How LawPay Helps Payton Law Firm Overcome COVID-19 Challenges

Background:

Patrick H. Payton & Associates P.C. is a general practice law firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm has particular experience in family law, criminal law, and personal injury. “You can come here for just about anything that you need done by an attorney,” says Katheryn Anderson, account manager at Patrick H. Payton & Associates. “You can come in for something during your life and come back for something else. It's nice to have the same attorney that you would consider your attorney for your lifetime.”

Adapting to a post-COVID world

Law firms across the country had to reorganize their operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Patrick H. Payton & Associates was no different. With in-person consultations and client meetings off the table, the firm had to consider how to keep the lights on and continue serving their clients.

“Even if we're not in our office, we still have to pay the rent because that company is depending on that income for them to survive,” said Katheryn Anderson. “And just because COVID hits, doesn't mean people in tough situations don't need help. So, the ability to help those people when other situations are tough and it's hard to get together and it's hard to be there in person, the ability to still help them became extremely important.”

The firm quickly adopted online conferencing tools like Zoom, but they realized that their billing process would need to change, as well. Already, the firm was using a more traditional form of billing that produced less-than-satisfactory results. “I remember at times, I would print up a stack of bills this big and we'd mail them all out. And we'd get a sprinkling of checks back,” said Katheryn Anderson. “It would become difficult when the case was over, and all you could do is mail out a bill and hope you got something back.”

Going beyond online payments

Thankfully, Patrick H. Payton & Associates had LawPay on their side. The firm had discovered LawPay through an event hosted by the Texas Bar Association. Kaytheryn Anderson recalls how her father, Patrick H. Payton, was impressed by LawPay’s outreach during the event. “They had a marketing booth there, and he stopped and talked to them and took some pamphlets. And they said, ‘We'll call you.’”

However, to their pleasant surprise, LawPay was true to its word. “The difference was LawPay did contact us. They called, they followed up. They help our firm collect fees in a way that’s more convenient for our clients and more efficient for our firm.”

A simpler billing process

Once equipped with LawPay, Patrick H. Payton & Associates found that their billing process became significantly easier to handle. “The [scheduled payments] feature has been huge for us,” said Katheryn Anderson. “Being able to get that commitment, get that information in there, get the payments set up, ready to go, it's much easier to be able to rely on that income.”

Furthermore, using LawPay had added a layer of comfort and confidence to the billing process for Patrick H. Payton & Associates, both for the lawyers and their clients. “I talk a lot about how secure LawPay is, and how they don't have to worry about anything happening to their payment,” noted Katheryn Anderson. “Then, when they're with their attorney, the clients are not thinking about their bill. They’re able to focus on their case and what needs to be done to help them.”

All in all, LawPay has proven to be an invaluable asset to the team at Patrick H. Payton & Associates. “The last thing you want to do is to make paying your bill strenuous. So, for the client, it really provides them a stress-free way to pay,” said Katheryn Anderson. “I think that's vital when you're going through something difficult or stressful in your life when you're in need of an attorney.”