Payment Processing for Law Firms and Attorneys
Law firms face a payment processing challenge that other professional services businesses do not: IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) compliance. Card processing fees cannot be deducted from client trust funds — a standard card processor setup can result in state bar ethics violations. Daystar structures legal merchant accounts so fees are charged to the firm operating account, never to trust funds, maintaining full IOLTA compliance across all US jurisdictions.
Beyond compliance, attorneys increasingly need to accept large retainer payments by card, run recurring billing for monthly legal fee installments, and accept payments through their firm website. Firms with high-value transactions, high chargeback exposure from contested matters, or practice areas like debt settlement and immigration often find Stripe and PayPal terms insufficient.
Practice Areas We Support
Personal injury and contingency-fee firms, criminal defense, family law and divorce, immigration law, estate planning and probate, business and corporate law, debt settlement law firms, and collection attorneys. Multi-location and high-volume firms are welcome.
Law Firm Payment FAQ
Can law firms pass credit card fees to clients? Surcharging is permitted in most US states. State bar rules on disclosure vary — Daystar configures compliant surcharging where permitted so the firm absorbs no processing cost.
What if our firm was declined by LawPay or another legal processor? High-risk practice areas — debt settlement, certain immigration matters, and criminal defense — sometimes face declines from legal-specific processors. Daystar provides accounts through banks that underwrite these practice areas.
Do you support installment payment plans for legal fees? Yes. Recurring billing for monthly legal fee installments is fully supported with retry logic and account-updater tools to reduce missed payments.
