A woman messages a family law firm at 11pm. The children are asleep. She has been thinking about this for months and has finally opened a browser. She is not ready to name what she wants. She wants to know what it costs to talk to someone, whether her husband would find out and what happens to the house.
How that message is answered matters more than anything else on the website.
Safety first, always
If a message mentions violence, threats, fear for children or immediate danger, the right response is to direct the person to emergency services and specialist support straight away. Nothing about fees or appointments comes before that. This is not a judgement call the website makes, it is a response to any mention of harm.
What people ask
People usually ask what a first appointment costs, whether the first conversation is free, how long a divorce or separation takes, what happens with children and where they live, what happens to the house, whether they need to go to court, whether everything is confidential, whether the firm offers mediation and what they should bring.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a firm might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Visitor: How much is a first appointment? Assistant: The fees page lists the cost of an initial appointment and explains what it covers, including time to talk through your situation with a solicitor. Everything you discuss is confidential.
Visitor: What happens to the children? Assistant: That depends entirely on your circumstances, so a solicitor needs to talk it through with you properly. The family page explains how the firm approaches arrangements for children and what the first appointment covers. Would you like to leave a first name and a safe way to contact you?
Visitor: Will my husband know I contacted you? Assistant: The firm keeps enquiries confidential. You can also tell the team the best way and time to reach you, and whether there is any method they should avoid.
Contact, safely
Asking how someone prefers to be contacted, and whether any method is unsafe, is one of the most practical things a family law website can do. A returned message at the wrong moment can cause real harm.
Keep the first step small
A full intake form is too much at 11pm. A first name and a safe contact method is enough to start. Detailed intake can follow once a person is speaking to someone.
Fees explained plainly
Uncertainty about cost stops people getting help. Publishing fixed-fee options, hourly rates and what an initial appointment includes removes a barrier, in the way described in fee questions that decide which firm gets the client.
Conflict checks
Both parties in a separation may contact the same local firm. Capturing names early lets the firm run conflict checks properly, as described in conflict checks start with the first enquiry.
Tone above everything
Short sentences, no jargon, no sales language. The same care funeral directors take with first contact applies here, as described in families contacting a funeral director for the first time.
How SpideyChat handles it
SpideyChat for law firms answers practical questions from your own pages at any hour, never gives legal advice and directs anyone describing danger to emergency help. More on firms using it is in AI receptionist for law firms. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about handover on the features page.