It is 8:30 on a Monday. The 1300 is ringing with new-matter enquiries, two existing clients want their solicitor, a duty call from overnight is still sitting on the handset — and reception cannot tell which call is which until they pick up. A legal phone system is the thing that splits enquiry from existing client, overflows instead of ringing out, and puts after-hours callers through to the rostered solicitor without publishing anyone's personal mobile.
Pear runs it on Hosted-X and Aria, on Australian servers, month-to-month, with a 30-day test drive before you port a number.
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The firms we talk to usually have the same three failures — and none of them are the receptionist's fault.
New-matter enquiries, existing clients chasing their solicitor and accounts queries all wait in the same line, in the order they rang. The call that becomes a new file waits behind the call about an invoice.
When reception is on two calls, the third rings out. A person choosing a lawyer rarely leaves a message — they instruct the firm down the road. At 8:30am that is a measurable new-matter leak.
Out of hours, callers get a message bank nobody checks until morning, or the duty roster is a partner's personal mobile written on a sticky note at reception. Neither is how a firm wants to meet an urgent client.
Every Hosted-X firm build starts from the way your calls actually arrive — enquiries, existing matters, accounts, and the after-hours duty line. The standard legal configuration:
"Press 1 for a new enquiry, 2 if you're an existing client, 3 for accounts." Reception sees which queue each caller is in before they answer, so a potential new matter is greeted like one — not triaged after hello.
When reception can't pick up, Aria takes a structured intake — name, callback number, matter type, the opposing party if the caller offers it. She does not give legal advice and does not quote fees unless the firm has configured a script, and anyone describing an emergency or safety risk is told to call 000.
The duty roster lives in the portal. After-hours callers route to whoever is rostered tonight — no personal mobile published, no sticky note, and every diverted call logged.
Fee earners get direct numbers and find-me-follow-me, so a client can reach their solicitor without going through the switch — while reception still owns the main number and the front door.
Softphone apps put the firm's number on a desk phone, a mobile and a laptop. Useful for court days, mediations, and fee earners working from home — the client sees the firm, not a private number.
Where a firm records calls, Hosted-X plays a spoken notice before the call connects — because consent and privilege matter. Recording is a firm policy Pear supports, not a default we switch on for every line.
On practice-management software: we will only name an integration once it is live. No promises about your PMS on a sales page.
| A legal phone system (Pear) | A generic small-business PBX | |
|---|---|---|
| The front door | Enquiry, existing-client and accounts queues — reception sees which is which | One menu and one queue for everything |
| After hours | The rostered solicitor's line, with Aria taking a structured intake | A voicemail box nobody checks until morning |
| Confidentiality | Voice, voicemail and recordings hosted in Australia | Often an offshore platform, or a reseller who cannot tell you where the recordings sit |
| Recording | A spoken notice plays automatically before the call connects | Ad-hoc, if it exists at all |
| The contract | Month-to-month, 90-day Love Us or Leave Us | Commonly a 24–36 month reseller term |
Holding a generic PBX quote already? How to read it, in six checks →
Client calls, voicemails and recordings are confidential firm records. Pear treats them that way.
And plainly: Pear does not use your call audio to train public AI models. Recordings stay a firm record, held under the firm's own policy. Privilege belongs to your clients and your firm — what Pear supplies is Australian hosting and access control worthy of it.
Aria is Pear's AI receptionist, on Australian servers. In a firm she does one job well: making sure a caller reception couldn't take still becomes a proper intake, not a hang-up.
After hours and on overflow she takes a structured message — name, callback number, matter type — instead of a message bank nobody trusts. Anyone describing an emergency or safety risk is told to call 000. From 55c a call — you only pay when she takes a message.
Everything in Aria Voicemail, plus she answers live when the enquiry queue overflows — so the caller who would have instructed the firm down the road gets a professional intake instead of an engaged tone. From 65c a call.
Some firms want Aria only outside opening hours: reception owns the day, Aria owns the night, and the duty solicitor gets a clean intake summary instead of a 2am voicemail to decipher.
One firm price — from $199 a month with every fee earner included.
Plainly, because it matters in a firm: Aria does not give legal advice, does not create a retainer, and does not quote fees unless the firm has scripted them. A solicitor reviews anything that becomes a file note. She works beside your front desk — never instead of professional judgement.
A firm cannot have a day of dead phones. So the switch is built around that constraint.
Everything is month-to-month — tell us before the 27th of any month — with a 90-day Love Us or Leave Us guarantee. How number porting works → · The test drive in detail →
Firm builds are quoted, because queues, after-hours rosters and recording policies vary firm to firm. The shape of a typical quote:
| Component | What Pear includes | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted-X per user | Queues, IVR, apps, portal, after-hours rules, Australian support | Quoted · month-to-month |
| Handsets | New Yealink or reuse compatible phones | New Yealink handsets start from $285 to buy, or can be rented. |
| Aria Voicemail / Queue Manager | Structured intake, live overflow answering, safety calls directed to 000 | From 55c / 65c a call |
| Aria Call Transcriptions | One-button call recording, transcripts and drafted attendance notes — every fee earner included | From $199 / mo whole firm |
| Business NBN | Voice-ready, static IP, priority SLA, 4G backup available | From $105 / mo |
| Contract | Month-to-month, tell us before the 27th, 90-day guarantee | None |
Queues, after-hours rosters, recording notices and Aria are all part of the same Pear platform as your phones. Switch a feature on when the firm is ready — no third-party software to install, no extra vendor to manage, and one Australian support team for all of it.
For per-user pricing across small offices, see small business phone systems. Pear also builds for medical practices — used by professional-services firms and businesses across Australia (reviews).
Tell us how many fee earners, how many offices and what 8:30am looks like. A person in Australia replies the same business day. Or call 1300 007 327.
