The Law Firm Practice Page Template AI Engines Quote (With a Worked Example)
A practice page gets cited when it opens with the client's question and a 40-to-60-word answer, then covers process, timeline, cost, courthouse and FAQ under a named attorney. Here is the section-by-section template and a worked custody page for a Glendale firm.
Short answer: Open with the question the client asked as the H1 or first H2 and answer it in 40 to 60 words. Then, in this order: the process in steps, the timeline with real dates, the cost range and what changes it, the courthouse the matter is heard in, the attorney who handles it, six to ten FAQs with schema, and links to the city and courthouse pages. Firm history goes last. About 55% of AI citations come from the first 30% of a page, so the order is the whole point.
Why do most practice pages never get cited?
Because they are written for other lawyers, or for the firm. They open with "Our Glendale family law practice has served the community since 2009", describe the practice in general terms, and end with "contact us". An engine retrieving for "how is child custody decided in California" finds no answer to quote. A client reading at 11 p.m. finds nothing that helps.
The pages that get cited answer the question in the first paragraph, then go deep. That is the whole difference, and it is a rewrite, not a redesign.
The template
| Section | What it contains | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Title (H1) | The practice and the place: "Child custody lawyer in Glendale" | One line |
| 2. Question + answer | The first question clients ask, as an H2, with a 40-to-60-word answer set apart | 60 words |
| 3. Process | What happens first, next and last, as numbered steps with what the client does at each | 150–250 words |
| 4. Timeline | Realistic durations for LA County, with the reasons matters run longer | 100–150 words, table |
| 5. Cost | The fee structure, a range, and the three things that change the number | 120–200 words |
| 6. Courthouse | Where it is heard, what the first appearance looks like, a link to the courthouse page | 80–120 words |
| 7. Attorney | Who handles it, with photo, credentials and a link to a profile with Person schema | 60–100 words |
| 8. FAQ | Six to ten real client questions, each answered in two to four sentences, FAQPage schema | 300–500 words |
| 9. Related | Links to the city page, the courthouse page, sibling practice pages, the cost page | List |
| 10. About the firm | History, approach, languages. Last, not first | 80–120 words |
| Schema | LegalService (firm @id), Person (attorney), FAQPage, BreadcrumbList | |
| Meta | "Last updated" date visible; dateModified honest |
Total: 1,200 to 1,800 words. Longer is fine when the content is specific; padding is not.
Worked example: a Glendale custody page
H1: Child custody lawyer in Glendale
H2: How is child custody decided in California?
California courts decide custody on the child's best interest, weighing health, safety, each parent's history and the child's ties to school and community. Judges start from a presumption that frequent contact with both parents helps, unless abuse or neglect is shown. Glendale custody matters are usually heard at the Burbank courthouse.
H2: What happens in a Glendale custody case, step by step?
- A petition (or a Request for Order in an existing case) is filed and served.
- Family Court Services mediation is scheduled; both parents attend before any contested hearing.
- The Request for Order hearing, typically six to ten weeks after filing, where temporary orders are made.
- If contested, a custody evaluation or further hearings; most cases settle before trial.
- The judgment or order, with a parenting plan the court can enforce.
H2: How long does a custody case take in Los Angeles County?
| Situation | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Agreed parenting plan, no hearing | Four to eight weeks |
| Contested temporary orders | Two to four months to the RFO hearing |
| Contested with evaluation | Nine to eighteen months |
| Emergency (ex parte) request | Heard within days when a child is at immediate risk |
H2: What does a custody lawyer cost in Glendale?
Most family firms bill hourly against a retainer. The retainer for a contested custody matter in the Glendale and Burbank area commonly runs from a few thousand dollars upward, and three things move the total: whether mediation produces an agreement, whether an evaluation is ordered, and how many hearings the other side forces. A firm that publishes its fee structure gets cited for "how much does a custody lawyer cost", which almost no competitor answers.
H2: Where are Glendale custody cases heard?
Most family matters for Glendale addresses are assigned to the Burbank Courthouse at 300 E. Olive Avenue, with some heard in Pasadena. Confirm the courthouse on the filed petition. Our guide to what happens at the Burbank Courthouse covers the first hearing, parking and interpreters.
H2: Who handles custody matters at the firm?
[Attorney name], admitted [year], handles custody and visitation matters in Burbank and Pasadena family courts and speaks Armenian and English. [Link to profile with Person schema.]
H2: Custody questions Glendale parents ask
Six to ten questions: legal versus physical custody, move-away requests, what a judge asks a child, how a domestic violence finding affects custody, whether grandparents can get visitation, how to modify an order, what happens if the other parent lives in another state.
Related: Family law in Glendale · Glendale market guide · Burbank Courthouse · Divorce · Child support
About the firm. Last section.
What to check before publishing
- The answer is in the first 30% of the HTML, server-rendered, not injected by a script.
- The H2s are the questions clients type, not marketing headings.
- Every number is real and dated; the fee section says what changes the number instead of dodging it.
- The courthouse is the right one. Glendale family matters are the most common example of a page naming the wrong building.
- The attorney is named and the page carries Person, LegalService, FAQPage and BreadcrumbList schema, linked with one @id per entity. The schema guide has the JSON.
- No results claims, no "best", no incentivized testimonials. California Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1 to 7.3.
- A visible "last updated" date, refreshed quarterly.
How the template scales
One practice page in this format is the hub. Each FAQ that deserves its own depth becomes a cluster page in the same shape. The city page and the courthouse page link in and out. That is the structure behind every practice guide on this site and the content and pillar pages service; the free AI visibility check shows which of your current pages engines quote and which they skip.
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