Credit Cards & Hip Hop Videos

Ed Poll over at LawBizblog.com has an excellent analysis of the recent proposed rules in California about lawyers accepting credit cards.

Perhaps I am just being impatient but the real "guts" of the issue, in my opinion is addressed in his  8th comment:

‍TheCommittee appropriately highlights the change in thinking since 1970
where the “use of credit cards for payment of legal fees was deemed
unprofessional.” However, the Committee fails to give full credit to
today’s realities. Most obligations today are paid by credit card; many
fewer are paid by check; and almost none are paid by cash, the only
form of legal tender.

Sadly for all concerned (especially them) in the minds of manylawyers, accepting credit cards still has a stigma attached to it whichhas it's roots in the felatious either-or-debate: Is the practice oflaw a profession -or- a business.

The fact of the matter is that for a thousand years (literally) ithas been both. One simply cannot have a profitable law firm, without itbeing highly professional and ethical. But you can have an ethical lawfirm, at least for a little while, without it being very profitable.And so lawyers with no formal business training get confused and allowthemselves to be distracted by red herrings like whether or not peoplewill think more or less of us if we adopt modern business practices andaccomodate clients' bill paying preferences.

It reminds me alot of the hip-hop videos you see these days whichemphasize forum over substance to such a degree that in certaincircles, it doesn't matter where or how the money is earned, as long asyou drive a fancy car and have fancy jewlery.

For a historical perspective, recall that it is was not too long agothat many lawyers thought it unprofessional to send a fax, or to sendan e-mail, or to have a website, or to have a computer on one's desk orcredenza, or to do your own typing, or to employ women as lawyers.

The mechanics of accepting payment by credit cards are exactlyanalogous to accepting payment by check: The client instructs anintermediary to transfer funds to the lawyer. End of story. The fact isthat banks screw this up on a regular basis but you don't see anyonecrying about it being unprofessional to accept a check from a client.

If officials in the State Bar want to talk about what's REALLYunprofessional, howabout if they consider the negative images createdabout our profession when we have thousands of lawyers on their hands& knees grovelling to get clients to pay their bills-after-the factand having to swallow stories about "the check is in the mail". . . orthe stress and strain it puts on an attorney-client relationship whenthe lawyer becomes creditor to his/her own client, instead of givingthat role to Visa or Mastercard and so we can focus on being objectiveadvocates and advisors!

At least one credit card processing company has figured out a simpleway to address the only legitimate concern raised by the Bar: Will theentire amount charged, be credited to the client's ledger card in alawyer's trust account?

For more information, check out www.howtomanageasmalllawfirm.com