For solo and small law firms
The next client is calling while you're in court. Someone should answer.
In Clio's 2024 secret-shopper study, only 40% of law firms answered the phone, and 48% never answered or called back. The Answer Box picks up every call, takes a complete intake, books the consultation, and keeps client confidences on a box in your office instead of an AI vendor's servers.
What it does
Front desk, intake desk and morning docket
Answers every call
First ring, nights and weekends, in English or Spanish. Existing clients get messages taken; urgent matters ring the attorney you choose.
Complete intake
Matter type, key dates, and every party's name, so you can run a conflict check before the consultation.
Books consultations
Puts new clients on your calendar and confirms by text. Clients can also book by texting the office number.
Morning brief
Overnight calls, new intakes, and today's calendar, waiting for you before the first appointment.
Time capture
Calls and emails turned into suggested time entries for you to approve.
Letters from templates
Engagement and non-engagement letters drafted from your own templates for review.
Designed around the duties you already have
Confidential by where it runs
ABA Formal Opinion 512 asks lawyers to understand how an AI tool uses client information and to protect it. The simplest protection is keeping the AI off someone else's servers.
Stays on the box in your office
- Intake memos, transcripts and recordings, if you turn recording on
- The AI model that listens, writes and answers
- An audit log of everything the assistant said and did, for your supervision
Passes through outside services
- The phone call itself, carried by the phone company (Twilio) to reach the box
- Text messages to and from clients
- Your email provider, as it already does today
No legal advice
It never assesses a case or predicts an outcome. Substantive questions become a callback.
No implied representation
Every new caller hears that the call doesn't create an attorney-client relationship.
Honest about being AI
It introduces itself as the firm's assistant and offers a person on request.
You remain responsible for supervising the assistant under Rules 5.1 and 5.3 and for following your own state's rules and opinions, including any guidance on AI intake. The audit log is there to make that supervision practical. This page is not legal ethics advice.
Two-year cost
Priced like office equipment
| Option | Basis | Two years |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time receptionist | U.S. median wage, $38,010/yr (BLS, May 2025), before payroll taxes and benefits | $76,020 |
| Answer Box, leased | $999 down + $249/mo for 24 months, plus about $15/mo in phone minutes | $7,335 |
| Answer Box, bought outright | Founding price, plus about $15/mo in phone minutes | $4,785 |
Phone-minute estimate assumes about 300 three-minute calls a month at Twilio's published US rates. After the lease ends, the box is yours.
Straight answers
Questions lawyers ask
Does it tell callers it's AI?
Yes. It introduces itself as the firm's assistant, and anyone who wants a person can ask for a callback.
Will it give legal advice or quote fees?
No legal advice, ever. It quotes only the consultation fee you set, and everything else goes to an attorney.
Are calls recorded?
Only if you turn recording on. Some states require every party's consent, so when recording is on it tells callers at the start.
What happens if our internet goes down?
Calls forward to a number you choose, such as your cell, so no caller hears dead air.
Does it work with my practice management software?
Today it keeps intakes and messages on the box and emails you the summary. Direct sync with practice management tools is planned.
Founding pricing
Reserve a box for $1
Your dollar holds the $4,425 price for 90 days. Buy outright, or lease at $999 down and $249 a month and own it after two years.