Virtual Receptionist for Law Firm

Law offices get a mix of calls: new people asking whether you handle their type of case, existing clients checking on appointments, and callers who just want to leave a message. A virtual receptionist covers the phone side of the front desk. It answers in your firm's name, explains what you tell it about your practice areas and office, and collects the details a caller would normally leave with a staff member.

AllDayDesk is an automated receptionist, so it works from the information you provide rather than improvising. When a caller asks something outside what you saved, such as the strength of a case or an exact fee, it takes a message instead of guessing. That boundary matters in legal work, where a wrong answer creates real problems.

• Answers calls in your firm's name using the business details you save
• Takes messages with the caller's name, number, and reason for calling
• Books consultations once you have set up your services and availability in the dashboard calendar
• Shows every call, transcript, summary, and booking in your dashboard
• Keeps your published phone number, so clients and courts dial the same line as before

You keep the number your firm already publishes. The receptionist answers when calls are forwarded to it, and forwarding is controlled by your phone provider, not by AllDayDesk. The steps depend on whether you use a mobile carrier, a cable business line, or a hosted phone system.

Setup in AllDayDesk itself has four steps: choose your business or enter its website, check the details it pulled together, listen to a personalized sample call so you know how it sounds, and choose your phone setup option. The sample is a demonstration only and creates no real booking. After that, you turn on forwarding using your provider's instructions.

• Verizon mobile: dial *72 plus the 10-digit destination to forward all calls; *71 forwards unanswered calls; *73 turns forwarding off. Set it up from the phone itself while in coverage.
• Verizon business landline: dial *72 and follow the prompts; *73 deactivates from the same line.
• T-Mobile: **21*1 followed by the destination and # enables unconditional forwarding; **61*1 covers no-reply; ##21# and ##61# disable each.
• Comcast Business: forwarding is managed through Voice Mobility features in My Account or the Comcast Business App; identify which voice product you subscribe to first.
• Vonage Business Communications: select Call Forwarding and enable forwarding to a phone number; verify with an outside test call.
• Spectrum Business Voice: sign in to SpectrumBusiness.net, open Voice, choose your number, and set unconditional or busy/no-answer forwarding in Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager.

New consultations are booked on the built-in AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default, once you have configured your services and availability. If your firm already runs its schedule in Google Calendar, you can optionally connect and authorize your Google account in Settings; that connection is not automatic and is the only external calendar supported.

Changes to existing appointments work differently: the receptionist passes those requests to you rather than confirming them on its own. That keeps you in control of your court calendar and deadlines. If a transfer to you is configured, it goes to the destination and rules you set, and pickup is not guaranteed. When a caller's question, price, or appointment cannot be answered from your saved information, the receptionist takes a message.

• Configure services and availability first, then the dashboard calendar handles new bookings
• Google Calendar is an optional connection in Settings after you authorize your account
• Reschedule and cancellation requests come to you as requests, not confirmed changes
• Unknown answers become messages you review in the dashboard

There are three main ways to cover a law firm's phones: an in-house receptionist, a live answering service with human agents, or an automated virtual receptionist. Each has a different scope. BLS describes in-house receptionist work as including greeting visitors and office tasks beyond phone answering, so a phone service is not a full replacement for that role.

Human virtual receptionist services exist too. Ruby advertises live virtual receptionist plans starting at $245 per month as of October 2026, and Smith.ai prices its human receptionist service per call, with costs depending on the needs you select. Starting prices are not complete comparisons; you would need each provider's included allowance, overage rates, hours, and contract terms from a current quote. AllDayDesk's own plans and pricing are shown separately on this page rather than written into this text, so you can compare the numbers directly.

This comparison is based on documented features and published prices, not hands-on testing of each service.

• In-house receptionist: broadest scope, includes non-phone office work
• Live answering service: human agents; verify included minutes or calls and overage pricing
• Automated virtual receptionist like AllDayDesk: answers around the clock from your saved business information, with dashboard transcripts and summaries

Set expectations before you turn any service on. An automated receptionist is not a paralegal, does not give legal advice, and should not collect sensitive case details, payment information, or anything privileged. Its job is to answer, inform from your saved details, book, and take messages.

Around-the-clock availability describes when the service is available to answer, not a promise that every call connects or that a transfer to you will be picked up. Review the dashboard regularly so messages and appointment requests reach you quickly, especially anything time-sensitive like a court date question.

• No legal advice, case evaluation, or fee quotes beyond what you save
• No collection of sensitive medical, legal, financial, or payment details
• Transfers depend on your configured destination and rules; pickup is not guaranteed
• You review messages and requests in the dashboard