A missed call to a law firm is usually a missed client — most people calling a personal injury, family, or criminal practice for the first time will call the next firm on the list if no one picks up. Fee earners are in meetings, in court, or heads-down on billable work, which is exactly when the phone rings. Internal reception cannot be everywhere at once, and hiring a dedicated intake coordinator is expensive for the call volume most small and mid-sized firms actually have.
Speed Outsourcing runs a dedicated call answering and intake desk for law firms: trained callers who work your systems on scripts your firm approves, handle the structured conversations, and escalate anything needing legal judgement to your fee earners.
What your legal intake team handles
New-client intake and screening
Callers answer new-enquiry calls live, run your structured intake script — case type, key facts, parties involved, contact details — and your conflict-check questions, then log everything into your case management system for a fee earner to review. Every enquiry is captured and categorised instead of ringing out to voicemail while your team is in court.
Consultation scheduling
A dedicated scheduling desk turns qualified enquiries into booked consultations in fee-earner diaries, confirms and sends reminders, and reschedules when needed — so fee earners spend their time on client work instead of phone tag.
Document and status follow-up
Matters stall on missing signatures and outstanding documents as often as they stall on complexity. Callers chase outstanding items, give clients a clear status update, and log every touch in your case management system, keeping files moving without pulling a paralegal off casework to make a status call.
After-hours and overflow coverage
Personal injury, family, and criminal enquiries do not arrive on a 9-to-5 schedule. Callers can staff evenings and weekends so urgent new-client calls are answered live rather than lost to the next firm's after-hours line, with the same intake script and escalation rules used during business hours.
Compliance and the non-advice boundary
We are direct about where the line sits. Callers work strictly from non-advice scripts your firm approves: they run intake, conflict-check questions, scheduling, and status updates. They never give legal advice, discuss case strategy, or accept a matter on the firm's behalf. Anything a caller cannot resolve from the approved script is escalated to a fee earner or paralegal on your team.
Around that boundary sits the operational discipline firms expect: calls are recorded, QA is scored against your approved wording, escalation rules are documented, and your team can review recordings and QA records at any time. Data handling, access controls, and security practices are detailed on the security page.
Your firm keeps legal judgement in-house. Outsourced callers handle the structured intake and scheduling inside the framework you define — approved scripts, conflict-check questions, escalation rules. We do not give legal advice; we are the operational capacity that keeps new-client calls answered.
Pricing
$850–$2,000 per caller/month
(£650–£1,550) · Month to month · £0 setup · Teams from 2 seats · Live in about 7 days
Where you sit in the band depends on coverage hours, intake complexity, and how much conflict-check and documentation work is involved — after-hours and personal-injury intake seats typically sit higher than general enquiry seats. The rate is a flat monthly fee per dedicated caller, with no per-call charges and no enterprise minimums. Full breakdown on the pricing page; compare a loaded in-house intake-coordinator hire at several times the cost, before recruitment time and management overhead.
Tools we work in
Clio
MyCase
Salesforce
…or your case management system — we log in and work your instance
Callers work directly inside your systems — your case management platform and telephony. Every intake, disposition, note, and escalation is logged in your instance in real time, so your data stays yours and your team sees every call outcome as it happens.
Frequently asked questions
What does legal call answering and intake outsourcing cost?
Dedicated legal intake callers cost $850–$2,000 per caller per month (£650–£1,550), billed month to month with £0 setup, starting from 2 seats, and typically live in about 7 days. Seats covering after-hours or conflict-check-heavy intake sit at the higher end of the band.
Can callers screen new clients and check for conflicts?
Yes. Callers take structured new-matter intake — case type, parties involved, key facts, contact details — on your approved script, run your conflict-check questions, and log everything into your case management system for a fee earner to review. They do not give legal advice or accept a matter on the firm's behalf.
Can agents give legal advice?
No. Callers work strictly from non-advice scripts your firm approves — intake, scheduling, and status updates. Any question requiring legal judgement is escalated to a fee earner or paralegal on your team.
Can you cover after-hours calls for personal injury or urgent matters?
Yes. Teams can staff evening and weekend coverage so urgent enquiries — personal injury, criminal, family emergencies — are answered live rather than going to voicemail, with the same intake script and escalation rules used during business hours.
How fast can a legal intake team go live?
Most legal intake teams are live in about 7 days. Intake scripts, conflict-check questions, and escalation rules are agreed with your team during onboarding, callers are trained on your case management system, and calling starts once you sign off — month to month, no long implementation cycle.
Related pages
Browse every vertical on the industries hub, see published seat rates on the pricing page, review how we handle data, access, and recordings on the security page, or see the adjacent financial services call handling and insurance pages. Legal intake support for two of our core UK metros: London and Manchester. Prefer to pay per qualified intake instead of a monthly seat? See pay-per-lead pricing. If you're comparing virtual reception options, see our Ruby Receptionist alternative guide.