The AI that answers when you can't
UK law firms miss around 15% of their calls, and 69% of callers who reach voicemail hang up (Moneypenny research, 2019). DutyClerk's receptionist, Emma, answers when nobody can, takes the caller's name, number and what the matter is about, and flags anything urgent, so you can ring back first.
She tells callers she's an AI, and the greeting includes a recording notice.
Harrington & Vale is a fictional firm and this is a demonstration. Your version of Emma would be set up on your practice areas and your greeting. Any appointment times Emma offers are examples: no diary is connected and no text is sent. Calls go through AI and speech services and may be recorded, so please do not give real personal details.
The evidence
Published figures, linked so you can check them. The first two are UK research from an answering-service company, so read them with that in mind. The third is from the United States.
of calls to law firms are missed, according to Moneypenny, which answers calls for UK legal firms. The figure is from Moneypenny's own research.
Moneypenny, via Legal Futures, 7 August 2019of callers who are answered by voicemail hang up without leaving a message, from the same Moneypenny research. The source gives this as a general figure, not one specific to law firms.
Moneypenny, via Legal Futures, 7 August 2019of 1,200 test calls to small and mid-sized law firms in the United States went unanswered in working hours. American firms, shown for scale, not a UK figure.
Law Leaders audit, 13 August 2025 (press release)The arithmetic
Three numbers you already know. Move the sliders.
£199 a month plus £499 set-up, no per-minute surprises. If Emma doesn't recover two matters a year, cancel. It's monthly.
The mechanics
No new numbers, no porting, no software for your staff to learn. You add one forwarding rule for unanswered calls.
After half five, calls at many firms go to voicemail. The clerk's shift never ends.
Ring three times as normal. If reception is busy, closed, or it's 6:40 on a Friday, the call goes to Emma instead of voicemail. Most business phone systems and carriers can do this, and we will show you how.
Your greeting, your practice areas. She says she is an AI, is instructed never to give legal advice, flags anything urgent, and takes the caller's name, number and what the matter is about.
During the pilot each call is written up as a short note from the call transcript: caller, number and matter. We agree with you how it reaches you, starting with email.
Where we are. DutyClerk is new and is looking for its first pilot firms. What you can try today is the demo above. Automatic call notes, diary booking, text confirmations, recordings sent to you, a morning summary and live transfer are not built yet, and Emma does not screen for conflicts. A person at your firm confirms every consultation.
While you slept
Three example calls after half five, written up the way we would hand them to you.
For a regulated profession
Straight answers on what is true today, and what we will provide in writing before you sign.
Every call opens with a plain statement that she is the firm's automated assistant, and she says so again if a caller asks.
The greeting tells callers the call may be recorded, before anything about their matter is said.
Emma's instructions tell her never to give legal advice or opinions on the merits, and not to quote fees beyond what you publish. Anything outside that becomes a message for a person. It is an instruction to an AI, not a technical block, so reviewing calls against it is part of the pilot.
Before any firm goes live we will provide a data-processing agreement, a list of the providers that handle call data, and a retention schedule for recordings and transcripts. These do not exist yet; they will be in place first.
Fair questions
She is instructed not to guess. Anything outside her brief (legal questions, fee negotiations, complaints) is taken as a message for a person at the firm, with the caller's details and a callback requested. Urgent matters are flagged for a same-day callback. Live transfer to a number you choose is not built yet.
That is for your compliance partner to judge, and we would rather they asked. What we can say: she tells callers she's an AI, the greeting includes a recording notice, and she is instructed not to give legal advice. Responsibility for client confidentiality and for supervising work done for the firm stays with the firm. Before you sign we will give your compliance partner a data-processing agreement, a provider list and a retention schedule to assess.
Emma runs on third-party services for voice, speech recognition and language, and this site runs on Cloudflare. Before you sign we will give you the list of providers, where each handles data, and an agreed retention schedule, alongside the data-processing agreement. We make no claim about how those providers use call data until each has confirmed it to us in writing.
Your firm's greeting, in a natural British voice, with your practice areas. Try it now: the demo above answers much as a caller to your firm would be answered, and we build your firm's version before you pay anything.
Keep them. Emma takes what they can't: the second simultaneous call, lunchtime, evenings, weekends, sick days. We would expect a firm to use her as overflow and after-hours cover, which is where missed calls tend to land.
We expect about a week from agreeing the pilot. We set Emma up on your practice areas and greeting and test her with you; you add a forwarding rule for unanswered calls and change nothing else.
Pricing
Many answering services bill by the minute or by the call, which puts a meter on every anxious client. We don't do that.