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Is your website saying things the conduct rules say a lawyer can't?
Under rule 36 of the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules your website is advertising: nothing false or misleading, no "accredited specialist" without the accreditation, and if the practice is in a Professional Standards Scheme, the liability statement has to be there. Submit your site and find out in two minutes, along with the rest worth fixing: outcome guarantees, no-win-no-fee claims with no terms, and restricted titles applied to people who cannot use them.
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This automated review is general information only, not legal advice or a regulator's determination. Findings are potential issues for your review.
What the check looks for
The Legal Practice Board of Western Australia regulates WA lawyers under the Legal Profession Uniform Law, which has applied here since July 2022, and the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules that come with it. The checker reads up to five pages of your site and flags content against each rule, starting with the ones most firms get wrong without noticing.
Outcome guarantees and misleading claims
"We will win your case", "98% success rate" with no basis, "never lost a case", invented rankings, fake urgency, and "cheapest lawyers in Perth" with nothing behind it. Rule 36.1 and the Australian Consumer Law.
"Accredited specialist" without the accreditation
Rule 36.2 reserves "accredited specialist" and its derivatives for practitioners accredited by a professional association, and bars any false impression of specialist expertise. "We specialise in family law" is fine. "Accredited Specialist, Family Law" with no accrediting body named is not.
Restricted titles on the wrong people
"Lawyer", "solicitor", "barrister", "counsel" and "SC" are restricted under the Uniform Law. A paralegal, law graduate or settlement agent described as "our lawyer" is a problem. "Barristers & Solicitors" on a WA firm is not: that is the WA form of admission.
No win no fee and pricing without terms
"No win, no fee" with nothing about disbursements or the other side's costs, "from $499" headline prices that few matters match, specials with no terms. A fee set as a percentage of what is recovered is a contingency fee, prohibited outright by section 183.
Professional Standards Scheme statement
If the practice is in the Law Society of WA or WA Bar Association scheme, "Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation" must appear on promotional material, and your website counts. The check looks for it on every page it reads.
It does not see social media, Google Business Profiles, Google Ads copy, directory listings, email signatures, costs agreements, PDFs, or statements shown only inside images; rule 36 applies to all of these. Costs disclosure under Part 4.3 of the Uniform Law is a separate obligation the tool does not assess.
Questions lawyers ask
Does my website really count as advertising?
Yes. Rule 36 of the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules covers any advertising, marketing or promotion in connection with a solicitor or law practice, and regulators read that broadly: web pages, page titles and meta descriptions, Google Ads headlines, directory listings and social posts all count. The Uniform Law has applied in WA since 1 July 2022, so the Conduct Rules are the rules here.
Can I say my firm specialises in family law?
Yes. Describing your practice areas, your experience and your focus is permitted. What rule 36.2 restricts is the phrase "accredited specialist" or any derivative, including post-nominals, unless you hold the accreditation, and any wording that conveys a false impression of specialist expertise. The Law Society of WA began accrediting Wills and Estates specialists in 2025, and interstate accreditations are legitimate too: name the body that granted it.
Are client testimonials and Google reviews allowed?
Yes. Unlike health practitioners under AHPRA, lawyers may publish testimonials. The check leaves them alone unless the content is independently misleading, for example a review the practice has framed as a promise of the same result for the next client.
Is "no win, no fee" allowed in WA?
Yes. Conditional costs agreements are permitted under Part 4.3 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law, with an uplift of no more than 25 per cent on litigious matters. What gets flagged is the phrase on its own with nothing about what the client may still pay: disbursements, counsel's fees, or the other side's costs if the matter is lost. A fee expressed as a percentage of the amount recovered is a contingency fee and is prohibited by section 183.
What is the scheme statement, and do I need it?
Participants in a Professional Standards Scheme, including the Law Society of Western Australia scheme (2024 to 2029) and the WA Bar Association scheme, have their civil liability capped under the Professional Standards Act 1997 (WA). In return they must disclose that on documents given to clients and prospective clients, and the Professional Standards Councils treat promotional and advertising material, including websites, as covered. The prescribed wording is "Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation", at no smaller than Times New Roman 8 point. Not disclosing is an offence under the Act. If you are not a scheme participant, the statement should not be on your site.
Who enforces this?
The Legal Practice Board of Western Australia, through its Legal Services and Complaints Committee, handles complaints about WA lawyers under Chapter 5 of the Uniform Law. Misleading advertising can amount to unsatisfactory professional conduct, and serious matters go to the State Administrative Tribunal. Misleading claims are also actionable under the Australian Consumer Law, and a competitor can spot them as easily as a regulator.
Is this check legal advice?
No, which we appreciate is an unusual thing to tell a lawyer. It is an automated review that flags potential issues for you to look at. It is general information only, not legal advice or a determination by any regulator, and a clean result is not a compliance guarantee.
Why do you need my work email?
The full report is delivered by email, and the tool costs us real money to run per scan, so we limit it to practice owners with a work email address. We email your report and may follow up once about it. No list, no spam.
PAC builds AI systems for WA professional practices, including the compliance tooling behind this checker and the on-device de-identification that keeps client names out of any AI. If your practice is thinking about AI beyond compliance, see how we work with professional services, or start with a conversation.