AI Intake for Criminal Defense Attorneys. 24/7 Arrest Calls.

Answering Service for Criminal Defense Lawyers

Criminal defense is the most time-sensitive practice area in law. Arrests don't happen during business hours—they happen at 2 AM on a Saturday, at 11 PM after a traffic stop, in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner. A family member frantically Googling "DUI lawyer near me" at 1 AM needs to reach someone immediately. They're not leaving a voicemail.

An answering service for criminal defense lawyers ensures every arrest call gets answered and the attorney gets an instant SMS alert with the essential details: charges, custody status, bond amount, court date. You can decide whether to take the call immediately or follow up first thing in the morning—but at least you have that choice instead of losing the case to whoever picked up their phone.

ClaireAI understands the urgency that generic answering services miss. A DUI caller gets different handling than someone asking about an old warrant. Felony arrests trigger immediate alerts; misdemeanor inquiries can wait until morning. Your intake reflects your priorities.

Criminal Defense Lead Generation with AI

Criminal defense marketing generates leads through Google Ads, Avvo, Justia, and referrals—but converting those criminal defense leads requires immediate response. The accused and their families are stressed and scared. They're calling multiple lawyers. Whoever answers first and sounds competent gets the retainer.

AI intake qualifies criminal defense leads by collecting the information you actually need: charge type and severity, arrest date, court date, bond status, prior record, current attorney situation. This isn't generic message-taking—it's structured intake that gives you everything needed to quote a fee and make a decision about representation.

The AI also handles the awkward conversations. When someone calls about a case outside your jurisdiction or practice focus, ClaireAI explains that politely and offers to refer them—instead of wasting your time on cases you'd never take anyway.

Criminal Defense Advertising That Actually Converts

Here's the ROI problem with criminal defense advertising: firms spend thousands on Google Ads but miss 30-40% of the resulting calls. A DUI lead might cost $150-300 in ad spend. If that lead calls at 6 PM and hits voicemail, you've just flushed $200 and the $3,000-$10,000 in potential fees that come with it.

AI answering closes this gap with 100% answer rates around the clock. Every Google Ad click, every Avvo lead, every referral—they all reach a live voice that can actually help them. Your cost-per-acquisition drops because you stop losing leads you already paid for.

We've seen criminal defense firms cut their effective cost-per-lead by 40% simply by eliminating missed calls. Same ad spend, same number of clicks—just more of those clicks turning into actual clients because someone answered the phone.

Why Criminal Defense Needs 24/7 Intake

Criminal defense isn't like other practice areas. The timing is brutal. Arrests happen at 2 AM. Bond hearings are scheduled for 8 AM the next morning. A family member's window to hire counsel before that first appearance might be six hours—and three of those hours happen while every law firm in town is closed.

The urgency creates a paradox. The cases that need you most are exactly the cases that can't reach you. A DUI arrest at midnight. A domestic violence charge on Saturday night. A felony that requires immediate strategic decisions about cooperating (or not) with investigators. If you're not available, someone else is.

Here's the math that changed our thinking: 62% of criminal defense calls come outside business hours. Not a small minority—the majority. And these aren't just casual inquiries. They're active arrests, scheduled court dates, warrant situations. The highest-value, highest-urgency calls are precisely the ones that hit voicemail at traditional firms.

24/7 intake isn't a luxury for criminal defense—it's the difference between being a real option for potential clients and being the firm they tried but couldn't reach.

Handling Jail Calls and Urgent Arrest Situations

Jail calls are different. The person calling might be the defendant—calling from the facility on a recorded line. Or it's a panicked spouse who just got the one phone call. Or a parent who doesn't know what charges their kid is facing. Each scenario requires different handling.

ClaireAI is configured to recognize these situations. When someone identifies as calling from jail, the AI adjusts immediately—shorter questions, essential information only, awareness that the call may be monitored. When it's a family member, the AI collects defendant details, facility location, charges if known, bond status, and upcoming court dates.

Urgent matters trigger immediate attorney notification. A felony arrest with a bond hearing tomorrow morning can't wait in a queue until someone checks email at 9 AM. The SMS hits your phone the moment intake completes—with every detail needed to make a decision about representation.

We've built in triage rules that you control. Define what constitutes an urgent matter for your practice. Violent felonies? Always urgent. Simple possession with no court date? Can wait until morning. Your criteria, your rules—ClaireAI just executes them consistently at 3 AM and 3 PM alike.

Conflict Checking in Criminal Defense Intake

Criminal defense conflicts are uniquely dangerous. You can't represent co-defendants with adverse interests. You can't represent someone if you've previously represented the victim or a prosecution witness. These situations arise constantly—and discovering them too late creates serious ethical and malpractice exposure.

The standard approach—run a conflict check after the initial call—creates problems. The caller has already shared case details. They've told you about evidence, witnesses, their version of events. If a conflict exists, you've already heard things you shouldn't have. The damage is done.

ClaireAI runs conflict checks during the call, before sensitive information is collected. It gathers names of all parties—defendant, alleged victim, co-defendants, key witnesses—and checks them against your existing client database. If a conflict exists, the AI politely explains that a conflict prevents representation and offers referral options. No confidential information has been shared. No ethical lines have been crossed.

For firms with multiple attorneys, the system can also identify cases that create conflicts only for specific lawyers. If Attorney A previously represented the victim but Attorney B has no conflict, the system flags that appropriately instead of rejecting the case entirely.