Sirlibz
Lawyers within the restriction of Washington DC can now accept cryptocurrency as a form payment for legal services. The payment in crypto can be accepted by the lawyer as long as the fee is agreed on (this see has to be fair and reasonable) and the lawyer has to be fully aware of how to safeguard the virtual property.
Virtual payments are to be calculated based on current price irrespective of the fact that it is very volatile. The committee also added that fairness to the client of such fee arrangement should be judged the time the payments are made, not when they become independent – stated Bloomberg.
Cryptocurrency is to be treated as a property rather than a currency for tax purposes, the IRS noted, they also agreed that “payment of fees in cryptocurrency is more akin to payment in property than payment in fiat currency.”
Washington DC would be the fourth jurisdiction to allow this form of payment, Bloomberg news has reported law firms including big law players accepting cryptocurrency as payments for Services irrespective of the volatile market. Advisory opinions on accepting cryptocurrency as payment has been published by the North Carolina, Nebraska and New York City Bars.
Lawyers who choose to accept virtual assets as payment should do well to fully understand the technology and how to safeguard it. This would mean the lawyer would need to understand how to safeguard against the many ways cryptocurrency can be stolen or lost. This would help protect both lawyers and clients who paid in cryptocurrency from possible fights over the loss of funds at some point in time.
Cryptocurrency is, ultimately, simply a relatively new means of transferring economic value, and the Rules are flexible enough to provide for the protection of clients’ interests and property without rejecting advances in technologies,” it concluded.
