Automatically text any caller who doesn't reach you — within 60 seconds of the missed call.
A missed call at a law firm is almost always a prospective client shopping three firms in a single afternoon. By the time your intake coordinator calls back ninety minutes later, they've already booked a consultation with the firm that answered first. For PI, family law, and criminal defense especially, the first firm to respond usually wins the matter — and the signed fee agreement. Missed-call text back closes that gap by replying inside sixty seconds with a disclaimer-safe SMS that acknowledges the call, offers a conflict-check intake link, and surfaces consultation fees and availability. The goal isn't to practice law over text; it's to prevent the prospect from opening a second tab. Paired with your case management system (Clio, MyCase, Filevine), a structured auto-reply captures matter type, jurisdiction, and urgency before a paralegal ever picks up the phone.
A Denver PI firm routes missed calls to a templated SMS that asks about accident date, injury severity, and insurance status, then books a consult in Clio Grow — signed retainers up 31% month over month. A family law practice in Atlanta uses SMS to collect opposing party names for conflict checks before the callback, cutting intake time by 18 minutes per matter. A solo criminal defense attorney in Phoenix sends an after-hours text acknowledging bond-hearing urgency and offers a 7AM callback slot — converting 4 of 5 late-night callers into paid consults.
Your phone system (GHL, Twilio, or a VoIP provider) detects when a call goes to voicemail or is not answered within a set number of rings.
A webhook or native GHL trigger fires immediately, passing the caller's phone number and timestamp to your workflow.
An automated SMS goes out: 'Hi, this is [Business]. Sorry we missed your call — how can we help? Reply here or call us back at [number].'
When the contact replies, the conversation is routed to your team inbox (GHL, Slack, or email) for a human to take over.
If no one is available, an AI can handle the first few messages — collecting the job type, address, and urgency before handing off to your team.
Tuned for Law Firms. Use as-is or adapt to your voice.
Hi, this is [Firm Name]. Sorry we missed your call. A paralegal will reach out within 15 minutes during business hours. If this is urgent (arrest, hearing within 48 hours, restraining order), reply URGENT and we'll prioritize. To speed up your consultation, please share: (1) type of matter (injury, family, criminal, other), (2) opposing party name for conflict check, (3) jurisdiction. This message is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Thanks for reaching out to [Firm Name] after hours. Our intake team starts at 8AM. Based on your message, it sounds like a [matter type] issue. I've booked a tentative consult slot tomorrow at 9:15AM — reply YES to confirm or pick another time: [scheduling link]. Consultation fee is $[amount], credited toward retainer if you engage us.
Before we can schedule your consultation, we need to run a conflict check. Please complete this 2-minute form: [link]. We'll need: your full legal name, date of birth, opposing party's full name, and the county where the matter is pending. Once cleared, you'll get a calendar link for a 30-minute paid consultation with [attorney name].
Hi, this is [Business Name] — sorry we missed your call! How can we help you today? Reply here or call us back at [Phone Number].
Still here if you need us! [Business Name] — [Phone Number]. We'd love to help with your [service type] needs.
In GHL: Workflow > Add Trigger > Inbound Call > Call Status = Missed. Add action: Send SMS using template above. Set delay: 1 minute.
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Don't use this if your business handles sensitive or confidential initial inquiries (e.g., mental health, certain legal matters) where an automated text response could feel inappropriate. Also skip it if your caller ID is often blocked or your phone volume is extremely low.
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