About Saor Law
Saor Law is a free Irish family law advice and information service that gives free legal advice to people going through separation, divorce and relationship breakdown.
"Saor" is the Irish word for free, and that is what the advice is. No fee, no hourly rate, no percentage of anything you receive. You can talk to a qualified lawyer about what is happening to you without it costing you money you may not have.
Why we exist
Family law in Ireland is not complicated because the law is obscure. It is complicated because it arrives at the worst moment of someone's life, usually alongside money worries, and the first honest answer often costs several hundred euro to obtain.
That gap is what Saor Law was set up in 2024 to close. Most of the people who contact us do not need to be represented in court. They need to know which court their case would be heard in, what "proper provision" actually means, whether they have to leave the family home, and what happens next. Those answers exist, they are not secret, and there is no good reason they should sit behind a fee.
Who gives the advice
The advice comes from qualified, practising Irish solicitors and barristers who volunteer their time. It is not given by administrators, by a chatbot, or by anyone reading from a script. Every advisor is subject to the professional conduct rules of the Law Society of Ireland or the Bar of Ireland.
Your first contact is our intake team. They gather the details a solicitor or barrister needs, check how urgent your situation is and make sure nothing urgent waits in a queue. They do not give legal advice. Their job is to get you to someone who can, quickly.
What free covers, and what it does not
Being clear about this saves everyone time.
What you get at no cost: a confidential conversation with a qualified lawyer about your situation, an explanation of the process and where your case would be heard, what the realistic timelines are, and what your options are. If a short answer resolves it, that is the end of it and you owe nothing.
What we do not do: we do not represent you in court, draft your proceedings, or take your file as your solicitor on record. Saor Law is an advice service.
If you decide you want representation: that is a separate matter from the advice, and it stays separate. The advice you get from us is free whether or not you ever instruct anybody, and nothing about it is conditional on what you do next. If you do want a solicitor to act for you, you are free to instruct whoever you choose. There is no obligation in either direction.
Who runs Saor Law and how referrals work
Saor Law was set up by a practising Irish barrister. Your advice call is free, and it stays free whatever you decide next. For many people, that call is all they need.
If you want a solicitor to act for you, for example to issue proceedings, negotiate a settlement or represent you in court, we can refer you to a solicitor who works closely with Saor Law. If you instruct that solicitor, you become their client and they charge for that work. Before any work starts, they will give you a written notice of his fees, as Irish law requires.
You do not have to use that solicitor. You can instruct any solicitor you choose, and the advice you get from Saor Law is the same either way.
How we work
Confidential. What you tell our legal advisors stays with them, and is treated with the same discretion you would expect from any solicitor or barrister.
Compassionate. Relationship breakdown is one of the hardest things most people go through. Nobody here is going to judge you, and you do not have to explain yourself before you are allowed to ask a question.
Inclusive. We help everyone in Ireland, regardless of gender, orientation, background or financial situation.
Everywhere. Appointments are held by phone or video, so we take enquiries from all 32 counties and where you live does not affect whether we can help.
About our guides
The guides on this site explain how family law actually works in Ireland, in plain language, for people with no legal background.
They are general information, not legal advice about your particular situation. Two cases that look identical rarely are, and the detail that changes the outcome is usually the one you did not think to mention. For advice about your own case, talk to us or to a solicitor.