An intake agent is a receptionist, not a lawyer. Here is what it may say, the lines it must never cross, a facts file you can adapt, and the disclaimer you should read first.
A solo attorney's intake bot told a caller that her situation "sounded like a strong case" and added that she should be "well within the time limit to file." Neither sentence was something the attorney had said. Both could be read as something an attorney said, and the caller repeated both back, word for word, at the consultation. The bot was not badly built. It had simply never been told where the line was, so it was helpful all over it.
That is the entire risk of intake automation in one paragraph: the agent does not know it is practicing law, so someone has to draw the boundary for it, in writing, before launch.
The line the agent cannot cross
An intake agent may describe the firm. It may not practice law. In practice the test is simple: if a sentence could shape the caller's legal decision — whether to pursue, wait, decline, or feel confident — it does not belong in the agent's mouth. Everything the caller needs to decide whether to book a consultation is fair game. Everything that tries to substitute for the consultation is not.
What an intake agent may legitimately do
- Logistics. Hours, location, parking, languages spoken, how consultations run.
- Practice areas, stated as facts about the firm. "We handle family law and estate matters; we do not handle criminal or immigration matters." What the firm does and does not do is firm information, not case assessment.
- Jurisdiction served, again as a fact about the firm. "We serve these two counties." Never: "your case belongs in this court."
- Fee-structure basics, generically. That the initial consultation is free; that some matters are billed hourly and some flat; that terms are set out in a written engagement agreement. The agent describes the shape of the fee structure and never attaches numbers to a caller's specific matter.
- Scheduling. Booking, rescheduling, and confirming the consultation. This is the agent's actual job, and it should do most of the talking.
- Conflict-check data capture. Collect the caller's name, the other parties involved, and the adverse party, so the attorney can run a conflict check before the consultation. The agent collects the ingredients; it never runs, interprets, or comments on the check.
What it must never do
- Nothing resembling legal advice, on any subject, including subjects the agent has read a lot about.
- No comment on the merits. "Strong case," "hard to win," "that happens all the time" — all forbidden, in every phrasing.
- No outcome estimates, not ranges, not "most cases like this settle," not optimism.
- No limitation periods or deadlines. The agent never states, approximates, or implies any filing deadline, ever. This single rule prevents the worst sentence an intake bot can produce.
- Never imply a lawyer-client relationship. No "we've got your case," no "your attorney will handle it." The relationship starts when an agreement is signed, and the agent's language must not suggest otherwise.
- No instructions on documents the caller received. A letter, a summons, a notice — the agent does not advise on it; it books a human in front of it.
Never say this
| Caller says | Never say | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| "Do I have a case?" | "That sounds like a strong case." | "Whether you have a case is exactly what the consultation is for. I can book you a time today." |
| "How long do I have to file?" | "You generally have two years." | "Timing questions are specific to each situation, so the firm doesn't discuss them outside a consultation — the sooner you speak with the attorney, the better." |
| "What's my case worth?" | "Cases like yours usually settle for..." | "Value depends on details an attorney has to review first. That's the consultation — shall I schedule it?" |
| "So you're handling my case now?" | "Yes, we've got it from here." | "Not yet — I'm the firm's intake assistant. You become a client only after you sign an agreement with the attorney." |
| "I got a letter — what should I do?" | "Respond by saying..." or "Don't worry about it yet." | "I can't advise on documents, but I can get you in front of the attorney as early as [window]." |
Notice the pattern in the right-hand column: every safe answer does the same two things — declines the judgment, and offers the meeting. If an agent's fallback always routes to the consultation, it almost cannot go wrong.
The facts file
The boundary lives in the facts file, not in the model's general knowledge. Here is a filled-in example; the details are illustrative and every line must come from the firm itself.
FIRM FACTS FILE — INTAKE AGENT
Rule: if it is not written here, the agent does not say it.
It offers a consultation instead.
Firm: [Example] Law Office (solo practitioner)
Locations: office in [city]; serves [county] and [county]
Hours: Mon-Fri 9-5; consultations by appointment
Languages: English, Spanish
Areas handled: family law, wills and estates, tenant matters
Areas NOT handled: criminal, immigration, personal injury
-> if asked: "We don't handle that, and I can't
recommend another firm, but your state bar has
a referral service."
Consult: 20 minutes, free, no obligation, in person or by phone
Fees: family and tenant matters are hourly or flat, always
quoted in writing in the engagement agreement; no fee
amounts are given before the attorney reviews the matter
Conflicts: collect caller name, other party names, adverse party,
and a one-line description. Say: "The attorney runs a
conflict check before your consultation."
Never: legal advice, merits, outcomes, deadlines, "your case",
"we will take your case", instructions on documents
Escalation: anything outside this file -> offer the consultation,
take a callback number, stop talking.
The disclaimer, stated plainly
AgentFast is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, and nothing in this guide is legal advice. The rules that govern legal advertising, client intake, and the unauthorized practice of law vary by state and by country, and they are enforced against the firm, not against the chatbot. Before you launch anything on this page, get written guidance from your own bar association or ethics counsel about what automated intake may lawfully say in your jurisdiction — and have an attorney review the facts file and a sample of transcripts on a recurring basis once it is live.
Four mistakes that create risk
- Letting the agent be "helpful" outside the facts file. Every improvised sentence is a sentence the firm did not approve. The escalation rule is not a limitation; it is the safety system.
- No attorney review of transcripts. A weekly twenty-minute read by the lawyer is the control that keeps everything else honest. Without it, drift is invisible until a caller repeats the drift back in a consultation.
- Phrasing that implies representation. "We've got your case" and "your attorney will call" are not enthusiasm; they are the relationship starting without a signature.
- Collecting detailed case narratives in chat. Capture the minimum needed to schedule and run the conflict check. The full story belongs in the consultation, where privilege and procedure are actually in place.
[!CAUTION]
Bar rules on advertising, intake, and automated communication differ by jurisdiction, and this guide is not a substitute for them. Get written ethics guidance before launch, and re-check it before you change what the agent says.
What to do today
- [ ] Write the facts file with the firm's real details and a NEVER list, and have the attorney approve it line by line.
- [ ] Add the escalation rule verbatim: anything outside the file means offer the consultation and stop.
- [ ] Put a weekly transcript review with the attorney on the calendar before the first conversation happens.
- [ ] Get written bar or ethics guidance for your jurisdiction, and file it next to the facts file.
The whole system is one sentence: describe the firm, capture the details, book the meeting, and leave every legal judgment to the person with the license.
This guide lives at AgentFast, where you'll also find a free audit tool that checks your own agent's instructions against these failure modes. Posted here with a canonical URL pointing at the original.
