bitcoins
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At least one law firm in Nebraska is preparing to soon accept payment in bitcoins following an opinion that gives a formal approval to the payment method.

The Lawyer's Advisory Committee appointed by the Nebraska Supreme Court said in its opinion that it is ethical for attorneys in Nebraska to receive digital currency such as bitcoin as payments and to also hold them in trust for clients.

Copple, Rockey, McKeever & Schlecht requested the opinion and plans on starting to accept bitcoins next month, after ensuring they comply with the recently-released opinion.

“We plan on complying with the opinion by using a third-party payment processor that uses Bitcoin, such as Coinbase (San Francisco) or BitPay (Atlanta),” attorney Matthew McKeever told Legaltech News. “When a client makes a payment using Bitcoin, the bitcoins will be immediately converted into U.S. dollars and ACH wire transferred to the firm's account at least every two business days.”

McKeever noted that the change will require no further internal IT, but perhaps a change to the firm's financial structure. “We may change our billing agreements to explicitly state that payments may be made in Bitcoin. The payment page on our website will include a button where clients can pay with Bitcoin. We will also likely have a statement on [the] Bitcoin payment page that any return of money to the client will be in U.S. dollars, not bitcoins,” he said.

Copple, Rockey, McKeever & Schlecht, requested the opinion to be “absolutely sure” they could take bitcoin and see what rules would apply, McKeever explained.

The advisory committee also gave interested law firms specific advice in its recent opinion:

  • To avoid any overpayment by clients, the attorney will not retain the digital currency but will convert them into U.S. dollars immediately upon receipt (so lawyers can avoid being unfairly compensated);
  • The conversion will take place immediately by using a payment processor; and
  • The client's account will be credited at the time of payment.

Also, an attorney may hold bitcoins and other digital currencies in escrow or trust for clients or third parties, according to the opinion.

One of the other warnings of the opinion is to know your client. At his firm, they ask new clients to fill out an information sheet and the firm does its due diligence to confirm the information, McKeever said.

“These things need to be done whether [a firm] accepts bitcoin or not,” McKeever explained. Any suspicious activity is reported to proper authorities.

McKeever added, “A number of firms are taking bitcoin already in the U.S. Twenty to 30 that I know of.”

None are under an advisory opinion or regulations from a local bar association, he said, so he believes the Nebraska opinion is the first of its kind in the nation. This isn't surprising, as parts of Nebraska are now known as “Silicon Prairie” because of the many financial technology companies in Lincoln and Omaha. McKeever explained that his firm has many clients who work in the blockchain or bitcoin sectors.

He doesn't think that other states will likely issue their own opinions about whether attorneys can accept bitcoins, but may rely on the Nebraska opinion. Other states that also use similar Rules of Professional Conduct may use the Nebraska opinion as a guideline for their own legal activities, McKeever explained.