Why Lawyers Need To Understand Electronic Signatures

Electronic signatures are something that lawyers are going to have to deal with sooner or later, as tech columnist Jeff Bennion explains.

signature signing electronic signature esignature esignElectronic signatures are something that lawyers are going to have to deal with sooner or later. I remember when I was working in a larger firm, the paralegal or the associate would draft up some discovery or pleading for the partner’s review and leave it on his desk with one of those “sign here” tabs. Now, fast forward several years, and you can’t always do that. E-filing is slowly creeping into several venues and changing the rules for how we sign things. We now have to look to local court rules for what that venue requires for signatures. If your local venue does not have e-filing yet, it probably soon will.

E-filing is not the only reason to take notice of electronic signatures. We are now living in the Convenience Age. Netflix did a study that prompted them to redesign their recommendation system. They found that if users did not find a movie to watch in under two minutes, they would look somewhere else. We are used to texting on the go, Yelping on the go, mobile check deposit, and all of the other apps that have made our lives more convenient. I’m not saying that a client is going to fire you if they can’t get a contract signed in under two minutes. I’m saying it will be an inconvenience for them and it will stick out in their mind. It would be like if someone books a flight on their phone, checks in online, goes through TSA precheck, lands at the destination, calls for an Uber, and a horse and carriage shows up instead to take you to your hotel. You’d be taken aback because it is out of place and doesn’t meet your expectations for convenience. In the near future, when you tell a client, “Yeah, I’ll have to fax it back to you in a few hours, I’m out of the office…,” it’s simply not going to be acceptable.

The Problem

So, let’s go through the steps that we take with ink signatures on a document that requires multiple signatures, such as a stipulation or a settlement agreement. You create it, print it, sign it, scan it, and then email it to the other parties. One person gets the e-mail, prints it, signs it, scans it, and emails it back. The other person gets the e-mail, prints it, signs it, and faxes it back. Then you get the emailed version and the faxed signature from the other party and make copies of them and put a copy in your file and send one copy to the court. And that’s a best case scenario. What if you need a signature from someone and they are out, or not somewhere where they have a printer? Now your signature process is going to be delayed by several hours until someone can actually print out the paper, sign it, and scan it back in. Then, we are talking about wasted time, delays, and possibly missing deadlines.

The Solution

Electronic signatures allow us to sign documents on our computers or on our phones without having to print and scan or fax. The process takes less time and is more convenient. I recently looked at an electronic signature provider called ClientSide (previously discussed by my fellow columnist Ed Sohn).

I looked at using ClientSide on my phone (using the stylus to sign on my Note 5, but you can sign with your finger as well), and on my desktop. The entire procedure of sending, receiving, and signing was pretty streamlined.

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The basic process is this: You log in and create an account. Upload documents you want signed, from picture files, PDFs, or Word documents. Enter in the info for the person to sign and press send. The receiver gets an e-mail that there is a document to sign. They open it, review the document. The sender gets a notification that the document has been viewed. Then, the receiver signs it and presses the button to send it back. The sender gets a copy of the signed document back as well as an audit trail showing information about who opened and accessed that document. You can also password protect files as you send them to make sure they get to the right person.

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This is where you upload and designate who is going to sign the document. You can also set the password for the file if you choose.

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Once the document is uploaded, build the fields by dragging and dropping into the document.

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You get an e-mail that the document is ready for your signature and a link to sign it online.

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Here, I switched over to my phone and signed the document with a stylus. There are also options to type a signature or use your finger.

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When you are finished, you get an e-mail that it has been received.

Are E-signatures Legal?

The laws governing electronic signatures vary from state to state, but to my knowledge, no state has banned electronic signatures. If you’ve ever received a FedEx package or signed an electronic card reader at Target, your state probably accepts electronic signatures.

In California, we have Civil Code 1633.7, which states:

(a) A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.

(b) A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation.

(c) If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law.

(d) If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law.

Our California Secretary of State website also has a lot of information about when electronic signatures are accepted.

So, I’d encourage you to look into electronic signatures. It’s convenient. It’s the future. It’s what people are going to be expecting from you as a professional.


Jeff Bennion is Of Counsel at Estey & Bomberger LLP, a plaintiffs’ law firm specializing in mass torts and catastrophic injuries. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of San Diego’s plaintiffs’ trial lawyers association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He is also the Education Chair and Executive Committee member of the State Bar of California’s Law Practice Management and Technologysection. He is a member of the Advisory Council and instructor at UCSD’s Litigation Technology Management program. His opinions are his own. Follow him on Twitterhere or on Facebook here, or contact him by email at jeff@trial.technology.

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