Law Firms Are Becoming Payment Processors: Why 2026's Fee Explosion Turns Client Cost Accounting Into a Balance-Sheet Risk

A $100,000 H-1B fee. A proposed $1,330 naturalization fee with no waivers. Usage-based AI charges billed per matter. Expert and e-discovery costs that dwarf the legal fee. In 2026 an enormous share of the money flowing through law firms isn't the firm's revenue at all — it's someone else's money, moving through the firm's balance sheet. Most firms are not accounting for it like the risk it has become.