AI Receptionist for criminal defence solicitors
Criminal defence calls are urgent. Be the solicitor who answers.
Ava is the AI receptionist for criminal defence solicitors that answers every call 24/7, captures the allegation, police station and bail date, and connects to your duty solicitor instantly.
A Crown Court defence case is worth £15,000–£100,000 in fees and a magistrates matter £2,000–£8,000. Miss a 2am call from a custody suite and the family instructs the firm whose phone was answered.
The short answer
The problem
Someone has been arrested and released under investigation. They need a solicitor. Their family is calling every number they can find. The first criminal defence firm to answer — and sound like they know what they're doing — gets the instruction.
What Ava does
Ava answers criminal defence calls 24/7, captures the nature of the allegation, the police station attended, whether there's a bail date or interview pending, and connects immediately to your duty solicitor — because criminal cases don't wait for business hours.
A Crown Court criminal defence case: £15,000–£100,000+. A magistrates matter: £2,000–£8,000. First-contact in criminal matters often determines client loyalty for life.
How does Ava handle a criminal defence call out of hours?
Ava answers on the first ring at any hour, establishes the allegation, the police station and whether the person is in custody or on bail, then connects the caller straight to your duty solicitor. She captures the custody reference and bail date so the solicitor is briefed before they speak.
Criminal calls come from distressed callers, often a family member of someone in detention. Ava stays calm, gathers the essentials, the police station, the allegation, whether there is an interview pending, and moves quickly to connect a real solicitor.
For a live custody matter she transfers the caller to your on-call solicitor within minutes, so a person held under PACE reaches representation fast. For a less urgent call she books the pre-interview conference and briefs the team.
Every call is logged into Proclaim or your case management system with the allegation, station and bail date, so whether the duty solicitor answers live or reviews it later, nothing is lost between a 2am call and the morning.
Why does a missed criminal call cost so much, and what does it cost?
Criminal instructions are decided in the moment of crisis. A family ringing round at midnight instructs whoever answers and sounds competent. With Crown Court cases worth £15,000–£100,000, a single missed custody-suite call is a major loss of fee income.
The first firm to answer a criminal call usually keeps the client, and often for life. Someone whose relative has been arrested is frightened and acting fast. A voicemail tells them you were not there when it mattered, and they move on.
These calls are overwhelmingly out of hours. Arrests, custody-suite calls and bail breaches do not respect office time, so a firm relying on a daytime switchboard misses precisely the high-value urgent work.
Ava closes that gap. She answers the after-hours line every night and connects to your duty rota, so a person in detention is never left without a route to representation because a phone rang out.
Can Ava connect to the duty solicitor and capture the right detail?
Yes. Ava captures the police station, custody reference, allegation type, and any bail or interview date, then transfers urgent matters straight to your on-call solicitor. She logs everything into your case management system. She captures and connects. She never advises on the allegation.
The detail Ava gathers is exactly what a duty solicitor needs to act, which station, what the allegation is, whether an interview is imminent, and the custody reference. That brief lets the solicitor respond decisively the moment they pick up.
She follows your agreed protocol on transfers. A custody-suite call is connected immediately. A bail query or a request for a future conference is captured, booked and routed without waking the on-call solicitor unnecessarily.
She stays firmly inside the intake boundary. She reassures the caller that privilege applies, but she does not discuss plea, evidence or strategy. Those are matters for the solicitor, briefed by what Ava captured.
How does Ava handle confidentiality and privilege on criminal calls?
Ava discloses she is an AI receptionist, processes every call under UK GDPR with a signed Data Processing Agreement, and treats allegation detail with care. She reassures callers that privilege applies, captures only what is needed, and routes sensitive matters to a named solicitor.
Allegation and custody detail is processed under a documented lawful basis and stored on UK or EU infrastructure, with your firm as the data controller and us as processor under the DPA.
On serious or sensitive allegations, Ava gathers the category without pressing for detail the caller is not ready to share, reassures them that what they tell the firm is privileged, and routes the matter to your specialist team.
Because she identifies herself as AI and notes that calls may be recorded for quality and training, your firm meets the 2026 transparency expectations while still giving a frightened caller an immediate, competent first response.
£15,000–£100,000
Fee range of a Crown Court criminal defence case
Figures already used in this page; UK criminal law estimate
Out of hours
When most arrest and custody-suite calls actually arrive
UK legal sector observation
24/7
Hours Ava answers and connects to your duty rota
avacallai service definition
The difference
Voicemail takes a message. Ava books the appointment.
What callers ring about
Every criminal defence call, handled.
- Police station representation
- Voluntary PACE interviews
- Bail and breach calls
- Court date and charge enquiries
Hear it in action
This is what your callers hear.
- Hello, Crown Criminal Defence — duty line. How can I help?
- My son's been released from the police station. They've told him he's under investigation for fraud. We need a solicitor.
- I understand — let me get him the right support. Can I ask whether he has a bail date or any conditions set, and which police station he was at?
- Brixton, and he has to answer bail in three weeks.
- Three weeks gives us good time to prepare. I'm connecting you to our duty solicitor now — please hold just a moment.
Before you choose
What to look for in an AI receptionist for criminal defence.
True 24/7 answering with live transfer
Criminal work is an out-of-hours business. Confirm the service answers at 3am and can transfer a custody-suite call straight to your duty solicitor, not just take a message.
Captures the duty brief
It must record the police station, custody reference, allegation and bail date, so the solicitor can act the moment they pick up rather than starting from a blank.
Sensitive, privilege-aware handling
Allegation calls are delicate. The receptionist should reassure on privilege, gather only what is needed, and route serious matters to a specialist without comment.
Logs into your case system
Insist calls write into Proclaim, LEAP or SOS Connect under a signed DPA, so no out-of-hours instruction is lost between the call and the morning.
Common questions
Everything you’re wondering.
Can Ava handle police station representation requests?
Yes. Ava captures the police station, custody reference, allegation type and urgency, then connects immediately to your duty solicitor for deployment, so no client is left unrepresented because a call went unanswered.
Does Ava handle voluntary interview (PACE) requests?
Yes. Ava captures the allegation, the interview date and whether the client has had a written request, then books the pre-interview conference and briefs your team ahead of it.
Can Ava handle out-of-hours calls for clients on police bail?
Yes. Ava is 24/7. A client ringing at 11pm about a bail condition or an upcoming interview gets an immediate response and a connection to your on-call solicitor, not a voicemail.
What about calls about serious allegations such as fraud, sexual offences or drugs?
Ava captures the allegation category with care, reassures the caller that legal professional privilege applies, and routes to your specialist team. She handles intake sensitively and never comments on the allegation itself.
Does Ava log calls into our criminal case management system?
Yes. Ava writes a call note into Proclaim, LEAP, SOS Connect or Clio with the police station, allegation and bail date, so the solicitor has the detail to hand whether they pick up live or review it after.
Can Ava connect a live call straight to the duty solicitor?
Yes. For a custody-suite or urgent matter, Ava captures the essentials and transfers the caller to your on-call solicitor, so a person in detention is connected to representation in minutes.
Will Ava replace our reception or support the duty rota?
Either. Most firms run Ava as the after-hours and overflow line, so the duty rota is reached cleanly and daytime reception is freed up. She holds every call the team can't answer in person.
How does Ava stay confidential on criminal calls?
Ava discloses she is an AI receptionist, processes calls under UK GDPR with a signed Data Processing Agreement, and treats allegation detail with care. She captures and connects, and never advises on the case, plea or evidence.
Pricing
Ava pays for herself on call one.
A Crown Court criminal defence case: £15,000–£100,000+. A magistrates matter: £2,000–£8,000. First-contact in criminal matters often determines client loyalty for life. Plans from £397/mo. One recovered job a month covers it — everything else is pure upside.
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