Family law firm marketing: what clients look for first

Family law firm marketing works when it matches how family clients choose: they shop around more than most legal consumers, they want reassurance and a clear idea of cost, and they often make contact in the evening, under stress. Clear fee information, genuine reviews, a warm and fast first response and safe, discreet contact matter more than the advertising budget.

Family is also where the gap between marketing and conversion is widest. A campaign can put a firm in front of somebody at 9pm on a Sunday; whether that person becomes a client depends on what happens when they ring. This post is part of our guide to how law firms get clients.

How do people choose a family solicitor?

The Legal Services Consumer Panel's 2025 tracker gives the clearest UK picture. Across all legal services, 44 per cent of consumers shopped around before choosing a provider. For family matters it was 54 per cent, one of the highest of any area. The tracker also notes that family matters were among those where people took longer to choose, and that speed was a priority for people comparing providers in family matters.

Across all areas, having used the provider before (19 per cent) and a recommendation from family or friends (18 per cent) were the most common ways people chose. But 57 per cent of people who had a recommendation still looked for more information before making contact.

Put together, that describes a family client who has probably been given a name, is looking at two or three firms, is comparing them on cost and reputation, and wants to move quickly.

What do family law clients look for first?

In practice, the questions a prospective family client is trying to answer before they make contact are simple:

• Can I afford this? Some idea of cost, even a range, and whether fixed fees are available.
• Will they understand? Whether the firm handles situations like theirs, told in plain language.
• Are they kind? Reviews that mention being listened to and kept informed.
• Can I reach someone? A phone number, and a sense that someone will pick up.
• Is it safe to contact them? For some clients, whether the firm will be discreet about calls, messages and letters.

Family law is not on the list of services for which the SRA Transparency Rules require published price information (those rules cover areas such as conveyancing, probate and some immigration and employment work). But price is what shoppers compare most (56 per cent in the tracker), so many family firms choose to publish fee guidance anyway, such as fixed fees for defined stages. That is a commercial decision for the firm.

Why does the first contact matter so much in family law?

Because a family enquiry is rarely made calmly. It may follow an argument, a letter from the other side, or a decision reached late at night. The enquirer may ring three firms in a row, and the one that answers kindly and clearly is often the one instructed.

Three operational points that marketing plans usually miss:

• Timing. A family enquirer may only be free to call after the children are in bed or when the other party is out. A firm that only answers 9 to 5 misses those calls. More in who answers your firm's phone after five.
• Safe contact. Where domestic abuse may be a factor, calling back or leaving a voicemail at the wrong moment can put somebody at risk. Asking "is it safe to call you back on this number, and when?" should be part of every family first contact.
• Urgency. Some enquiries involve children, safety or a court date within days. The first contact needs to identify these and route them to a solicitor quickly.

The questions to ask on that first contact are covered in family law intake questions.

What family law marketing channels work?

For most family practices, in rough order:

• Local search. A complete Google Business Profile with the right categories and recent reviews. Many family clients search locally.
• Service pages that answer real questions. Divorce, finances on separation, arrangements for children, cohabitation. What it costs, how long it takes, what happens first.
• Reviews. Family clients read them closely. Earn them from every client, never with incentives, and reply without disclosing anything: see Google reviews for solicitors.
• Referrers. Counsellors, mediators, financial advisers, accountants and other professionals who meet separating couples.
• Former clients. Families come back: for variations, for wills after separation, for property.
• Content. Honest guides to the questions people type at night: how long a divorce takes, what happens to the house, how child arrangements are decided.

Paid search can work in family, but it is expensive and only pays if calls are answered and followed up.

How should a family law firm's website be written?

In plain English, from the client's side of the desk. A few principles:

• Lead with what the client is worried about, not the firm's accolades.
• Say what the first conversation involves and whether it is charged.
• Give cost guidance. A range or fixed fees for defined stages, with what is included.
• Show the people. Names, photographs and a line about each.
• Offer more than one way to get in touch, including a short form for people who cannot talk freely on the phone.
• Say how contact will be handled discreetly if that matters to the enquirer.

Remember that all publicity must be accurate and not misleading under paragraph 8.8 of the SRA Code of Conduct. There is a broader checklist in why your law firm website gets visits but not enquiries.

A worked example: where family enquiries go

Invented numbers, for illustration. A hypothetical three-solicitor family practice receives 80 new enquiries a month. It tracks them for a fortnight and finds that about a third arrive after 5.30pm or at weekends. Those go to voicemail; around half of those callers leave a message, and the firm rings back the next working morning.

On the tracked enquiries, calls answered live convert at about 30 per cent. Calls returned next morning convert at about 10 per cent, because many callers have already spoken to another firm. Callers who left no message are never reached.

On these invented numbers, roughly 27 out-of-hours enquiries a month produce perhaps one or two instructions. If they converted like live calls, it would be around eight. At a hypothetical average fee of £3,000 per family matter, that is a difference of roughly £18,000 to £20,000 a month, from enquiries the firm's marketing had already paid for.

The point is not the exact figures, which will differ for every firm. It is that in family law the handling of the first contact is part of the marketing, and usually the cheapest part to improve.

What should family law firms avoid in their marketing?

• Unsolicited approaches. Paragraph 8.9 of the SRA Code of Conduct says solicitors do not make unsolicited approaches to members of the public, other than current or former clients, to advertise legal services.
• Aggressive or combative messaging that promises outcomes. Publicity must be accurate and not misleading.
• Review incentives or only asking happy clients, which Google's policy and the CMA's guidance on the DMCC Act 2024 address.
• Contacting people in a way that could put them at risk. Marketing emails or letters to a shared address need thought.

Check any campaign with your COLP.

Should a family law firm use a chatbot?

A chat tool may catch people who cannot talk on the phone, which matters in family work. It also raises questions about accuracy, advice, disclosure and sensitive data. We cover the trade-offs, including the SRA's published view, in should a law firm website have a chatbot?.

How do you measure family law marketing properly?

Family practices often judge marketing by enquiry volume, which rewards the wrong things. A more useful monthly view:

• Enquiries by source, recorded on every first contact.
• When enquiries arrive, by hour and day. This single chart often changes how the phone is covered.
• Time to first human contact, split between office hours and out of hours.
• Consultations booked, as a share of qualified enquiries.
• Instructions, by source and by type of matter (divorce, finances, children, cohabitation).
• Average fee per matter by type, because a campaign that fills the diary with the least profitable work is not a success.

Review these with the fee-earners, not only the marketing lead. Family solicitors usually know which enquiries they wish they had received earlier, and why. That conversation is often where the most useful changes come from: a different callback slot, a clearer fees page, or a referrer who deserves a phone call.

What should a family firm's first response sound like?

Whether it is a person, a voicemail greeting or a callback, the first response sets the tone for the whole relationship. A few principles that apply however the firm answers:

• Warm, not scripted. The enquirer should feel heard before being asked for details.
• Clear about what happens next. Who will call, roughly when, and what that conversation will cover.
• Honest about cost. If the first consultation is charged, say so at the start.
• Careful about safety. Confirm how and when it is safe to make contact before ending the call.
• Consistent. The same questions and the same standard, whoever takes the call.

A voicemail greeting is part of this too. "Please leave a message and we will call you back" at 8pm tells a distressed caller nothing about when. If the phone cannot be answered, the greeting should at least say when it will be.

Where WasilX fits

Cam, our AI Engagement Coordinator, takes calls on the firm's line at any hour, says it is AI, asks the firm's own qualifying questions, books the call back and sends the firm a summary. For a family practice, that means the evening caller reaches a response rather than voicemail, and the fee-earner starts the callback knowing what the enquiry is about. Cam does not give legal advice. If evening calls are where your enquiries go missing, we would be happy to talk.

Frequently asked questions

How do people choose a family law solicitor? Often through a recommendation or a previous experience, followed by their own research. The Legal Services Consumer Panel's 2025 tracker found 54 per cent of people with family matters shopped around, and price and reputation were what people compared most.

Do family law firms have to publish their prices? Family law is not among the services for which the SRA Transparency Rules require published price information. Many family firms publish fee guidance anyway, because price is what shoppers compare most.

What is the best marketing for a family law firm? For most family practices: local search and reviews, clear service pages with cost guidance, relationships with referrers such as mediators and counsellors, and a first response that is fast, kind and discreet.

When do family law clients usually get in touch? Whenever they can talk safely, which is not always office hours. It is worth checking your own call log to see when family enquiries arrive and how many reach voicemail.

How should a family firm handle calls where abuse may be a factor? Ask whether it is safe to call back on that number and when, and whether a message can be left. Your firm's own safeguarding procedures and COLP should set the detail.