Minecraft's Law Firm Sheridans to Start Accepting Bitcoin Payments

Top-tier media and entertainment law firm Sheridans has announced that it will begin taking payment in bitcoin. The firm currently has about a dozen clients in the bitcoin economy, said Eitan Jankelewitz, a technology lawyer in the firm who promoted the initiative internally.

“[Accepting bitcoin] is driven by an understanding at Sheridans that there’s no reason not to. I don’t see any reason for a retailer, or a service provider like us, not to accept bitcoin,” he said.

Jankelewitz said the firm’s clients involved in the bitcoin economy included mining equipment manufacturers, wallet operators, exchanges, investors and retailers who accept bitcoin. All of those clients had asked Sheridans if they could pay in bitcoin, according to Jankelewitz.

Jankelewitz said most of his company's bitcoin clients ask for advice on user terms and conditions agreements:

“The first thing people want to do is start making money, so the first thing we do is get them their standard terms of business.”

He said that there was little objection to adopting bitcoin for payment within the firm. The firm’s auditors and anti-money-laundering specialists were consulted and had no objection, he said, adding that the company would convert bitcoin payments to pounds sterling immediately.

While Sheridans is ranked in the top tier of firms specialising in media and entertainment, it is not one of the so-called ‘Magic Circle’ firms. This is a colloquial term for the five law top firms in the United Kingdom, which currently includes Allen & Overy, and Slaughter and May.

The company is also ranked in the top tier for firms specialising in media and entertainment and media finance by the Legal 500, an authoritative ranking of law firms around the world.

Sheridans is known for its work with Mojang, the maker of the hugely popular game Minecraft.

Some legal questions surrounding bitcoin in the UK currently include the tax authority's treatment of the digital currency, registration by exchanges under money laundering regulations and banking safeguards for consumers.

Disclaimer: Sheridans acts for CoinDesk Ltd

Featured image via Elias_Daniel / Flickr

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