AI receptionist for solo attorneys
You are the attorney, the intake team and the front desk. handlo takes the front desk — answering while you’re in a hearing, handing back a callback list sorted by what deserves an hour.
A solo practice pays for a missed call twice: once in the matter that walks away, and once in the hour spent chasing the ones that were never worth taking.
Calls handlo handles for Solo Attorneys
A hearing that runs past lunch
Your phone is off for three hours. handlo answers everything that comes in, and by the time you leave the courtroom you have a short written list — not six voicemails to replay.
Filtering the calls that are not work
Lead-generation companies, marketing pitches and automated dialers reach the same number a real prospect does. handlo separates them out, so your callback list is only ever matters.
Deciding whether to take it at all
handlo captures the type of matter, the dates involved, and whether the caller has already spoken to another attorney — enough for you to decide in ten seconds whether this is worth a callback.
A client question while you are drafting
Deep in a brief, you do not want to break for a status update. handlo takes the message with the matter reference and holds it until you surface.
What handlo captures on every call
- Caller name, number, and the best window to reach them
- What the matter is, and roughly when it began
- Any deadline or court date the caller mentions
- Whether they have already spoken to another attorney
Costs a fraction of an answering-service retainer
Legal answering services bill a monthly retainer plus a charge per call. handlo is $49/mo to start with included minutes and a cap you set — and it does not cost more in the weeks you happen to be busiest.
Hands you a callback list, not a voicemail box
Every call arrives written down and sorted, so twenty minutes between hearings goes on the two matters worth your time instead of replaying messages to find them.
Protects the hours you actually bill
Screening cold calls and unqualified inquiries is unpaid work. handlo absorbs it, identifies itself as an assistant, and never speaks to the substance of a matter — that stays yours.
The three hours your phone is switched off
A solo practice has one phone and one person to answer it, and both are in the same courtroom. The calls that arrive during a hearing are not evenly split between good and bad: one or two are matters worth an hour of your time, and the rest are dialers, marketers, and people who wanted a different firm entirely.
handlo answers all of them identically and sorts them afterward. When you walk out you get a list rather than a mailbox — who rang, what the matter is, which dates they mentioned, and whether they have already spoken to somebody else. Two minutes of reading replaces twenty of replaying.
The questions solos actually ask
- “Can I justify it before anything signs?” That is the arithmetic that matters, which is why the entry plan is a fixed monthly figure rather than a retainer plus a charge per call. A month where nothing signs costs what a month where three do costs.
- “Will it make the practice sound bigger than it is?” It answers as your practice and says it is an assistant. It does not invent staff, departments or an office you do not have.
- “I have never written an intake script.” Most solos have not. Matter type, dates, the other side, and whether another attorney is already involved covers the large majority of inbound work — adjust once you have seen a fortnight of it.
- “What about the call I cannot afford to miss?” Mark those criteria urgent and they page you instead of queueing. Somebody with a hearing in three days does not sit behind a marketing call.
The things it refuses
- It does not tell a caller whether they have a case — not a hint, not an encouragement.
- It does not quote your hourly rate or a flat fee unless you published one for it to repeat.
- It does not accept a matter. Everything it takes is an inquiry until you decide otherwise.
Setting it up in an afternoon
There is no implementation project here, which is the point — a solo practice cannot staff one.
- Describe your practice areas, your hours, and the four things you want asked. That is the configuration.
- Forward the line permanently, or only when you do not pick up. Your number and your voicemail stay yours.
- Intakes arrive by email or WhatsApp with the fields separated, so a matter can be opened without listening to anything.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need a receptionist?
Will it filter out sales calls and automated dialers?
What does it cost compared with an answering service?
Does handlo give legal advice?
Learn more
Don’t let the next call reach voicemail.
If you don’t capture a missed call in the first 48 hours, just cancel — we’d be surprised.