8am is in the news and leading the conversation

AUSTIN, TX (February 12, 2026) — 8am, the professional business platform purpose-built for the needs of legal, accounting, and client-focused professionals, today announced the expansion of 8am™ LawPay into a complete financial management solution. Uniting payments, invoicing, time tracking, and reporting into one workspace, 8am is helping law firms simplify workflows and gain clearer visibility into every dollar across their business.

8am research shows that fee collection, expense collection, and expense tracking are legal professionals’ greatest financial and operational challenges. Often, these critical tasks are managed across multiple fragmented systems within firms, creating friction and increasing the risk of missed revenue, errors, and compliance issues. 8am is addressing these challenges by delivering a single solution to manage all financial activity, helping firms capture every billable hour, recover revenue they might otherwise miss, and reduce administrative work.

“Financial complexity and cash flow constraints have quickly become serious operational risks for law firms,” said Leslie Witt, Chief Product Officer, 8am. “8am LawPay enables our customers to take control of their finances and connect the everyday, operational tasks that drive their business forward. This results in fewer blind spots and far less friction in how firms manage their money, supporting healthier practices overall.”

Smart Spend brings efficiency and control to expense management

A key feature of 8am’s expanded offering is 8am™ Smart Spend for LawPay, the company’s automated expense management solution powered by the 8am™ Visa® Business Card*. When the credit card is used, expense details and receipts are automatically recorded and linked to client invoices. This ensures reimbursable costs are recovered consistently, reduces manual reconciliation, and prevents revenue leakage, enabling teams to focus on higher-value work.

Additional key capabilities of the enhanced LawPay include:

• Centralized billing and payments: Create and send invoices, receive payments, and track deposits from a single workspace.

• Time and expense tracking: Capture billable hours and costs as they occur, ensuring every dollar is accounted for accurately.

• Matter-specific trust accounting: Allocate and monitor client trust funds across matters while maintaining IOLTA compliance. 

• Real-time reporting and dashboards: View cash flow, deposits, and trust balances instantly for faster, data-driven decisions.

“What used to be a monthly reconciliation nightmare is now a seamless process. With 8am LawPay, expenses are automatically tied to matters so nothing gets lost and everything is ready for billing,” said Kathleen Gasparian, Immigration Attorney, Gasparian Spivey Immigration. “The time savings and visibility have been a dream and allow us to spend more time focused on delivering for our clients.” 

Together, these updates reflect a broader shift in providing firms with a complete and dependable way to manage the financial side of their practice. The changes fit naturally into how firms already operate, while reducing long-standing friction that has made financial oversight harder than it needs to be. With better visibility into finances, 8am helps firms operate with a more reliable foundation that supports better decisions, stronger client relationships, and long-term sustainability.

Learn more and request a demo here. 

About 8am

Founded in 2005, 8am is a professional business platform purpose-built to meet the needs of legal, accounting, and other client service professionals. The 8am platform includes 8am LawPay, 8am CPACharge, 8am MyCase, 8am CasePeer, and 8am DocketWise, providing integrated solutions for every stage of the professional services lifecycle. Recognized for 14 consecutive years on the Inc. 5000’s list of fastest-growing companies, 8am empowers more than 260,000 professionals across North America with the most trusted, innovative technology to deliver world-class outcomes for their clients and their firms. To learn more, visit 8am.com

*The 8am™ Visa® Business Card is issued by Emprise Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A., Inc.

AUSTIN, Texas – (July 16, 2025) 8am, a leader in legal practice management software, integrated payments, and embedded fintech solutions for professionals, has been named to CNBC’s list of the World’s Top Fintech Companies of 2025. The company appears in the payments category alongside global leaders including Visa, Adyen, and Affirm.

“We are honored to have earned a spot on the World's Top Fintech Companies list for 2025 by CNBC,” said Dru Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of 8am. “This recognition is a direct reflection of our internal team's dedication and passion for providing solutions that help professionals thrive in their business. Our customers are the driving force behind our innovation, and we're committed to powering their growth with trusted, cutting-edge solutions.”

Produced in partnership with Statista, a leading provider of industry rankings and market data, the annual list is in its third year. CNBC and Statista evaluated thousands of companies worldwide to spotlight 300 leaders across seven core fintech segments, including payments, digital assets, financial planning, neobanking, and wealth technology.

CNBC’s research incorporated both public data and voluntary submissions from more than 100 firms. Analysts reviewed annual reports, official company data, and relevant media coverage to assess over 2,000 eligible organizations.

8am’s selection highlights the company’s impressive growth and unwavering commitment to being a trusted partner for legal and accounting professionals. The company experienced a 217% revenue increase over the past three years and more than $20 billion in payments processed in 2024\.

This news follows the release of MyCase Smart Spend Powered by the LawPay Visa Business Card, the first business credit card and spend management offering tailored specifically for small and midsize law firms. 8am has also announced its first-ever Kaleidoscope conference, open to all legal and accounting professionals, taking place September 2–4, 2025, in Austin, Texas. Tickets are available for purchase online.

For more information and to read the full list, please visit here.

Austin, TX (June 10, 2025) — Docketwise, the all-in-one immigration and case management software for immigration lawyers, has released its 2025 Legal Industry Report: State of Immigration, providing an in-depth look at the policy shifts, case data, and legal practice trends that defined U.S. immigration law in 2024\. This report offers immigration attorneys a review of green card processing, naturalization approvals, asylum outcomes, court decisions, visa statistics, and the growing role of legal technology across the field. Authored by James Pittman, Co-founder of Docketwise and former immigration attorney, the report reflects Docketwise’s continued investment in supporting immigration firms through software, client tools, and legal research.

“Immigration lawyers are facing rising demand in a challenging environment characterized by historic policy changes, fluctuating approval rates, and lengthy processing times across every aspect of their practice,” said James Pittman, Co-founder of Docketwise, an 8am solution. “This report offers a data-backed view of where the trends are headed so that firms can adapt. Our goal is to help attorneys make informed decisions as they plan for the year ahead.”

Green Card Application Patterns

The report examines green card application patterns across both employment-based and family-based categories. USCIS received more than 42,000 employment-based filings in Q1, approving fewer than 19,000. By Q3, approvals rose to over 36,000 while filings dropped by nearly half, indicating a backlog clearance rather than new demand. Processing times for green card applications also shifted, reaching their lowest in Q2 at 5.2 months before rising again to nearly 7 months by year’s end. Family-based applications remained steady at more than 110,000 per quarter, with approvals peaking at over 113,000. Processing times gradually improved from 10.1 months to 7.7 months, but each quarter closed with more than 500,000 pending cases.

Naturalization Filings

Naturalization filings neared 1 million in 2024, with over 816,000 new citizens approved. Denials declined from nearly 12 percent in Q1 to just under 10 percent in Q4. Mexico led in total approvals, including India, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. Asylum outcomes showed a clear link to legal representation as applicants with counsel were approved 52 percent of the time, compared to just 17 percent without. Denial rates for unrepresented applicants exceeded 80 percent.

Immigration Court Cases

Immigration courts resolved over 900,000 cases. One-third resulted in removal orders, and another third were terminated. More than 48,000 forms of relief were granted, and most respondents were male.

H-2A and H-2B Visas

H-2A and H-2B visas supported seasonal labor and H-1B, L-1, and E-2 visas continued to serve skilled workers and business roles. U and T visa numbers remained low as refugee admissions reached 100,034, falling short of the 125,000 cap with most coming from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.

The release of this report follows 8am’s introduction of its Kaleidoscope conference, a bespoke event curated for all legal and accounting professionals. The conference will take place September 2–4, 2025 in Austin, Texas, and tickets can be purchased online.

Docketwise, an 8am solution, will be at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)'s annual conference, June 18–21, 2025, in Denver, Colorado. To discuss the Immigration report in person, please visit Booth \#107 at the AILA conference. To download the report, please visit here.

About Docketwise

Docketwise, an 8am solution, provides best-in-class smart forms combined with a full suite of practice management and case tracking tools for immigration lawyers. From solo practitioners to law firms, tens of thousands of lawyers choose Docketwise for its straightforward approach to completing forms, personal customer support, and being an all-in-one case management solution to grow your practice. Docketwise is a part of the 8am family of solutions that includes MyCase and LawPay. For more information, please visit docketwise.com

AUSTIN, TX (June 5, 2025) – CPACharge, an online payment solution developed specifically for accounting professionals, has announced a new partnership with SafeSend, part of Thomson Reuters. This new partnership will make it easier for tax and accounting firms to get paid as clients receive their tax returns. This new integration allows firms to embed CPACharge directly into the workflow for SafeSend One, SafeSend’s flagship product.

“We are excited to partner with SafeSend and simplify how firms do business by enhancing the client experience at every stage,” said Sean Galligan, Executive Vice President of Partnerships at AffiniPay, parent company of CPACharge. “SafeSend allows us to remove barriers from the payment process and help firms deliver a faster, more seamless experience for their clients.”

Many accounting firms face delays and added work after sending out returns, especially when payments are not collected accordingly. By addressing these common pain points, CPACharge and SafeSend One help tax and accounting professionals stay focused on their work, with fewer follow-ups and faster payments.

“The integration with CPACharge reflects our ongoing commitment to simplifying workflows for tax and accounting professionals and enhancing the client experience,” said Rahul Chandran, Chief Technology Officer at SafeSend. “By embedding secure, seamless payment capabilities, we’re removing friction and delivering greater convenience for both firms and their clients.”

This announcement follows AffiniPay’s introduction of its Kaleidoscope conference, a bespoke event curated for legal and accounting professionals. The conference will take place September 2–4, 2025, in Austin, Texas. For more information about CPACharge and SafeSend, please visit here.

About CPACharge CPACharge, an AffiniPay solution, is an online payment solution developed specifically for CPA firms, giving professionals a secure way to accept credit, debit and eCheck payments. AffiniPay is headquartered in Austin, Texas and offers a modern payment gateway that integrates with more than 40 software solutions and is trusted by 50,000 firms. CPACharge is the only payment solution offered as a Member Discount Partner by the AICPA and recommended by more than 42 state CPA societies. Visit cpacharge.com to learn more.

About SafeSend® SafeSend, part of Thomson Reuters, offers award-winning automation technology for tax and accounting firms to provide an unrivaled client experience. SafeSend One™ is a single, secure solution for engagement letters, fillable organizers, source document gathering, file exchange, extensions, tax return assembly, delivery, eSign, and electronic K-1 distribution. Thousands of firms save an average of $12K for every 1K returns delivered via SafeSend One. This end-to-end tax workflow equips firms to serve their clients with a guided and intuitive experience across all touchpoints, including automated reminders, online payment options, tax return summary—and more—all in one place. SafeSend One currently supports CCH Axcess™ Tax and ProSystem fx® Tax, Thomson Reuters UltraTax CS® and GoSystem® Tax RS, and Intuit Lacerte®. Visit safesend.com to learn more about our technology solutions.

Austin, Texas (May 5, 2025) -- AffiniPay, a leader in legal practice management software, integrated payments, and solutions for professionals, is proud to announce the appointment of Leslie Witt, former executive at Headspace and Intuit, as the company’s new Chief Product Officer. Witt will be responsible for leading the company’s product transformation and strategy for leading solutions LawPay, MyCase, CASEpeer, Docketwise and CPACharge.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome Leslie to the AffiniPay team,” said Dru Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of AffiniPay. “She brings a powerhouse combination of product vision and strategic insight that will play a key role in shaping what’s next and delivering even greater value to our customers and their clients.”

Leslie Witt brings over two decades of experience in leading product teams, delivering customer-centric solutions, and driving operational growth across diverse industries. Most recently, she served as the Chief Product & Design Officer and Consumer Channel Leader at Headspace, where she led teams in creating innovative, user-centered products. Her experience spans product, content, brand, and go-to-market strategies, and her initiatives have impacted tens of millions of users worldwide.

Witt has extensive experience in the financial technology space, including advisory roles at FreshBooks, a leading small business invoicing and accounting platform. She previously held senior positions at Intuit, where she led global design, research, and innovation initiatives focused on small business solutions. Witt also founded the ‘Design for Money’ practice at IDEO, collaborating with major financial institutions, including Visa, Wells Fargo, MetLife, and the Gates Foundation, to drive innovation in the financial sector.

“I’m thrilled to join a company with such a strong reputation for innovation and customer-focused product solutions”, said Leslie Witt, Chief Product Officer of AffiniPay. “I look forward to collaborating with the talented teams at AffiniPay to amplify our impact and continue to set new standards of excellence while helping our customers achieve greater business success.”

This appointment underscores AffiniPay’s commitment to providing professionals with innovative technology to drive better business results. This addition follows the appointment of Nathan Waite as Chief Revenue Officer earlier this year.

About 8am (formerly AffiniPay) Founded in 2005, 8am is a professional business platform purpose-built to meet the needs of legal, accounting, and other client service professionals. The 8am platform includes 8am LawPay, 8am CPACharge, 8am MyCase, 8am CasePeer, 8am DocketWise—providing integrated solutions for every stage of the professional services lifecycle. Recognized for 14 consecutive years on the Inc. 5000's list of fastest-growing companies, 8am empowers more than 250,000 professionals across North America with the most trusted, innovative technology to deliver world-class outcomes for their clients and their firms. To learn more, visit 8am.com.

Austin, TX (March 18, 2025) — 8am (formerly AffiniPay), a leader in legal practice management software, integrated payments, and embedded fintech solutions for professionals, announced today the early access launch of MyCase Smart Spend, powered by the LawPay Visa Business Card, the first credit card to integrate with legal practice management software for streamlined spend management. The MyCase Smart Spend product has been in private beta access since October of 2024\. With Smart Spend, expense tracking and client billing work together seamlessly in one platform, ensuring firms recover all their advanced costs.

"I love this [MyCase Smart Spend]. This is the best thing ever. This is going to save so much time for my staff.”- Emily McFarling, Managing Partner, McFarling Law

MyCase Smart Spend comes at a pivotal moment for the legal industry, as according to the 2025 AffiniPay Legal Industry Report, 55% of law firms report expense tracking as a challenge. As firms are increasingly turning to technology to improve their firm operations, providers like AffiniPay continue to provide solutions that improve efficiency and simplify financial management. Smart Spend empowers law firms to track and bill expenses by integrating a LawPay Visa Business Card with client billing, invoicing, and bookkeeping in MyCase. It’s the only credit card that integrates with practice management to improve expense billing accuracy and operational transparency.

“We are excited to officially bring MyCase Smart Spend, the first and only spend management tool designed for the unique needs of SMB law firms, to the market,” said Dru Armstrong, CEO of AffiniPay. “My father was an attorney who struggled with the finances behind his firm. A tool like Smart Spend could have helped his firm operate with larger transparency and financial peace of mind. We are thrilled to partner with Marqeta, Visa, and Emprise Bank to bring this offering to our customers.”

Another early beta user of MyCase Smart Spend commented: "Our firm regularly advances case expenses on behalf of our clients to move cases forward. Sometimes it is $10 to fulfill an open records request or $50 for medical records without my direct involvement. Now I can log into Smart Spend and see each purchase in real-time made by each team member and the linked cases to ensure accurate reporting."-- Gregory M. Erpenbeck, Partner, Busald Funk Zevely

Marqeta is a global modern card issuing platform that enables embedded finance capabilities and is a trusted platform for building card programs that are dynamic, flexible and tailored to customer needs.

"Visa is proud to work with AffiniPay to bring innovative financial solutions to the legal industry,” said Kirk Stuart, SVP, Head of North America Enablers, Merchants and Fintechs. Our collaboration aims to empower law firms to manage their expenses efficiently and transparently, with the goal of promoting growth and operational excellence."

By partnering with Marqeta, MyCase Smart Spend users will have access to real-time card issuing, transaction data, and spend controls for their credit card offering to help stay on top of business expenses and access capital more easily.

“Law firms need an efficient way to reconcile their business expenses,” said Todd Pollak, Chief Revenue Officer, Marqeta. “Marqeta's all-in-one platform enables innovative companies like AffiniPay to offer an embedded credit card that streamlines how firms manage their expenses, making it simpler to track spending and grow their business as a result. We're proud to work with AffiniPay to power their MyCase Smart Spend product, creating new opportunities for business growth among their customer base."

“We are proud to partner with AffiniPay as their embedded banking provider for Smart Spend,” said Matt Michaelis, Chairman and CEO of Emprise Bank. “AffiniPay’s unwavering commitment to their customers and their drive for innovation set them apart. Together, we’re delivering seamless financial solutions that empower MyCase customers to achieve their goals with confidence”

To learn more about MyCase Smart Spend and the LawPay Visa® Business Card, please visit here.

About AffiniPay

AffiniPay is a market leader in practice management software and online payments for professionals serving legal, accounting, architectural, engineering, and construction firms. AffiniPay has been recognized as one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies for 12 years in a row. Each of its brands leads the market it serves with solutions purpose-built by industry including LawPay, MyCase, CASEpeer, Docketwise, CPACharge, and AffiniPay for Associations. AffiniPay’s solutions are trusted by more than 245,000 legal & accounting professionals with more than 150 strategic partnerships and endorsements, including the American Bar Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Visit affinipay.com to learn more.

The LawPay Visa® Business Card is issued by Emprise Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A., Inc.