Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson Case Study: Profiting with LawPay

As a full-service legal firm based in Orlando with five offices throughout Central Florida, Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson offers a broad range of services to the community. Their primary practice areas include litigation, corporate real estate, estate planning, probate, and guardianship. LawPay sat down with Amanda Koplos, Executive Director, to learn more about the firm's work over the nearly two decades since its conception and to discuss the imperative for growth and innovation as a company looking towards its next 20 years of success.

A Payment Solution that Does it All, For a Firm that Does It All

One need only look at the types of cases Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson takes on to understand the scope of its operation. With nearly 50 attorneys working across five offices and managing every kind of case from aerospace defense to victim's rights, the vast amount of work being done daily is staggering.

According to Amanda Koplos, "when you have that many departments melded together in a firm, it's really important that there are standard processes and procedures. Larger firms rely on technology and software simply to manage day-to-day working orders. It's not uncommon for firms to need various software, including payment processors, practice management (LPM), document management, and accounting - just to name a few.”

With so much going on, a wise firm may look for software solutions that cater to more than one of its needs and, additionally, look for software that can work together on one platform. One of the central factors for Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson deciding to use LawPay as their payments provider was the integration with a practice management software already being used by the firm. LawPay's modern payment solution was easily incorporated into an already established workflow, which is crucial for such a large firm.

LawPay integrates with over 70+ practice management tools and legal software to solve problems for legal professionals and provide them with the technologies they need to run successful modern firms.

How LawPay Benefits a Large Law Firm

While it might seem like a different game with different rules, law firms operate in many ways like any other consumer business. When Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson started looking for an online payment processor, they began with software they knew they could trust - namely, through recommendations!

LawPay is trusted by over 150,000 professionals nationwide and, most notably to Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson, endorsed by the ABA, which Koplos said: "gave credibility to the software."

There's a reason why LawPay has been the preferred payments partner in the legal space for over a decade. Keep reading to get insight into how LawPay benefits Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson, including increasing profitability, streamlining operations, and improving the payment experience.

Lower Fees = Increased Profitability

As the Executive Director of such a large firm, Amanda Koplos has a big job. In her words, "my role as the Executive Director is to make the best business decisions for our firm. I handle all of the day-to-day operations so our lawyers can practice law and not be in the weeds with the operations side of the firm. When I choose a business partner, I want to make sure that they are going to give us the best service possible. I also want to make sure that it's the best bang for our buck."

In the age of Venmo, PayPal, and Square, cash and paper checks have become dated relics of times gone by. Clients expect the convenience of electronic payments, so much so that they probably have their payment method information saved onto their computers and phones - cutting out even the most minimal hassle of manually typing in their card numbers. Modern clients are busy and prefer to avoid the hassle of coming into an office to pay in person.

Our data shows the collection rates for law firms that accept online payments are nearly 10% higher than those that don't. Long story short, failing to provide various payment options means leaving your hard-earned revenue on the table.

Prior to using an online payment processor, the firm was using an outdated method of collecting payment, which was unorganized and insecure.

Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson also found that LawPay has the lowest credit card processing fees on the market, further increasing the amount of cash going directly to the law firm. "Not only was our system extremely antiquated, but it was also more expensive,” says Koplos, "so on a per transaction basis, we paid a lot more money than we did with LawPay. Even though our credit card collections have gone up, our fees have not increased incrementally because of lower fees with LawPay".

With the lower processing fees and increased business coming into the firm, LawPay's suite of features has helped Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson get their payments easier.

A Cycle of Good Faith

We've established the importance of offering a multitude of payment options to clients, and LawPay has made it extremely easy for Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson clients to pay for professional services with several convenient payment methods.

The firm has experienced significant growth over the last four years, making it necessary for them to continue to shift and evolve to meet the needs of their modern customers. For Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson, this means incorporating technology solutions to enhance their clients' experience.

Koplos shares why she credits the adaptation of technology into a legal firm as good for business across the board. "We want our clients to see that we are being innovative and forward-thinking and that we are at the top of our field. So, it's essential that the way we accepted payments matched how we were innovating."

With multiple ways to pay and 24/7 access, online payments ensure that Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson clients stay happy with the firm and continue to return in the future.

Top-Tier Security = Piece of Mind

Cybersecurity incidents are on the rise. And unfortunately, law firms are attractive targets for cybercriminals. In fact, it's reported that 1 in 4 law firms reported a data breach or security threat in 2021. Larger law firms are especially popular targets for cyberattacks. In the ABA's 2018 Legal Technology Survey Report, the percentage of firms that reported a security breach generally increased as firm size grew. For example, whereas only 14 percent of solo firms claimed to have had an incident, 42 percent of firms with 50-99 employees reported experiencing a breach.

Before using an online payment solution, Koplos explains that Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson's methods for collecting payment information (collecting credit card numbers over the phone) was outdated, putting the firm at risk for compromised data.

"Before LawPay, we used to have to deal with what to do with credit card numbers once the firm had written it down. Do we have good security measures to shred the number or ensure it's not falling into the wrong hands?"

Additionally, the firm struggled with sharing data internally, causing a headache for the staff responsible for payments, explained Koplos.

"We have five offices across central Florida, and it was really difficult for some of our offices, especially those that serve more local clientele, to accept payments. They would have to get the clients to write down the credit card number. Then the paralegal would have to call the accounting department and give them the credit card number. There was this huge disconnect and a large margin of error when you have so many people manually taking the numbers down."

Now with LawPay, Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson can prioritize keeping client information confidential. The firm has been able to easily update its process to incorporate safeguards into its billing and payment methods. Clients can enter their data into a highly secure payment portal, and all their information is encrypted and stored, simplifying future payments.

Incorporating LawPay into a Firm's Workflow is a Breeze

There is rarely a spare moment at a law firm, large or small. This is why it's crucial that any new process being considered is able to be implemented quickly and efficiently. Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson was impressed with how seamlessly the transition to using LawPay was.

Amanda Koplos noted, "I think what I've been most impressed with since we've implemented LawPay is how quick and easy it is. We had to change our bank account number at one point, and LawPay was able to get us back up and running in a matter of minutes. We never missed a beat."

Getting started with LawPay is simple. With an intuitive interface and prompt customer service, you can start collecting payments in just 24 hours. Plus, LawPay's in-house team of payment specialists is made up of real human beings who are available by phone, live chat, or email to answer any questions you may have about your accounts.

A Partnership to Benefit Central Florida

While technology is great for boosting profitability, streamlining workflow, and client retention, LawPay is most proud to play a part in Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson's mission of caring about clients, their families, and their businesses and continuing to be a part of the central Florida community.

LawPay helps legal professionals spend less time on what they have to do and gives them more time to spend on what they want to do. If you're interested in learning more about how LawPay can help your firm reach its goals, we invite you to schedule a demo!