Meliora is a specialist immigration firm in Glasgow, and it came to Legl after a surge in new leads left its team matching unreferenced bank transfers by hand and opening files for clients who never paid. Seven days after its first demo, the firm was taking card payments.
Here’s how Meliora Legal cut post-instruction client drop-off from around 40% to around 2%, and saves at least 10 hours a week, by taking payment through Legl Pay before a file is opened.
"In immigration, we have the somewhat unique situation of clients having similar names or having third parties pay on their behalf. With Legl, we can link payments to the contact email address rather than just a name to ensure it is matched to the correct client." Imogen Harris, Operations Manager
Before Legl: payments the team could not place
In the summer of 2026, a sudden rise in new leads meant Meliora was taking about seven payments a day. Most were £500, the firm's standard deposit and monthly fee, although some clients paid up to £4,000 up front.
Most of that money arrived by bank transfer, and clients often left off their matter reference. With many clients sharing similar names, and family or friends often paying on their behalf, working out who had paid was a challenge. Phone payments went through a card machine, which meant staff had to ask each caller who the payment was for.
All of this added up to about five hours a week spent matching transfers to clients. Payments that nobody could identify arrived every week, and each one took five to seven days to resolve.
New leads were costing the firm time too. The team would open a file, send an engagement letter and issue an invoice before the client had paid anything, and around 40% of those clients then dropped off.
"We were having to set up a whole file, send out an engagement letter, send out an invoice, and then there's obviously a drop-off point. But we've spent all that time setting up the file." Imogen Harris
Why Meliora chose Legl
Imogen found Legl through a Google search and booked a demo in August 2026, looking for a way to solve three problems at once:
- Every payment had to reach the right client and matter, even when names were similar or someone else paid.
- Clients needed a way to pay other than bank transfer.
- The firm needed it in place as soon as possible.
In the demo, Imogen saw how a Pay request works. Each request carries the invoice and matter reference and goes straight to the client's email address, so the client can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Pay by Bank from a page with the firm's branding. Phone payments sit in the same dashboard, and Legl transfers the money to the firm's bank account each weekday, with a breakdown of the client payments in every transfer.
Before the call ended, Imogen had asked for the order form. After seeing Legl for the first time, Imogen said:
"I think that's pretty much exactly what we're looking for." Imogen Harris
How we rolled it out
Meliora went from its first demo to taking card payments in seven days. The firm signed on 1 September, and by the time of the kick-off call two days later, Imogen had already set up Meliora's branding, contact details and payment settings in the launch room.
Because Meliora is a sole trader, the identity checks needed to switch on payments covered only one person. The next day, Legl ran a 30-minute training session for the team member who sends payment requests, and Meliora could take card payments from that day.
At the same time, Meliora changed part of its own process. New clients now receive a payment request before anyone opens a file, and the file is opened only once the deposit has been paid.
"The set up was quick and easy." Imogen Harris
The results
In September 2026, its first full month on Legl Pay, Meliora took 93 payments.
"It's making my life so much easier, and I love it, to be honest." Imogen Harris
For the team
Imogen's team now saves at least 10 hours a week. About five of those hours used to go on hunting for payments, while the rest comes from quicker postings and from clients paying faster through the link. Because every payment arrives with the client's details and references attached, postings to client ledgers stay up to date.
The team has also stopped opening files for clients who don't pay. Post-instruction drop-off has fallen from around 40% to around 2%, and for the 8% or so of new clients who never pay the deposit, no file is opened at all.
"Now we can send it to them before we open up the file, so if they don't pay, we just don't open the file." Imogen Harris
For clients
Clients used to pay only when the firm contacted them, but more of them now pay without being chased. Family or friends can pay through the same link, and the payment is still matched to the right client by their email address.
"I've been pleasantly surprised that quite a few existing clients, we've sent them pay requests and they've just paid. I think that's the beauty of Apple Pay, it's just so quick." Imogen Harris
Looking ahead
Meliora shows what Legl Pay can do for a busy practice that needs every payment to reach the right client. The firm gets paid before it starts work, and its records stay accurate however many clients share a name or have someone else pay for them. As Meliora takes on more staff and more clients, Legl will help the firm keep the same process as volumes rise.
"It's worth it for any legal company receiving regular payments from clients." Imogen Harris
