Attorney Office Answering Service

Law offices get calls from new potential clients, current clients checking on a case, and other attorneys or courts trying to reach you. Many of those calls come in while you are busy with a client or out of the office. An answering service keeps your line covered so those callers reach a helpful voice instead of voicemail.

AllDayDesk answers using the business information you save, so it speaks accurately about your practice areas, office location, and hours. When a caller wants to schedule a consultation, it can book the appointment directly. When a question or request falls outside what you have saved — like a fee quote you have not published or a case status you have not shared — it takes a message so you can respond yourself.

• Answers common caller questions using your saved firm information
• Takes detailed messages with the caller's name, contact info, and reason for calling
• Books consultations on your calendar when services and availability are configured
• Shows calls with their transcripts, summaries, and bookings in your dashboard
• Answers around the clock, including evenings, weekends, and holidays

You decide when calls reach AllDayDesk by how you set up forwarding. Some attorneys forward all calls at all times and let the service handle everything. Others forward only after hours, or use conditional forwarding so calls ring your desk first and only roll over when you are busy or do not answer. The right choice depends on how much of your phone you want to handle personally.

Keep in mind that around-the-clock availability describes when the service is ready to answer — it is not a promise that every single call connects, and network conditions can still affect any phone call. Transfers to you require you to configure a destination number and rules, and neither pickup nor an immediate response is guaranteed, so many solo attorneys prefer message taking for anything that can wait.

• Forward all calls, or only busy and unanswered calls, depending on your provider's options
• Existing appointment changes are passed to you as requests, not confirmed changes
• When an answer, price, or appointment slot is unknown, the service takes a message

New consultations are booked on the built-in AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default. Before that works, you configure your services and your availability — for example, which consultation types you offer and which time blocks are open. Once that is set, callers can reserve a real slot instead of just leaving a message.

If your firm already lives in Google Calendar, you can optionally connect it in Settings after you connect and authorize your Google account. That connection is optional, and it is the only external calendar AllDayDesk supports. Appointment changes requested by callers are shown to you as requests for you to approve, rather than being changed automatically.

• Configure services and availability before booking goes live
• Dashboard calendar is the default booking location
• Optional Google Calendar connection is set up in Settings after authorization
• Reschedule and cancellation requests come to you for approval

You do not need a new phone number. Setup begins by choosing your firm or entering its website so AllDayDesk can pull together your business details. You review and correct those details, then hear a personalized sample call so you know exactly how the receptionist sounds. The sample is a demonstration only — it does not create a real booking.

Next, you choose your phone setup. Forwarding instructions depend on your phone service, so check which product you actually have before dialing anything. For example, Verizon mobile uses *72 plus the destination for all-call forwarding and *71 for unanswered calls, while Verizon business landline uses *72 and *73 to turn it off. T-Mobile uses **21*1 with the destination and # for unconditional forwarding. Optimum Business Phone uses *72 with a confirmation tone, and Spectrum Business Voice manages forwarding in its online portal instead of with star codes. If you use Google Voice, note that Google explicitly does not support forwarding a Google Voice number to an automated system, so you would forward from an underlying carrier line instead.

• Enter your firm's name or website and review the pulled details
• Listen to a personalized sample call (no real booking is created)
• Choose phone setup and follow the instructions for your specific provider
• Verify forwarding with a test call from another phone before relying on it

Pricing for AllDayDesk plans is displayed separately on this page, so check the plan box for current rates and included minutes. Human virtual receptionist services for law firms are priced differently: for example, Ruby advertises live receptionist plans starting at $245 per month, and Smith.ai uses per-call pricing for its human receptionist service. Those starting prices are not complete comparisons — you would need each provider's current quote, included allowance, overage rates, and contract terms to compare fairly.

When comparing, look past the headline number. Ask what happens when you exceed the included minutes or calls, whether after-hours coverage costs extra, and what the cancellation terms are.

• AllDayDesk plan pricing is shown separately on this page
• Ruby live receptionist plans start at $245 per month (checked October 9, 2026)
• Smith.ai human receptionists use per-call pricing based on selected needs
• Compare included minutes, overage rates, hours, and contracts on current quotes

There are three main ways to cover an attorney office phone, and each fits a different situation. An in-house receptionist handles phones plus greeting visitors, filing, and other office tasks, but that scope comes at a full salary and benefits. Human virtual receptionist services cover phones only, often around the clock, at a monthly or per-call price. An AI receptionist like AllDayDesk answers around the clock using your saved information, books appointments, and shows you call transcripts in your dashboard.

A reasonable way to decide: if your office needs front-desk tasks beyond the phone, hire in-house. If callers consistently need judgment calls or complex intake conversations, a human service may fit better. If your main need is reliable coverage, accurate answers from saved information, message taking, and consultation booking, an AI receptionist covers that at a lower price point. This comparison describes documented features, not hands-on testing of every provider.

• In-house receptionist: phones plus office tasks, full salary and benefits
• Human virtual receptionist: phones only, monthly or per-call pricing
• AI receptionist: around-the-clock coverage, saved-info answers, booking, transcripts
• Match the choice to whether callers need judgment or straightforward help