The call comes when the office is dark
A DUI defense practice has a timing problem that most law firms do not. Arrests tend to happen late on weekend nights, around holidays and after big events. The person who calls the next day, or from the parking lot after being released, is frightened, embarrassed and unsure what happens next. They may also be a spouse or parent searching on a phone at two in the morning.
These callers rarely wait politely for a callback. There is an arraignment date, a license suspension notice or a hearing deadline in the back of their mind, and they are calling several firms in a row. If your line goes to a full voicemail box, they dial the next number.
An AI chatbot on your website and an AI receptionist on your phone line will not replace your attorneys or your intake coordinator. They cover the gap between "the phone rang" and "someone from the firm called back."
What the chatbot does on your website
Anchor Co AI trains a chatbot on your own website. It answers from what you have already published, so it only says what your firm has already said. For a DUI defense practice, that usually looks like this:
- Where you practice. Which counties and courts you list on your site, so a caller can tell quickly if they have reached the right firm.
- How your office works. What a first consultation involves, how to request one, and what hours the office is open, if your site says so.
- What your practice covers. Whether you handle first offenses, license hearings, or other matters, exactly as described on your pages.
- How to reach an attorney. A clear callback request, available at midnight on a Saturday.
When a visitor asks something your site does not answer, the chatbot says it is unsure and takes a message. It does not guess.
What the AI receptionist does on the phone
The phone side is for the calls you miss. When your intake line is busy, closed or in the middle of a court day, the AI receptionist answers. It tells the caller it is an AI, takes the caller's name, number and reason for calling, and emails you a summary.
It does not send texts, book appointments into a calendar, place outbound calls or look up anything in your case management system. It answers, listens and writes down the message. Your team does the rest.
Use cases a DUI practice will recognize
The Saturday night caller. Someone gets released at dawn and calls your main number at 6am. The AI answers, takes a name and number, and your coordinator sees the email when the office opens.
The spouse on the website. A family member opens the chat at midnight and asks whether you handle DUI cases in a particular county. The chatbot answers from your practice area and court pages and offers to take a callback request.
The overflow during court. Your coordinator is on another line and two attorneys are in front of a judge. Instead of ringing out, the call is answered and the details are captured.
Objections you should expect
"I cannot have a bot talking to prospective clients about legal matters." It does not give legal advice and it does not discuss the facts of anyone's case. It shares general information from your website, tells callers it is an AI, and passes the details to your team. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Callers who need legal advice are told to speak with an attorney at the firm.
"What about confidentiality and ethics rules?" This is a fair concern. State bar rules on advertising, intake and client confidentiality differ, so your firm should check them against how you plan to use a chatbot and phone receptionist before launch. You can tell callers on your site not to share case details in chat and to reserve them for a conversation with an attorney.
"My callers need a human." They do, and they get one. The AI exists to make sure the caller is acknowledged and the message reaches a person, rather than disappearing into voicemail.
"It might say something wrong." It answers from your own website and says so when it is unsure. The practical way to keep it accurate is to keep your site accurate.
What it costs
There is a Free plan at $0 with 1 bot and 20 messages a month, enough to try the chatbot on your site. Starter is $29 a month for 2 bots and 1,000 messages a month. Growth is $49 a month for 5 bots and 5,000 messages a month.
If you want the phone side as well, Front Office combines a website, AI chat and an AI phone receptionist. It is $297 one-time setup, then $249 a month, and includes 300 answered phone minutes a month with no overage fees. It is month to month with no contract. There are no partial-month refunds.
We do not promise leads, cases or rankings. What you are buying is that more of the calls and messages that already reach your firm get acknowledged and recorded.
Setup
- Point the chatbot at your website. It trains on your own pages, so the quality of its answers depends on how clearly your practice areas, courts and consultation process are written there.
- Review what it says. Ask it the questions callers ask and tighten your pages where it comes back unsure.
- Add the chat to your site. If you want phone coverage, forward your overflow or after-hours calls to the AI receptionist and give it the email address where summaries should go.