Virginia Law Firm Now Accepts Bitcoin for Services

Anderson, Desimone & Green, a law firm providing estate planning and administration services throughout Southwest Virginia, is now the first law firm in the region to accept Bitcoin as a payment method from clients.

While many worry about the risks associated with accepting Bitcoin, notably volatility and security, Chris Desimone, president of the area law firm and estate planning attorney, believes the digital currency will become a standard in the marketplace.

Speaking to local media outlet The Roanoke Times, Desimone said that Bitcoin holds many advantages, notably for customers, who are now given more flexibility with transactions.

He stated:

“I know the world is not caught up to digital currency yet, but I do believe it’s the direction it’s going. We’re not expecting a big boost in business or anything, but I do believe underlying blockchain technology is the way of the future.”

Furthermore, Desimore said that Bitcoin allows his firm to bypass some of the fees associated with current forms of payments, which could result in an overall cheaper cost for Anderson, Desimore & Green clients.

The firm had chosen Coinbase to process Bitcoin transactions, and suggested that it might even keep a portion of its entries in Bitcoin to make further transactions.

A few American law firms are accepting Bitcoin as a payment method at the time being, but the number is eventually growing.

Law 4 Small Business (L4SB), a small business law firm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was among the first ones to embrace Bitcoin, back in April 2013.

Laurence S. Donahue, attorney and founder of L4SB, then explained:

“Our decision to accept Bitcoin for the payment of legal services meets two important objectives for the firm: First, we want to accept as many forms of payment as possible, to make it as easy as possible, for the small business to engage us for legal services. Second, we are an Internet savvy, high-tech law firm and law practice, and accepting and honoring Bitcoin adds credibility to that claim.”

In an interview with JurisPage, Donahue further explained the other incentive that led his firm to accept the digital currency as a payment method: international transactions.

He said:

“Internationally, financial transfers are a huge pain. Wire transfers are expensive. If you have a lot of low-dollar, high-volume wire transfers it does not make sense. There is a lot of need for which Bitcoin will fill the gap.”