Ansela / Who it’s for / Solicitors
For solicitors and small law firms
A new enquiry rang while you were in a meeting. She takes the essentials.
Ansela answers in your firm’s name, takes the essentials and books an initial call. She gives no legal advice and takes no case detail.
£1.99 your first month, including VAT, then from £99 a month + VAT. 60 minutes in month one. No contract.
Set up in about 15 minutes.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
Can an AI receptionist answer the phone for a small law firm?
Yes. Ansela answers in your firm’s name, takes a name, a number, the type of matter and how urgent it is, and books an initial call into her own diary. She gives no legal advice, offers no view on a case, and doesn’t take case detail. You stay responsible for how she’s set up.
01
The enquiry who started telling the whole story
This is a made-up call, but a common pattern: someone wants to explain and wants an opinion. She stops them kindly and books the call.
Example call; Hallam Pryce Solicitors and the caller are made up.
This call may be recorded. Thank you for calling Hallam Pryce Solicitors. Please hold for a moment while I connect you.Recorded, and played before she picks up.
Hallam Pryce Solicitors, Ansela speaking. The office has closed for the day. How can I help?
Hello. Yes. I need a solicitor, my landlord has given me a letter, I’ve been there six years and he says he wants me out by the end of next month, and I paid a deposit that I think was never put in a scheme, and honestly I think I’d win if, well, he
I’m going to stop you there, because I can’t advise on a case and the solicitor will want to hear it properly. Can I take a few details and book you a call?
Sorry. Yes. Do you think I’ve got a case though? Just roughly?
I can’t say, I’m afraid. That’s for the solicitor on the call. Can I take your name?
Priya Nair. N, A, I, R.
Thanks Priya. And the best number to ring you on?
Oh seven seven double oh, nine hundred, four one eight. No wait, that’s my old one. Seven seven double oh, nine hundred, five oh two.
So that’s 07700 900502, and the matter is a rented home, with a letter from the landlord. Is there a date the letter gives?
End of next month.
Thanks. I’ve put you down for a first call with the firm tomorrow at 10:30. Someone will ring you on that number.
02
What she does for a law firm, and what she won’t
She works from your practice areas, office hours, how you describe an initial call, and the words you want used when a caller asks something she shouldn’t answer.
- New-enquiry details, name, number, type of matter and any date that matters.
- Initial calls, booked on the days and times you offer.
- Messages for the fee earner, passed on with a name and number and nothing more.
- Your office questions, hours, address, practice areas and how to send documents.
- Won’t give legal advice or a view on the merits. Not “you’d probably win”, nor anything close.
- Won’t take case detail beyond the essentials. She stops a caller who starts telling the story.
- Won’t confirm or deny that anyone is a client. She doesn’t run conflict checks. Those are yours.
03
What does a small law firm lose when the phone isn’t answered?
A new enquiry usually comes from someone who has just been served, separated, bereaved or hurt, and who rings more than one firm in the same hour. The first firm to pick up and offer a time tends to get the instructions.
Meanwhile the fee earner is in a meeting, at court, or on a call with a client who deserves their full attention. A caller rarely leaves a long message for a firm they have never used.
04
What does she ask a new enquirer, and what does she leave alone?
Only the essentials: name, number, the type of matter (conveyancing, a will, a family issue, a dispute), and whether a date matters. Then she offers the initial call slots you’ve set and books one.
If a caller starts telling the story, she stops them kindly and says the solicitor will want to hear it properly. She doesn’t ask for other parties’ names or the facts of the case. The less detail that sits in a recording, the better for everyone.
05
Will she tell a caller whether they have a case, or whether someone is a client?
No to both. She gives no legal advice and no comment on the merits, however the question is put. She won’t confirm or deny that anyone is, or ever was, a client, because that is itself confidential. She says someone from the firm will come back.
Conflict checks are for the firm, and they happen before any advice. She books a call, not a retainer.
06
What does the SRA expect, and what stays with the firm?
You stay responsible under your SRA obligations for what callers hear. She says only what you have approved, and nothing she has not been given. You decide what she may say, you read the emailed summary, recording and transcript, and you can change her wording at any time.
Ansela isn’t a regulated firm and doesn’t speak for your authorisation. If you want your SRA number read out, tell her. See also estate agents, who often send conveyancing enquiries your way.
Plans start at £99 a month + VAT: see what each plan includes. Paying a per-call service now? See how Ansela compares.
07
Where the phone usually is when the fee earner is busy
We built Ansela because we kept ringing tradespeople who couldn’t pick up, and then booking someone else. She isn’t a call centre. She answers in your name, says what you’ve told her to say, and writes down what the caller wanted.
If she gets a call wrong, forward us the recording.
Ansela[email protected]
08
How do you set up Ansela?
You choose a plan before your number goes live.
For solicitors and small law firms: keep your current number and divert it to Ansela, or take a new UK business number for your website and cards, or use both.
- Give her your website and your intake wording. She reads your practice areas and comes back with her questions. You cut anything that asks for case detail and approve her lines for advice requests.
- Call her yourself. Ramble, ask if you have a case, ask if a named person is a client.
- Divert your mobile. We give you a UK number. One short code diverts your mobile to it when you don’t pick up. Another turns it off.
09
What does Ansela cost? Three plans, no contract
Starter suits a sole practitioner or small team. Team suits several fee earners with their own diaries.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
| Plan | A month + VAT | Minutes | Calls at once |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterSole traders, one or two vans | £99 | 600 | 1 |
| TeamDiaries for up to 10 people | £279 | 1,800 | 3 |
| ScaleSet up with you, not self-serve | £499 | 3,500 | 3 |
Minutes are time she spends on the phone with callers. Extra minutes are 20p each, up to a limit you set.
First month £1.99 including VAT, with 60 minutes, on Starter. Card needed; nothing else to pay in month one. Cancel from your billing page and it stops at the end of the month you’ve paid for. Plan prices exclude VAT.
Not VAT-registered? With VAT that’s £118.80 a month on Starter, £334.80 a month on Team and £598.80 a month on Scale.
Scale is set up with you. Need her plugged into your own systems? Talk to us about Enterprise.
10
Questions solicitors and small law firms ask
Does she give legal advice?
No. She gives no advice and no view on the merits. If a caller asks, she says the solicitor will cover it on the call.
Will she tell a caller whether someone is a client of the firm?
No. She neither confirms nor denies it, and says someone from the firm will come back.
Does she take details of the case?
Only the essentials. If a caller starts giving more, she stops them kindly.
Who is responsible for what she says to clients?
You are. You set her wording, and every call is emailed to you with recording and transcript, so you can supervise her.
Do I have to change my number?
No. We give you a UK number and you divert your own to it with a short code (codes by network). Turn the divert off whenever you like.
What is a minute, and can she take two calls at once?
A minute is time she spends on the phone with callers. Starter includes 600 a month, extra minutes are 20p each up to a limit you set, and Starter takes 1 call at a time. A caller who rings while she’s busy can leave a voicemail, which doesn’t use your minutes.
Is there a contract, and what happens after the £1.99 month?
No minimum term. After the first month it carries on at your plan price plus VAT unless you cancel, which you can do from your billing page at any time.
When the fee earner can’t pick up, let her take the details.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.