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- Recently, an ethics opinion released by the District of Columbia Bar Association (DCB) states the lawyers of Washington D.C. can receive crypto payments for legal services.
- As per the association, the lawyers must also take competent and reasonable security precautions to protect the virtual property.
- DCB is one of the larger bar associations in the USA with roughly 100,000 members associated with it.
Recently, an ethics opinion released by the District of Columbia Bar Association (DCB) states the lawyers of Washington D.C. can receive crypto payments for legal services. However, as long as the fee is reasonable and fair to clients.
Lawyers must take security precautions
As per the association, the lawyers must also take competent and reasonable security precautions to protect the virtual property. The bar’s legal ethics committee said that the cryptocurrency accepted as a mode of payment. By vendors and service providers and that includes lawyers too.
DCB is one of the larger bar associations in the USA with roughly 100,000 members associated with it. The association notified it is not unethical for a lawyer to accept cryptocurrency. Additionally, the opinion pointed out that the IRS treats cryptocurrency as a property rather than for tax matters.
In July 2019, the New York City bar association has issued a statement notifying cryptocurrency payments is a business transaction. While as per DCB a crypto payment is like payment in property rather than fiat.
DCB Never Preclude Accepting Highly Volatile Assets
Though, certain Law firms appear to accept crypto payment services despite the risk of instability related to the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The ethics opinion highlights upon fees of lawyers to be reasonable. But, as per DCB, they don’t preclude accepting highly volatile assets such as property, stock, and cryptocurrency.
Moreover, per ethics opinion, the terms related to crypto payments may include a brief explanation of the mode of client billing. Also if the lawyer or the client will be responsible for crypto payment transfer fees.
The lawyers who accept crypto payments must be competent with the technology. To secure the client’s virtual property, the opinion added.
