Tuesday, 8:40 a.m. The firm's Google profile shows a one-star review that wasn't there on Monday. The caller writes that the firm advertises one kind of case, only takes another, and the receptionist was rude. The managing partner opens last Thursday's call and listens to all six minutes. The receptionist was polite, explained that the firm doesn't handle that kind of matter and offered the name of another lawyer. Without the recording, it would be one person's memory against another's.
Recording intake calls gives a small firm that kind of record, plus better training and fewer missed details. It also brings rules: who has to agree, what callers hear first, and who can listen later. This post walks through each one. It is practical information, not legal advice: before you switch recording on, read your state's statute and check with your state bar.
Why firms record intake calls
Three reasons come up again and again.
- Training. A new intake specialist learns more from five real calls than from a script. You hear where a caller got confused and where the questions ran long.
- A record of what the caller said. Names, dates, the other party, the deadline they mentioned. When a note and a memory disagree, the recording answers it.
- Details the notes missed. Upset callers talk fast. A second listen, or a transcript, catches the insurer's name or the court date nobody wrote down.
Transcripts save time as well. A partner who once sat through an eight-minute call to learn it was a current client asking for an update can read the first lines and move on.
The federal rule: one party's consent
Federal law sets the floor. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), a person who is a party to a call may record it, and so may anyone with one party's prior consent, unless the recording is made to commit a crime or a tort. Your receptionist is a party to every call they take, so federal law alone would let the firm record. State law can ask for more, and it usually decides the question.
One-party or all-party states
States follow one of two patterns.
- One-party consent. One person on the call agrees, and that person can be your receptionist. Federal law works this way.
- All-party consent. Often called two-party consent: everyone on the call has to agree, or at least know a recording is running. A caller who adds a spouse to the line makes three parties, not two.
The exact wording differs. Some statutes say consent, some say knowledge, and some cover only secret recording. That is why the statute itself, not a summary of it, is the thing to read.
States that need everyone's consent
We read each of these ten statutes on the state legislature's own site on November 11, 2026. Each asks for the consent or knowledge of every party before a call is recorded. Wording and exceptions vary, and several other states have mixed rules, so treat this as a starting list rather than every state.
| State | Statute | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|
| California | Penal Code § 632 and § 632.7 | All parties' consent |
| Connecticut | Gen. Stat. § 52-570d | Phone calls: all parties' consent, a notice recorded at the start, or a tone |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 934.03 | All parties' prior consent |
| Illinois | 720 ILCS 5/14-2 | All parties, for a secret recording |
| Maryland | Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-402 | All parties' prior consent |
| Massachusetts | Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 99 | Prior authority of all parties, for a secret recording |
| Montana | MCA § 45-8-213 | All parties' knowledge, or a warning from one side |
| New Hampshire | RSA 570-A:2 | All parties' consent |
| Pennsylvania | 18 Pa.C.S. § 5704(4) | All parties' prior consent |
| Washington | RCW 9.73.030 | All parties' consent, or a recorded announcement |
Calls from another state
Say your firm sits in a one-party state. A caller in Fresno, Tampa or Pittsburgh can still dial your number, and the caller's state law can apply to a call your firm records. A cell phone's area code doesn't tell you where the caller is standing, either. The simple rule for a small firm is to treat every call as all-party. Announce the recording on every line, every time, and where the caller happens to be stops mattering.
What to say at the start of the call
Keep it to one sentence, said before the caller tells you anything. Two versions to adapt:
At the front desk: “Good morning, Tolliver Law, Jordan speaking. Just so you know, we record our calls so we get your details right. What can I do for you?”
In the phone greeting: “Thanks for calling Tolliver Law. Calls to our office are recorded so nothing you tell us gets lost.” This one goes wherever a phone menu answers first, or your AI receptionist does after hours, so it plays before anyone speaks.
Washington counts an announcement as consent only when the announcement is on the recording too, and Connecticut accepts a spoken notice recorded at the beginning. So start recording before the greeting, and the notice is part of every file. When your firm calls someone back, say the line again: a callback is a new call.
When a caller says no
Some callers will ask you not to record. Say that's fine, stop the recording and take notes by hand. Add a line to their record saying they declined, so whoever calls them back next knows. Don't argue, and don't suggest the firm can't help them without it. A caller who opts out of recording is still a potential client.
Where the recordings live
Recordings belong beside the caller's record, in the system your intake team already works in. Not on a receptionist's cell phone, not in a shared folder called “calls”, and not forwarded around by email. A transcript is as sensitive as the audio and easier to copy, so it gets the same rules and the same home.
Who can hear them
What a potential client tells your firm is confidential under ABA Model Rule 1.18, even if they never hire you. That includes the caller you turned down and the one who never called back. So keep access narrow: the intake team, the attorney taking the consultation, and whoever trains new staff. The bookkeeper and a paralegal working other matters have no reason to hear these calls. Set access by role, write it down, and review the list whenever someone leaves the firm.
A bad review and the recording behind it
Back to the one-star review. The recording tells you what happened, and that is worth knowing: coach the receptionist if they slipped, or let it go if they didn't. It does not belong in the reply. ABA Formal Opinion 496 warns lawyers against revealing client information when they answer online reviews, and Rule 1.18 protects what a caller said in much the same way. A public reply stays short and general and never confirms the person called. The recording settles the question inside the firm, which is the only place it needed settling.
How long recordings are kept
Pick a period, write it down and apply it to every call, so nobody decides one call at a time. Many firms keep a declined caller's recording long enough to cover a later conflict question or a complaint, and treat a signed client's recording like the rest of that client's file. Your state bar's guidance on keeping client files is the place to start. One exception beats any schedule: if a dispute or a bar complaint looks likely, keep everything about that call until it is resolved.
How RetainerBooked records calls
RetainerBooked's phones record and transcribe every connected call on your firm's lines, and each transcript sits on the caller's record beside their texts and forms. In all-party states, each call opens with the announcement, in the words your firm sets. On nights, weekends and full lines, the AI receptionist tells each caller it is your firm's AI assistant, and every AI call is transcribed and summed up on the record as well. Who can open a recording follows the roles your firm sets. What a potential client tells your intake team stays confidential and encrypted, processed only for your firm and never sold.
RetainerBooked
RetainerBooked sets up intake, builds each firm's website and runs its marketing, for US law firms with 1 to 10 lawyers. These posts answer questions that intake teams and managing partners send our way.
