Legal
technology
company
Clio‘s
integration
with
the
payment
processing
platform
8am
LawPay
is
discontinuing
on
Aug.
31,
2026,
it
has
notified
customers.
After
that
date,
customers
of
the
Clio
Manage
law
practice
management
platform
will
no
longer
be
able
to
use
LawPay
to
process
payments.
The
integration
contract
between
the
two
companies
expires
as
of
that
date
and
will
not
be
renewed.
I
have
been
unable
to
determine
precisely
when
Clio
and
LawPay
first
integrated,
but
the
relationship
goes
back
many
years.
The
integration
was
further
enhanced
in
2015,
when
the
companies
announced
that
the
LawPay
engine
would
power
the
newly
launched
Clio
Payments.
But
that
relationship
changed
dramatically
starting
in
2021,
when
Clio
launched
its
own
native
version
of
Clio
Payments.
Less
than
a
year
later,
LawPay’s
parent
company,
which
was
called
AffiniPay
until
its
rebrand
last
year
as
8am,
shifted
the
competitive
landscape
by
turning
around
and
acquiring
practice
management
platform
MyCase,
a
major
competitor
of
Clio’s.
As
I
wrote
at
the
time,
one
reason
that
acquisition
was
so
stunning
was
that,
until
then,
LawPay
had
been
the
legal
tech
equivalent
of
Switzerland,
providing
its
payments
technology
to
virtually
every
practice
management
platform,
without
favoring
any
one.
But
overnight,
LawPay
became
a
competitor
to
many
of
the
platforms
with
which
it
had
long
partnered.
Against
that
backdrop,
it
should
come
as
no
surprise
that
the
relationship
is
ending,
as
it
was
bound
to
happen
sooner
or
later.
See
my
series:
The
Shrinking
Ownership
of
Law
Practice
Management
Technology.
I
reached
out
to
Clio
for
comment,
and
received
the
following
statement
from
AJ
Axelrod,
vice
president
of
payments
and
financial services:
“The
agreement
supporting
the
LawPay
integration
within
Clio
Manage
is
expected
to
conclude
in
August
2026.
This
is
a
natural
contract
conclusion.
Because
the
ability
to
accept
payments
is
mission-critical
for
law
firms,
customers
have
been
informed
well
in
advance
so
they
can
evaluate
their
options
and
prepare
for
business
continuity.
Our
priority
is
ensuring
firms
have
the
time,
information,
and
support
they
need
to
plan
their
next
steps
with
confidence.
Clio
will
continue
to
provide
integrated
payment
capabilities
within
Clio
Manage
through
Clio
Payments
and
customers
are
able
to
continue
using
LawPay
outside
of
the
integration.”
I
also
reached
out
to
8am
LawPay
for
comment,
which
provided
the
following
statement:
“8am
LawPay
and
Clio
have
offered
law
firms
an
integrated
payment
option
for
years.
As
that
concludes
at
the
end
of
August,
our
commitment
to
these
firms
doesn’t
change.
LawPay
remains
available
to
customers
directly,
and
we’re
working
closely
with
each
of
them
to
ensure
a
smooth
transition
and
continued
access
to
the
payment
experience
they
expect
and
rely
on.
Law
firms
benefit
from
flexibility
in
how
they
manage
payments,
and
LawPay
is
committed
to
delivering
that
directly
and
without
disruption.”
In
recent
years,
both
Clio
and
8am
have
expanded
their
financial
offerings
for
legal
professionals.
On
Clio’s
part,
in
addition
to
launching
Clio
Payments
in
2021,
it
has
launched
Pay
Later,
a
buy-now,
pay-later
feature
for
legal
services,
and
in
March
it
launched
Clio
Capital,
a
financing
program
that
provides
eligible
law
firms
with
access
to
working
capital.
LawPay
has
introduced
a
number
of
finance-related
initiatives
in
recent
years.
It
had
launched
a
buy-now,
pay
later
feature
in
2021.
More
recently,
it
introduced
Smart
Spend,
a
credit
card
for
law
firms
that
directly
integrates
with
MyCase
for
expense
tracking;
the
expansion
of
LawPay
into
a
full
financial
management
platform;
and,
just
a
week
ago,
a
guarantee
of
next-day
payment
processing
for
LawPay
customers.
[Disclosure:
My
son
is
employed
by
8am
as
a
software
engineer.]