But all of that is changing. Lawyers and law firmsfollowing other professions, particularly medicineare accepting credit cards for legal services in increasing numbers.

American Express Co. and Visa International Inc. report significant increases in the past year in the number of law firms that accept credit cards and in the volume of transactions in the legal service category.

Both clients and their lawyers are responsible for the change, industry officials said. Credit cards have become more of a purchasing tool than a borrowing one in recent years, with credit card companies rewarding the frequent card user with refunds or frequent flyer miles, giving card holders a greater incentive to put high-priced purchases on their cards.

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And law firms, particularly smaller ones, are benefiting from better cash flow that credit card use provides them.

People use credit cards more than they used to. There’s almost nothing you can do that can’t be done with a credit card. It’s plastic money, it’s not borrowing money, said Linda Ravdin, a lawyer with Ravdin & Wofford, a Washington firm that practices family and estate law. If it’s okay to buy your groceries or liquor by credit card, why can’t you pay your lawyers with one?

American Express said the number of law firms and lawyers who accept its card has grown by 20.3 percent in the past year. But the most dramatic increase came only recently. From Jan. 1 through the end of May, the number of firms and lawyers that accept American Express increased by 60.6 percent.

Visa reported an even larger increase. Michael Sherman, Visa’s director of marketing and advertising, said there has been a 93 percent rise in the use of Visa for legal services in the past year, resulting in about $95 million in transactions.

Steve Apesos, a spokesman for MasterCard International Inc., said the use of credit cards to purchase legal services is a growing industry. There are probably as many as 25,000 law firms and lawyers nationwide accepting MasterCard for payment, he said.

All three credit card companies said they have not specifically targeted the legal services area. They’re growing on their own, said Visa spokeswoman Sandra Stair.

Ravdin started accepting credit cards four to five years ago at her small law firm here. She said it made sense to do so because it is a convenience for clients and it significantly improved her cash flow.

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Instead of waiting weeks or months to get paid by clients, she now waits only days for payment from the credit card company. She said she receives about 15 percent of her revenue from credit card charges.