A family law solicitor answering service has to get the first call right.
Nobody rings a family solicitor on a good day. The caller has rehearsed it for weeks, may be ringing from a shared house, and hangs up if a machine answers. Klyp for Solicitors picks up the calls your team cannot reach, in your firm's name, asks whether the number is safe to ring back, takes the details and briefs your team within 60 seconds. It never gives legal advice.
Family work is busier, slower and more complained about than it was a year ago.
More people are applying to the court about their children, those cases take the best part of a year, and clients who feel unheard complain. A missed first call feeds all three.
private law children cases were started in April to June 2026, up 11% on the same quarter in 2025, involving 23,100 children.
Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly, April to June 2026.was the average time for a private law case to be disposed of in the same quarter. A client waiting that long rings you many times in between.
Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly, April to June 2026.was the rise in accepted complaints about child law at the Legal Ombudsman in 2025/26, from 51 to 106. Across all areas of law, 46% of complaint types were about communication or delay.
Legal Ombudsman, 2025/26 annual complaints data and insight."I think I need a divorce"
Made from a car or a friend's kitchen, in a window that will not come round again this week. Voicemail is where this caller gives up.
"He has the children and won't bring them back"
Not every urgent call is a court deadline. Some are about where a child is tonight. A generic script does not know the difference.
"Has the court written back yet?"
Existing clients ring too. A divorce has a built-in wait of 20 weeks before a conditional order can be sought, and clients fill that silence by ringing you.
GOV.UK, Apply for a conditional order.Evening and weekend cover is dealt with on our out of hours answering page. This page is about daytime calls, when your family team is in court or already on the phone to someone else who is crying.
Two questions first, then the details.
Most scripts open with "Can I take your name and number?" In family work that is the wrong order. Two other questions come first.
Is this number safe to ring back?
A caller who shares a phone bill or a house with the person they are calling about may not want a solicitor's number on a screen. The assistant asks and records the answer: any time, only between these hours, email instead, or ring a named friend. Your team never has to guess.
Is anyone at risk today?
You write the triggers in your own words: a child not returned, threats, someone locked out of the home, a hearing this week. A matching call is marked urgent at the top of the summary to the duty solicitor you name. The court can make a non-molestation or occupation order without notice to the respondent where it is just and convenient, but only if your solicitor hears about the call in time.
Family Law Act 1996, section 45.Then the ordinary details
Name, existing client or new, what has happened in a sentence or two, whether children are involved, and whether the other party already has a solicitor. If someone is ringing for a parent or an adult child, it records who is calling and who the matter concerns.
A summary your team can act on
Within 60 seconds an email reaches the inbox or duty role you choose: who rang, the safe call-back route, the urgency flag and the facts given. Booking the call-back and texting the caller are coming soon; today the summary is what your team acts on.
Confidential by design. No advice, ever.
The assistant is built around the SRA duty to keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents. It does not confirm to a third party that somebody is a client.
It gives no legal advice
Asked whether a caller will get the house or can leave with the children tonight, it says that is what your solicitor will cover, and arranges the call-back. The Code's duty to give clients information they can understand is met by your qualified team, not a script.
SRA, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs, paragraphs 6.3 and 8.6.It knows where the line is
If a caller says they are in immediate danger, the assistant does not try to be a helpline. You set the wording; a sensible line is to call 999 and, if they cannot speak on a mobile, press 55 when prompted so the call is passed to the police. It then flags the call urgent and gets off the line.
GOV.UK, Domestic abuse: how to get help.It never pretends to be a person
It answers in your firm's name. If a caller asks, it tells them it is an AI assistant and offers to take a message for a person instead. It will also wait while a caller finds a quieter room.
Family work in small firms often sits beside wills and probate, and one divert covers both. See how the whole firm is covered on the Klyp for Solicitors page, and what it costs under pricing: from £99 a month, no contract, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Family law answering: what partners ask us
What if the caller is the other party in a case we are already acting on?
It takes a message like any other and does not confirm or deny that anyone is your client. The summary shows the caller's name, so your team can spot a conflict before ringing back.
Can it tell a caller whether they qualify for legal aid?
No. It notes that the caller asked about legal aid so your team can have that conversation properly. Eligibility is advice and stays with you.
Will it ring the caller back or send them a text?
Not yet. Call-back booking and texting the caller are coming soon. Today it takes the safe call-back route and the details, and your team makes the call.