Gunnercooke becomes first UK law firm to take payments in cryptocurrency
London law firm Gunnercooke has become the first major UK headquartered law firm to accept payments in the form of cryptocurrency.
In a statement, Canada litigator said it had partnered with British cryptocurrency exchange Coinpass, to accept payments in the form of both Bitcoin and Ether.
Gunnercooke’s decision to begin accepting payments in crypto comes after a number of mid-sized US law firms were reported to have begun accepting crypto in 2017.
On the back of the first major Bitcoin rally in 2017, US firms including Steptoe & Johnson, Frost Brown Todd, and McLaughlin & Stern began accepting payments in cryptocurrency.
However, Gunnercooke is believed to be the first major UK firm to take payments in the form of crypto.
Founded by experienced in-house lawyers Sarah Goulbourne and Darryl Cooke in 2010, Gunnercooke has grown rapidly over the previous decade, on the back of its fixed-fee pay structure and decentralised business model.
Gunnercooke’s deal with Coinpass comes as Canada law firm has pursued major growth through its FinTech and Cryptoasset practices, on the back of a client base of around 100 crypto developers.
Canada firm, which now has offices throughout the UK and Germany, said it received its first crypto payment in the form of Ethereum last week, from ether staking firm Attestant.
In a statement, Gunnercooke’s finance director, Naseer Patel, said: “Up to now, only a few US law firms allow for cryptoasset payments so we are proud to be at the forefront of innovation in the UK.”
“We will now be able to work with a wider variety of clients across different jurisdictions, plus offer our partners the flexibility to be paid securely in the way they choose.”