If you’re looking for a free solicitor for Family Law, let me tell you a little about myself, because I believe you have come to the right place.

Who I Am

My name is Alison Ritchie and I am a qualified solicitor, with my highest qualification being a Master of Laws (LLM). I chose to study law with the purpose of becoming a McKenzie Friend, since I noticed that a lot of friends and family were struggling to access the legal system due to extortionate solicitors fees. Although there is a reason why solicitors’ fees are high, I felt that giving families the ability to self-represent was an important thing to do. Being on a low income shouldn’t be a barrier to children having regular and meaningful contact with their parents.

I also discovered that many people just didn’t know what to expect from court, so even if they were aware that they could self-represent, the thought of attending court was putting people off.

The right thing was for me to gain qualifications to allow me to assist families in this situation – not only to apply for orders and navigate the legal system – but also as something of a coach, to give people the knowledge and understanding of the court process before they begin. Whilst I would love to be a free solicitor for family law, I still have bills to pay as well as keeping this website running. My compromise is to offer as much free guidance as possible for all who visit my website, but also very low fees for certain extra services which you would usually pay a solicitor very high fees for.

My Services

I work as a McKenzie Friend. You can find out more about McKenzie Friends here, but in a nutshell, I charge a small fee (a fraction of the cost of solicitors) to:

• Support and mentor applicants and respondents throughout their family court dispute

• Provide both legal (as a layperson) and non legal guidance  

• Assist with paperwork, such as forms, letters and statements

• To help organise your paperwork and to plan your next step in your case

• Assist you in any research that you may need to carry out

• To remind you about any deadlines and timeframes that you need to remember. To keep track of your commitments to the court, for example frequency of direct and indirect contact.

• To attend court as a McKenzie Friend, following the guidance of the court. Please see the article about McKenzie Friends for more information about this.

• To help you to make notes to take into your hearing with prepared questions. answers and statements

If you have come here looking for a free solicitor for family law however, please make sure that you browse around on this site. I have done my best to ensure that there is enough information for you to familiarise yourself with the court system and to learn all about the process. This should give you all the tools that you need to go it alone, and be your own free solicitor.

Contact Me

If you would like to discuss your particular circumstances, I can offer an email consultation for free. Just use the Contact Form.