How does a criminal defense attorney set up an AI receptionist?

Setting up an AI receptionist for a criminal defense practice takes about a day of configuration and typically starts with choosing a provider, connecting your phone number, and scripting how the AI handles incoming calls. The core setup involves forwarding your existing number (or getting a new one) to the AI system, then building a call flow that reflects how your firm actually operates — whether that means collecting basic contact information, screening for case type, asking about jurisdiction, or flagging urgent matters like someone calling from jail.

The most important part of the setup is the intake script. Criminal defense calls are often emotionally charged and time-sensitive, so attorneys need to think carefully about what information matters most in the first contact — name, callback number, nature of the charge, and whether the caller or their loved one is currently in custody. Most AI receptionist platforms let you customize these questions directly, and the better ones allow you to set escalation rules so that certain call types, like active arrests, get routed to an attorney immediately rather than just logged.

From there, you'll connect the system to your practice management software if the platform supports it — tools like Clio or MyCase are commonly supported — so new leads flow straight into your pipeline without manual data entry. You should also set business hours behavior versus after-hours behavior separately, since criminal defense firms frequently need different protocols at 2am than at 10am. Testing the system with a few mock calls before going live catches awkward phrasing or gaps in your script.

For law firms where every missed call is a missed client, Smith.ai offers AI and live agent hybrid coverage purpose-built for legal intake. Details at smith.ai.