3x
more consultations booked
“People calling me are scared. They get a calm voice instead of voicemail. By the time I call back, they're ready to retain.”
David Wiederman
Bankruptcy Attorney (New York)
Criminal Defense Answering Service
Arrests don't wait for business hours. NextPhone answers every call - 2 AM bookings, family members standing in the booking-facility parking lot with a bail hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning - captures the charges and court dates, and transfers urgent calls to you live.
7-day free trialCancel anytime
After hours
When most arrests happen
Arrests don't respect 9-5
$4,500+
DUI Retainer
Federal cases run $25,000+
24/7
Coverage
Jail calls, weekends, holidays
Why Criminal Defense Attorneys Switch
Why criminal defense lawyers are switching to AI answering
Hear it: a sample criminal-defense intake
0:00
0:00A live-transfer call: a parent whose son was just arrested for DUI. The AI offers to put them through to an attorney right away and transfers the call.
Criminal defense is one of the few practice areas where the case is often won or lost in the first phone call. A family member is standing in the parking lot of the booking facility at 1 AM. They have your number from a Google ad. They have two more numbers from competitor ads. Whoever answers gets the retainer, usually that night, almost always before sunrise.
Most criminal defense practices solve this by sleeping with the phone on the nightstand, paying an answering service that just takes messages, or losing the call. The first option burns you out. The second sounds like a solution until you realize the family already hung up and called the next attorney before your service paged you. The third is the real reason your CPL is so high.
AI answering changes the economics. The phone is picked up on the first ring, twenty-four hours a day. The AI asks the same five questions you would (charges, jurisdiction, court date, custody status, who is calling) and decides in real time whether to live-transfer you or book a morning consult. The caller never gets voicemail. You never miss an in-custody call. The cases that need you tonight reach you tonight; the rest get full intake and land in your inbox by the time you wake up.
The math gets uncomfortable when you run it. Criminal defense has some of the most expensive Google clicks in legal, and Invoca's industry data pegs the legal-call miss rate at 74.1%. Every missed call is ad spend you already paid for. A single signed DUI at a $4,500 retainer covers nearly two years of NextPhone. A federal case covers a decade. The break-even is measured in single calls.
For the caller, the experience is what closes the case. A scared parent or a defendant on a jail phone with one minute left on the call needs someone competent to pick up and say "we've got this." Every second on hold or in voicemail is a second they're dialing the next firm. The AI is calm, informed, and never panics. That matters.
This is not about replacing your judgment. The AI does intake. It doesn't advise, doesn't strategize, doesn't set fees. You review the intake notes between hearings, decide which cases fit, and walk into consultations with charges, court dates, and priors already in front of you.
After hours when most arrests happen
Arrests happen nights and weekends. That's when families are searching for an attorney.
First to answer usually signs the case
Families call multiple attorneys back-to-back. The first one to pick up typically signs the case.
Wasted ad spend on voicemail
Criminal defense Google clicks are among the most expensive in legal. Every missed call means you paid for the lead twice.
Calls We Handle
The calls we handle for criminal defense attorneys
Our AI understands your business and handles these calls automatically.
| Call Type | Peak Timing | What AI Captures | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|
DUI arrest at 2 AM (family calling from jail parking lot) | Late nights, weekends | County, BAC if known, arraignment date, prior DUIs, who is paying retainer | Live transfer |
Collect call from booking facility (defendant in custody) | Anytime, often after hours | Booking facility, charges, court date, bail status, family contact | Live transfer |
Bail hearing scheduled tomorrow morning | Evenings | Jurisdiction, charges, current bail, hearing time and judge | Urgent transfer |
Drug possession - cite and release, court in 3 weeks | Business hours, evenings | Charges, substance, quantity alleged, court date, prior record | Consultation booked |
Probation violation / warrant question | Business hours | Original charge, supervising officer, alleged violation, hearing date | Consultation booked |
Federal indictment / target letter received | Business hours | Agency (FBI/DEA/IRS), charges or subject matter, court if filed, AUSA name | Live transfer |
Juvenile case - parent calling about son/daughter | After school, evenings | Charges, age of minor, school district, court date, PD assigned | Consultation booked |
Why criminal defense calls come after hours
Criminal defense demand follows arrests, not court hours. DUI stops cluster after bars close, domestic incidents happen in the evening, and a weekend arrest becomes a Monday arraignment. The call to a defense attorney usually comes the same night, often from a family member outside the booking facility.
Those callers want to hire someone that night, and they dial several firms in a row. When 500 law firms were secret-shopped, only 40% picked up (Clio 2024 Legal Trends Report). The firm that answers at 1 AM is the one having the conversation.
How to set escalation tiers for arrest calls
Decide in advance which calls reach you tonight and which wait for morning. A three-tier setup to start from:
Tier 1: transfer now
Someone in custody or being booked, a client asking for their attorney from jail, a bail or detention hearing within 24 hours, a probation violation with a same-day hearing. Intake is the caller's name and callback number, then the transfer.
Tier 2: full intake, fast callback
A family member calling about a jailed relative with no imminent hearing, a release with questions about next steps, an arraignment more than 48 hours out. Capture the charge, county, facility, court date, the caller's relationship and language, and tell them when to expect the callback.
Tier 3: next business day
Billing questions, records and discovery requests, routine scheduling for existing clients, vendors and sales calls. A message to the front desk.
The guardrail on every tier
Intake never gives legal advice: not on fees, likely outcomes or whether to take a plea. It asks callers not to discuss the facts of the case on the call and saves them for the attorney.
In NextPhone, Tier 1 is a transfer rule to the on-call attorney's phone, Tier 2 is your intake questions plus the callback promise in your call instructions, and Tier 3 is a message to the front desk. See when a human takes over on our legal answering service page.
Integrations
Integrates with the tools criminal defense attorneys run on
After every call, NextPhone can update your CRM, add new contacts, book appointments, and trigger workflows automatically.
Clio
Manage: contact created, consult booked on your Clio calendar. Grow: a lead with the summary and every intake answer
P
PracticePanther (via Zapier)
Sync new client intakes and court dates
M
MyCase
A new lead in your Leads pipeline with the summary, intake answers and recording link
Google Calendar
Block court dates and book consultations into open slots
Zapier
Connect to 6,000+ other apps
84
after-hours intakes captured this year
“When I'm in court I can't answer my phone. NextPhone handles the intake and books the consult. I come back to a calendar, not a voicemail box.”
Sarah Mitchell
Family Law Attorney (Seattle)
47
tax-season client intakes
“Tax season my phone doesn't stop. NextPhone handles intake, qualifies prospects, and books discovery calls. I focused on returns, not phone tag.”
Jasmine Carter
Founder, Carter & Co. CPAs (Atlanta)
Pricing
AI Answering vs Hiring for Your Criminal Defense Practice
One signed DUI covers a year. One federal case covers a decade.
| NextPhone | Traditional Answering Service | In-House Receptionist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | From $199, flat monthly | $300–$2,100 | $3,800–$4,500 |
| Annual cost | $2,388 | $3,600–$25,200 | $45,000–$54,000 |
| After-hours coverage | 24/7/365 | Yes (higher rates) | Not included |
| In-custody call escalation | Live transfer in seconds | Message only | Office hours only |
| Charge & court date capture | Custom intake script | No - messages only | If trained |
| Spanish-speaking callers | 14 languages | Often English only | If hired bilingual |
| Clio / MyCase sync | Native Clio and MyCase | Not included | Manual entry |
| Concurrent calls | Unlimited | Plan-dependent | 1 at a time |
Monthly cost
NextPhoneFrom $199, flat monthly
Traditional Answering Service$300–$2,100
In-House Receptionist$3,800–$4,500
Annual cost
NextPhone$2,388
Traditional Answering Service$3,600–$25,200
In-House Receptionist$45,000–$54,000
After-hours coverage
NextPhone24/7/365
Traditional Answering ServiceYes (higher rates)
In-House ReceptionistNot included
In-custody call escalation
NextPhoneLive transfer in seconds
Traditional Answering ServiceMessage only
In-House ReceptionistOffice hours only
Charge & court date capture
NextPhoneCustom intake script
Traditional Answering ServiceNo - messages only
In-House ReceptionistIf trained
Spanish-speaking callers
NextPhone14 languages
Traditional Answering ServiceOften English only
In-House ReceptionistIf hired bilingual
Clio / MyCase sync
NextPhoneNative Clio and MyCase
Traditional Answering ServiceNot included
In-House ReceptionistManual entry
Concurrent calls
NextPhoneUnlimited
Traditional Answering ServicePlan-dependent
In-House Receptionist1 at a time
AI Receptionist FAQ
Before you forward
your line.
The practical details before putting NextPhone on your business line.
Still have questions? Contact our support team
Yes. When the AI detects that the caller is in custody right now, has a court appearance within 24 hours, has a bail hearing scheduled, or is calling about a federal case, it transfers to your cell line on the spot, whatever the hour. Other callers (general inquiries, sentencing question, expungement) get full intake and a callback slot the next morning. You configure the escalation tiers; the AI follows them.
Yes. Securus, GTL/ViaPath, Inmate Sales, IC Solutions - the AI accepts the prompt and stays on the line. It captures the booking facility, charges as the caller understands them, arraignment date, and bail amount if set. Because jail systems often record both sides and time out, the AI knows to prioritize the essentials first: facility, charges, court date, then who is paying the retainer.
You define the scope. DUI/DWI, drug possession, assault, theft, white-collar, federal only, state-only, specific counties. The AI asks the qualifying questions on every call: charge level (misdemeanor vs felony), jurisdiction, arresting agency, court date, prior record. Cases outside your scope get a polite referral to your network instead of a dead voicemail. You stop spending 20 minutes on shoplifting calls when you only take felonies.
Per your intake script: charges filed (or alleged), arrest date and arresting agency, booking facility, custody status (in-custody / released on bond / cite-and-release), next court date and type (arraignment, prelim, status), bail amount and whether posted, public defender appointed, prior criminal history, and who is calling (defendant or family). All of it lands in your CRM or as a text to your phone within seconds of hangup.
The AI is your intake, not your associate. It does not give legal advice. Calls are encrypted in transit, logged to your account only, and never shared. Anything that should not be in a recorded conversation (defendant admissions, strategy questions) gets immediately routed to you live or to a callback. The AI is trained to say "let's save the details for the attorney directly" the moment a caller starts confessing.
Yes - it asks. Knowing whether a PD has been appointed changes the conversation. If appointed, the AI can capture why they're calling private (case complexity, family willing to retain) and book a consult. If not yet appointed, it captures the arraignment date so you know the window. Either way, you get the answer before you spend an hour on a callback.
The AI handles 14 languages including Spanish, and most arrest calls come from family rather than the defendant. It asks who is calling, their relationship to the defendant, contact info for both, and runs the same intake in the language the caller is comfortable with. Family-paid retainers are a huge portion of criminal defense; the AI is built to capture them without making a stressed-out parent navigate English at midnight.
About 5 minutes. Forward your existing number or get a new one from us. Define your practice scope (charges you take, counties you cover, federal yes/no). Set escalation rules (in-custody = live transfer to cell, arraignment within 24h = live transfer, general inquiry = callback). Connect Clio or MyCase natively, or PracticePanther via Zapier. Test with a sample call. The AI reads your firm website to learn your bio, court admissions, and bar info before going live.
Yes. Repeat callers do not start from scratch. NextPhone remembers their matter, the court date on file, and what the previous call covered, greets them by name, and asks only for what it does not already have. All of it is visible on the contact record and editable at any time.
Turn your phone lines into a
24/7 booking engine.
See a live demo and have NextPhone answering calls in under a week.
About NextPhone for criminal defense attorneys
Criminal defense is decided in the first phone call. A family member calls at 2 AM from outside the booking facility - if you answer, you sign the case before sunrise. If you go to voicemail, the next attorney on Google does. With CPCs running $35-60 and matter values from $2,500 for a misdemeanor DUI to $25,000+ for a federal indictment, a single missed call can wipe out a month of ad spend. NextPhone screens callers, captures charges and jurisdiction, and live-transfers urgent custody calls.