Most family law attorneys I know take credit cards. That’s a good thing. Anything you can do to make it easier for your client to pay is a good thing.

Getting set up to take credit cards is a bit of a hassle. You have to get approved for a merchant account, you’ve got set up hardware or software for processing the card and you’ve got to have an internet or phone connection. None of these requirements are overly burdensome but they might prove difficult in some circumstances.

Lawyers approaching their practices with some out of the box thinking might find the typical credit card/bank arrangements less than convenient. For instance, lawyers doing house calls would like to process a charge while visiting with the client. It would be great to process the payment while you’re chatting about trial preparation with your client at Starbucks, wouldn’t it?

Maybe you’d like to settle a client’s account at the courthouse while the client is still thrilled with the result you just obtained. That might be the perfect time to get your bill paid.

Square will soon offer an iPhone app that allows you to process the payment over the phone. You’ll plug a little square gizmo into your iPhone, swipe the card and have the client sign on the iPhone. The funds will quickly appear in your account and you’ll be charged a small fee for processing.

Here’s a short video of Kevin Rose demonstrating the app.