Telegram bot for a law firm: intake that sorts cases before the first call

Law firms in Yerevan receive many first messages that look like this: "Hi, I have a question about residency." The lawyer then spends twenty minutes in chat finding out the person's citizenship, purpose of stay and timeline before even quoting a consultation. A Telegram bot for a law firm in Armenia does that sorting, politely and at any hour, and hands the lawyer a request that is ready to discuss.

What the bot should and should not do

Put a short line in the bot's welcome message: "This bot helps book a consultation. It does not provide legal advice."

Intake by practice area

The value of the bot is in good first questions. Each practice area gets three or four.

Residency permit. Citizenship. Purpose: work, business, family, study, real estate. Are you in Armenia now. Desired timeline.

Company or IE registration. Type of business. Are you a resident or non-resident. Will you have employees. Do you need a bank account opened as well.

Real estate. Buying or selling. Residential or commercial. Is there already a preliminary agreement. City or region.

Family matters. Type: divorce, alimony, custody, inheritance. Is the other party in Armenia. Is there a court case already.

Disputes and debt collection. Who is the other party: individual or company. Approximate amount. Are there written agreements.

These answers go to the lawyer in charge of that area as one structured message.

Relocants and foreign clients

Many new clients of Yerevan firms are relocants, freelancers and foreign founders. They ask about residency, taxes for IE, bank accounts, and buying property. They expect to write in Russian or English, and they often contact several firms at once. Speed of the first reply matters, and a bot replies immediately. Our article on starting a business in Armenia as a foreigner shows how these clients search.

Fees and formats

Be clear about money early. The bot can show:

• consultation price in AMD, and in USD for foreign clients;
• formats: in office, video call, phone;
• duration;
• whether the consultation fee is deducted from the case fee, if that is your policy.

Clients who see the price before booking are more likely to come prepared and less likely to cancel.

Booking and reminders

After intake, the bot offers time windows or passes the request to an assistant who agrees on a time. A reminder the day before includes the address, a map link, the list of documents to bring, and the lawyer's name.

Confidentiality and documents

Legal work involves sensitive information. Practical rules:

1. In the bot, ask only for a short description and contact.
2. Do not ask for passport photos or contracts at intake.
3. After the consultation is booked, agree on how documents are exchanged.
4. Limit who in the firm sees the staff chat with requests.
5. Decide how long intake messages are kept.

Bot, manager or both

A bot handles sorting and booking; a person handles nuance. For many firms the best setup is both: the bot collects facts, an assistant reviews and confirms. The trade-offs are discussed in chatbot or sales manager.

Bot plus website

Clients search Google for "residency permit lawyer Yerevan" and land on a website. A law firm website with practice area pages and a "Start in Telegram" button feeds the bot with prepared clients. You can see a lawyer site in our law firm demo.

Launch checklist

1. List practice areas and the lawyer responsible for each.
2. Write intake questions per area.
3. Set consultation prices and formats.
4. Write the "no legal advice" line and data rules.
5. Create a restricted staff chat.
6. Test each area in all languages.

Cost at Kinto

More on the Telegram bot page.

Send us your practice areas and we will draft the intake questions. Telegram: @kinto_am.