| Full new-client intake | Not on this line, it takes a message | Often, and usually a selling point | No |
| Legal answering service cost | $0.03 per minute, LLM usage extra | Usually a monthly plan or per-call fees | Free, and nobody sorts it for you |
See which calls reached the right attorney in time
Every call is recorded and transcribed. See which calls saved a message tagged by deadline, and which deadlines today reached the attorney on call.
Launch an AI law firm answering service in three steps
Start buildingClone the Attorney message line
Start from this agent in your account, then swap in your attorneys, practice areas, hours and who's on call.
Connect your calendar and matters
Link Clio, MyCase or Lawmatics through tools you configure, add your paging tool, and point the firm's number at the agent.
Run a same-day filing drill
Call as a client with a 5 p.m. filing and again as a new caller with a contract dispute. Check the tags and the page, and go live once both pass.
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Law firm answering service FAQs
What is a legal answering service?
A voice agent that answers the firm's phone when no attorney can. It says where each attorney is, asks what is due and saves a message tagged by urgency.
Is it a 24/7 answering service for a law firm?
Yes. Point the firm's number at the agent and it answers 24/7. For a filing or court deadline today, it pages the attorney on call at any hour, and other messages wait for the morning tagged This week or Routine.
Is there an AI answering service for law firms?
Yes, this agent is one. It answers practice areas and hours from your approved list, tags each message Today, This week or Routine from what the caller says is due, and saves it to the matter record. Every call is recorded and transcribed, so you can read what each caller said.
Can a law firm answering service give legal advice or say if the firm will take a case?
No. The agent can't give legal advice, rate a matter or explain a document. For new-client intake, see AI legal assistant.
What does a law firm answering service do when a court deadline is today?
The agent tags the message Today and pages the attorney on call. It transfers the caller to whoever picks up, or saves an urgent message after five minutes.
Does a law firm answering service connect to Clio, MyCase or Lawmatics?
Yes. The agent reads attorney calendars and saves messages to the matter record through tools you configure.
Can the agent transfer a caller to the attorney on call?
Yes. The agent can transfer calls to your team, and you control exactly when it does.
How is a law firm answering service different from an AI receptionist?
A receptionist books consults and routes callers during the day. This agent covers the calls no attorney can take, as the receptionist guide explains.
How does a legal intake answering service work?
A legal intake answering service answers a firm's line and collects a new caller's details from a script. This agent does a lighter version, taking the name, number and what's due, then tagging the message for an attorney, who decides on the matter. For a line that books new clients onto an intake calendar, see AI legal assistant.
What is the best legal answering service?
The best legal answering service for your firm reaches an attorney when a deadline is today and leaves a sorted callback list the rest of the time. Test both. Call the sample firm on this page with a same-day filing, read the transcript, then compare what you'd pay per minute with LLM usage and telephony counted.
How much does a legal answering service cost?
You pay $0.03 per minute of call time for the agent, so a two-minute message from a client is $0.06 of agent time. LLM usage is billed separately. A Cartesia phone number adds $0.014 per minute, or nothing if you bring your own Twilio account or SIP trunk. The free plan includes $1 of agent calls a month, so you can test the agent before you pay. See pricing.
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