Legal answering service
What a legal answering service costs. And what it costs to miss the call.
Law firms pay $3 to $5 a minute for a human receptionist, or $10 a call. An AI Employee answers every call, asks your intake questions, and books the consultation, for a flat monthly plan. The numbers are below. So is the AI Employee.
Your monthly cost
In-house receptionist
Salary plus benefits. 36 after-hours calls go to voicemail.
$4,110
Per-minute legal service
at $3.45 a minute
$1,656
Per-call legal service
at $10 a call
$1,200
AI Employee
Scale plan, 575 minutes included
$299
After-hours calls are included in every figure. Services that charge extra for nights and weekends are marked in the table below.
Published prices
Eight legal answering services, side by side.
| Service | Billing model | Entry plan | Overage | After-hours extra | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | Per minute | $250 a month, 50 minutes | Not published | No | ruby.com |
| Smith.ai, human receptionists | Per call | $300 a month, 30 calls | $11.50 a call | No | smith.ai |
| Smith.ai, AI receptionist | Per call | Free for 25 calls; Pro $150 a month, 75 calls | $3.00 a call on Free, $2.50 on Pro | No | smith.ai |
| LEX Reception | Not published | Quote only | Quote only | Not published | lexreception.com |
| Answering Legal | Not published | Quote only | Quote only | Not published | answeringlegal.com |
| Abby Connect | Per minute; AI minutes count as half | $165 a month, 50 minutes | At the plan's minute rate ($3.30 on Starter) | No | abby.com |
| Back Office Betties | Per minute, billed to the second, not rounded up | $369 a month, 100 minutes, after a $399 onboarding | Not published | Not offered: answers weekdays 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT | backofficebetties.com |
| AnswerConnect | Not published | Quote only | Quote only | Not published | answerconnect.com |
| PATLive | Per minute | $99 a month, 50 minutes | $2.29 a minute | No | patlive.com |
| DelegateWorker | Flat monthly plan | Operator $99 a month, 190 minutes, phone, Zoom and web | Add minutes in bundles | No | Pricing |
Vendor prices are copied from each vendor’s own pricing page. “Quote only” means the vendor asks for your details before it shows a price. The in-house receptionist figure in the calculator is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics mean annual wage for Receptionists and Information Clerks (SOC 43-4171), May 2025, divided by 12, plus 25% for benefits.
The three ways to answer
Human, service, or AI Employee: what each one costs at 50, 150 and 400 calls a month.
At 4 minutes a call, from the same rates as the calculator.
In-house receptionist
- 50 calls
- $4,110
- 150 calls
- $4,110
- 400 calls
- $4,110
A salary is the same on a quiet month.
Answers at 2 a.m.: No
Asks your intake questions: Yes
Answering service
- 50 calls
- $500
- 150 calls
- $1,500
- 400 calls
- $4,000
At $10 a call, the lower of the two service rates in the calculator.
Answers at 2 a.m.: Yes
Asks your intake questions: Sometimes
AI Employee
- 50 callsScale plan
- $299
- 150 callsSeat plan
- $749
- 400 callsTeam plan
- $1,999
A flat plan with the minutes included.
Answers at 2 a.m.: Yes
Asks your intake questions: Yes
The calls that decide the month come at night.
Personal injury and criminal defense calls arrive after an accident or an arrest, not at 10 a.m.
A per-minute service answers them at the same rate as any other call. A salaried receptionist is asleep. Voicemail sends the caller to the next firm on the list.
The AI Employee answers on the first ring at any hour. It collects the caller’s name, number, matter type and the other party’s name for your conflict check, and books the consultation into your calendar.
Every call is transcribed. You read it in the morning.
Intake summary
- Caller
- Marisol Ortega
- Reached at
- 11:42 pm, Saturday
- Matter
- Car accident, Tuesday, other driver at fault
- Other party
- Daniel Reyes
- Urgency
- High, ER visit
- Booked
- Monday 9:30, consultation with attorney
How an AI Employee answers for a law firm
Forward your number or use ours
Calls, Zoom links and web visitors all reach the same AI Employee.
It answers under your firm's name
In 32 languages, including Spanish, on the first ring, at any hour.
It asks your intake questions
The ones you give it, including the conflict-check questions.
It books the consultation
Into your calendar, and it confirms by text.
It writes the file
The summary and the full transcript land in your inbox and your CRM. HubSpot and Go High Level are connected today.
Relay
Your legal AI, in the room with your client.
Relay puts an AI in a live Zoom consultation as a participant. It speaks when asked and writes the notes after. Bring your own legal AI or use ours.
Legal AI in client meetings
Pricing
Start with the plan built for a real front desk.
Operator
$99a month
- 190 minutes a month
- 2 parallel calls
- Phone, Zoom and web
- HubSpot and Go High Level connected
Scale
$299a month
- Everything in Operator
- 575 minutes a month
- 3 parallel calls
- Priority support
Want to hear your own AI Employee first? There is an $8 test plan.
Questions
Questions law firms ask
How much does a legal answering service cost?
Published plans run from about $250 a month for 50 receptionist minutes to over $1,700 a month for 500. Per-call plans start near $300 a month for 30 calls. An AI Employee on DelegateWorker starts at $99 a month for 190 minutes on the Operator plan.
Do legal answering services charge more after hours?
Some do, and some round every call up to the next minute. The table above marks which. The AI Employee answers at 2 a.m. for the same flat plan.
Can an answering service do a conflict check?
It can ask the questions you give it: the caller’s name, the other party, and the matter. Your team runs the check. The AI Employee asks those questions on every call and writes the answers into the summary.
What is an AI Employee for a law firm?
A trained AI that answers your phone, Zoom and web calls, asks your intake questions, books consultations and writes the file. It runs on your number and speaks under your firm’s name.
Does it work with my CRM?
HubSpot and Go High Level are connected today. The AI Employee creates or updates the record while it talks, and the transcript is attached.
What does it cost?
Plans for a real front desk start at $99 a month. Minutes are included; add more in bundles when you need them.