Most Australian web agencies will happily take a law firm. Only a few have ever actually read the Solicitors' Conduct Rules, designed a practice-area page system, or thought about how a frightened person looking for a lawyer at midnight actually behaves. Ask these questions before signing.
A real specialist names them, sortable by practice area. A generalist sends a portfolio with two law firms in a sea of cafés and tradies.
The honest answer should mention Conduct-Rules-aware content, practice-area page systems, Accredited Specialist surfacing and legal intake design. If the answer is "we just focus on law firms", that's marketing, not a method.
If they can't show one, they don't build the page system that actually ranks small firms. A single "Services" page is not the same product.
The right answer references the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules and state-specific guidance (Law Society NSW, LIV, QLS, LSSA, Law Society WA), and explains where they shape copy - claims, "specialist" wording, testimonials, outcome statements. "We Google it as we go" is the wrong answer.
You should. If the agency keeps any of them, walk. Lock-in is a tax on your future flexibility and a sign their commercial model relies on captivity, not value.
Strong answer: enquiries, calls, qualified leads by practice area, ranking for specific local terms. Weak answer: "traffic" and "impressions". Traffic without enquiries is decoration.
A specialist will sometimes say "your suburb is too contested for the SEO budget to make sense - let's lead with Google Ads and reviews for nine months while authority compounds." That's a sign of competence. An agency that promises page-one rankings to anyone, in any market, by any month, is selling you something else.