How to Start a Family Law Firm

Before setting up your firm, decide which family law services you intend to provide and the clients you want to serve.

Family law covers several different types of work, and the services you choose will influence your business plan, staffing, insurance requirements and marketing strategy.

Your practice might focus on:

• Divorce and separation: advising clients on the divorce process and the practical legal issues arising when a relationship ends.
• Financial settlements: advising on the division of assets, financial remedy proceedings and related agreements.
• Child arrangements: helping parents resolve arrangements for their children, including where they will live and how they will spend time with each parent.
• Cohabitation disputes: advising unmarried couples on legal issues arising from separation.
• Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements: advising couples on financial arrangements and agreements.
• Domestic abuse-related matters: advising and representing eligible clients in relevant proceedings, including applications for protective orders.
• Mediation and alternative dispute resolution: where appropriately qualified and authorised, helping clients explore ways to resolve disputes outside contested court proceedings.

You do not need to offer every family law service from day one. A focused practice can make it easier to define your target market, communicate your expertise and create a website that speaks directly to prospective clients.

For example, you may have extensive experience in divorce and financial remedy work, or you may wish to concentrate on private children matters. Your business plan should reflect the work you are competent, authorised and properly insured to undertake.

Consider whether you intend to serve clients in a particular town or region, work with clients nationally, or adopt a hybrid model combining in-person and remote appointments.

Your chosen services and audience should shape the rest of your setup.

Family law is an established area of legal practice because relationship breakdowns, financial disputes and issues concerning children create a continuing need for legal advice.

Official court statistics illustrate the volume of activity in the family justice system. For example, the Ministry of Justice recorded 13,893 new private law family applications in England and Wales in April to June 2025, an increase of 7% compared with the same quarter in 2024. The figures cover applications concerning private family matters and should not be confused with the number of people seeking privately funded solicitors.

You can explore the Ministry of Justice’s Family Court Statistics Quarterly publications for current figures and trends.

MoJ's Family Court Statistics Quarterly publications

For a new firm, the commercial opportunity depends on more than the overall number of family cases. It depends on the services you offer, the clients you can reach, the competition in your target area, your fee structure and your ability to convert suitable enquiries into instructions.

Family law is also a sensitive area. People seeking advice may be dealing with significant personal, financial or family difficulties. Your website and marketing should communicate professionalism, empathy and clarity rather than making unrealistic promises about outcomes.

A well-positioned family law practice can build a strong reputation by combining relevant expertise with a clear client experience and a sustainable approach to generating work.

Many solicitors who start their own law practices are not starting their careers from scratch. They may already have years of experience, professional contacts and an understanding of the types of clients they want to serve.

That experience can provide a valuable starting point for a new practice.

Before leaving an existing firm, think carefully about the work you expect to undertake, the clients you may be able to serve and the relationships that could help you develop a referral network.

However, do not assume that every existing client will automatically transfer to your new business. Your ability to act will depend on matters including client choice, confidentiality, contractual obligations, conflicts of interest, regulatory requirements and any applicable restrictions in your existing arrangements.

Seek appropriate advice before making plans around transferring clients or files.

If you already have a professional network and expect to receive instructions shortly after launch, plan how those instructions will be handled.

Consider the following:

A business plan should explain how your family law firm will operate, what it will cost to run and how it will generate sufficient revenue.

It should be based on realistic assumptions rather than an expectation that work will arrive immediately.

Your plan should cover the following areas:

Identify the initial costs involved in establishing your firm. These may include:

• Regulatory and compliance support,
• Professional indemnity insurance,
• Company formation and business administration,
• Website design, branding and business email,
• Computers, telephone systems and secure IT,
• Legal software and document management,
• Accounting and banking arrangements,
• Office or remote-working costs, and
• Marketing and advertising.

The exact amount will depend on your chosen structure, business model and the resources you already have.

Estimate the ongoing expenses you will need to cover, including software subscriptions (e.g. Microsoft 365 and Outlook), PI insurance, professional fees, marketing (including monthly website hosting and annual domain renewal), staffing and premises where applicable.

Build in a contingency for unexpected costs and allow for the possibility that income may fluctuate from month to month.

Your forecast should consider how much work you expect to receive, the fees you intend to charge, when invoices are likely to be issued and when payments may arrive.

A firm can be profitable on paper but still experience cash flow difficulties if payments are delayed or costs arise before revenue is received.

Think about how much working capital you need to cover the early months of trading and what happens if your initial workload is lower than expected.

If you expect to bring existing client relationships with you, use those expectations as one input to your forecast, rather than treating them as guaranteed revenue.

For a new family law firm, private work can be important to building early revenue and establishing a sustainable practice. If your business model relies on privately paying clients, your launch plan should explain how you will reach them.

There is no guarantee that a new firm will generate instructions immediately, even if the solicitor has considerable experience. A structured approach to referrals, website enquiries and marketing can help reduce reliance on a single source of work.

Build relationships with appropriate professional contacts, such as other solicitors, accountants, financial advisers and relevant local professionals.

Explain the types of family law matters you handle and the clients you are best placed to assist. Maintain relationships over time and ensure any referral arrangements comply with applicable professional rules.

Your experience, specialist knowledge and professional reputation may help prospective clients feel confident about instructing your new firm.

Your website can communicate your background, approach and areas of practice. Ensure any claims about qualifications, accreditations, experience or outcomes are accurate and appropriately evidenced.

SEO can help your firm appear when people search online for relevant family law services.

Your website may include dedicated pages for divorce, financial settlements, child arrangements, pre-nuptial agreements and other services you genuinely offer.

Useful content can answer common questions, explain your approach and help prospective clients understand when they may need legal advice. Content should be accurate, reviewed regularly and written with the sensitivity required for family law, and ideally come from you rather than AI.

SEO can support long-term visibility, but results take time and rankings cannot be guaranteed.

Google Ads can provide another effective route to reaching people who are actively searching for family solicitors.

For example, campaigns may target relevant searches relating to divorce solicitors, financial settlements or child arrangements within the locations you serve.

The campaign structure, keywords, advertising messages, budget and landing pages should all reflect your target clients and commercial objectives.

Paid advertising can start generating website visits soon after campaigns go live, but that does not guarantee immediate instructions or profitability. Competition, cost per click, enquiry quality, fees and conversion rates all affect performance.

For this reason, it is worth planning your advertising before launch rather than treating it as an afterthought once the website is finished.

Learn more about marketing a new law firm

Your website is often one of the first places a prospective client visits when researching a family law firm. It needs to communicate trust, explain your services and make it easy for people to take the next step.

It should also be built with search visibility and future advertising in mind.

A prospective client should be able to understand quickly which matters you handle and how to contact you.

You can start with creating one main service page to explain everything. However, for best results, it is recommended that you create dedicated pages for your main services rather than relying on just one large page.

Each page should explain the relevant service in clear language, identify the type of assistance you provide and include an appropriate next step.

This will help you achieve better organic search results and if you choose to advertise your firm online, it will help you generate better quality leads and achieve cheaper cost per click.

Family law clients may be sharing sensitive personal and financial information. Your website should feel professional, reassuring and easy to navigate.

Include accurate information about your experience, relevant qualifications, firm details and the way you work. Make contact information easy to find and explain what a prospective client can expect when they get in touch.

Use genuine testimonials only where their use is appropriate and compliant with applicable requirements. Do not promise specific legal outcomes or imply that every case will have the same result.

Consider how someone will contact you from each service page. Depending on your practice, useful options may include a telephone number, an enquiry form or a clear way to request an initial discussion.

Ensure the website works well on mobile devices and that forms are straightforward to complete. A prospective client who is unable to find your contact details or use your website may abandon the enquiry.

If your objective is to generate private family law enquiries soon after launch, paid search may be worth considering alongside referrals and SEO.

The advantage of Google Ads is that it can put your firm in front of people searching for relevant legal services. However, a campaign needs to be managed carefully to avoid spending money on clicks that are unlikely to lead to suitable instructions.

An experienced advertising agency will do the following for you:

Your campaign should focus on the services and locations that match your practice. A firm specialising in financial remedy work may need a different keyword strategy from one focused on child arrangements or divorce.

Avoid assuming that every search related to family law represents someone who is ready to instruct a solicitor. Some people are looking for general information, free resources or services outside your firm’s scope.

Where appropriate, direct people to the relevant service page rather than sending every visitor to the homepage which doesn’t use tailored language.

For example, someone searching for a divorce solicitor should be able to find clear information about your divorce services and a straightforward way to make an enquiry.

Track meaningful outcomes, not just clicks and impressions.

Monitor the number of enquiries, whether they are suitable, how many consultations are arranged and how many become instructions.

Over time, this information can help you assess the effectiveness of your campaigns and decide where your budget is best spent.

Before launching campaigns, consider the cost of reaching your target audience and the value of the work you may receive. Your budget should reflect your financial forecast and ability to handle the enquiries generated.

As a rough guide, for family law enquiries, we would recommend a budget of minimum £1000 per month (paid directly to Google).

Furthermore, do not assume that increasing spend will automatically increase profitable work. Campaigns should be monitored and adjusted using reliable conversion data and a clear understanding of which enquiries are commercially appropriate.

Intellistart provides Google Ads management for law firms and can help new practices plan campaigns around their services, target locations and business objectives.

More about our PPC advertising service

Professional indemnity insurance is a key consideration when establishing a regulated legal practice. It needs to be included in your business plan and arranged in accordance with the requirements applicable to your firm.

The cost of PII can vary considerably. Insurers may consider factors such as the work your firm undertakes, the experience and claims history of the people involved, the proposed turnover, risk management and the overall profile of the practice.

Your post-qualification experience (PQE) and professional background are worth discussing with your broker when obtaining quotations. The effect of your experience on the premium will depend on the insurer’s underwriting assessment and the circumstances of your firm.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority provides information on the authorisation process and the insurance evidence required for a new firm. You can read its guidance on applying for authorisation of a new firm.

SRA guidance for new law firms

One important part of arranging insurance is providing a realistic estimate of your firm’s expected turnover.

If your actual turnover is higher than the amount declared, your premium may need to be adjusted in accordance with your policy terms. The effect will depend on the insurer’s arrangements and the circumstances of the policy. Underestimating turnover can potentially create a potential additional cost later.

On the other hand, overestimating turnover may affect the initial quotation or premium, depending on how the insurer calculates it.

Prepare your estimate carefully using your business plan, anticipated workload, fee structure and likely start date. If your circumstances change or turnover differs materially from your forecast, speak to your broker or insurer about your obligations and whether an adjustment is required.

Do not assume that a particular turnover estimate will automatically produce the cheapest or most suitable cover. The objective is to provide accurate information and obtain appropriate insurance for the work you intend to undertake.

Discuss with a PII broker

PII should not be left until the last minute. You may need an in-date quotation as part of the firm authorisation process, and the insurance arrangements can affect your launch timetable.

Intellistart works with specialist insurance partners who can help prospective law firm owners explore appropriate cover. Premiums and terms depend on the individual circumstances and the insurer’s assessment.

Request a no-obligation chat with an expert

Before providing regulated legal services, you must establish which regulatory requirements apply to your proposed firm.

The appropriate structure depends on your circumstances, ownership, management and the activities you intend to undertake. Depending on the arrangement, an application to the SRA may be required for a recognised sole practice, recognised body or licensed body.

Registering a company at Companies House does not, by itself, authorise it to carry out regulated legal activities.

You should check the relevant requirements before deciding on your structure and allow sufficient time to prepare any necessary applications.

Areas to consider may include:

• The proposed business structure and ownership,
• Firm authorisation and any required individual approvals,
• Compliance officer arrangements, where applicable,
• Professional indemnity insurance,
• Financial management and client money requirements,
• Anti-money laundering obligations and any required registration or approval, and
• Policies, procedures and systems for running the firm compliantly.

The SRA currently states that it aims to decide new firm authorisation applications within 90 days where possible, but decisions can take up to 180 days. Check the latest guidance and plan your launch around the requirements relevant to your application.

Intellistart works with specialist regulatory compliance consultants who can help prospective firm owners like you prepare for the process and understand which areas need attention. The precise requirements will depend on your proposed practice, so obtain advice for your circumstances.

Dsicuss with a regulatory compliance consultant

Once the firm is operating, review your performance regularly. Compare actual costs and income against your forecast, monitor enquiry quality and consider which marketing activities are generating suitable instructions.

The objective is not simply to open a firm. It is to establish a practice with the infrastructure, processes and financial planning needed to develop sustainably.

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