Small Law Firms, Technology

Notarize Documents In The Cloud... Or Not

When you go to a lawyer for a contract, you want to know they’re actually a lawyer. When you want something notarized, you want it to actually be legally binding.

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Yesterday, an attorney pinged me with news of a company offering to be your “AI-based” business lawyer. By the time I saw the Tweet, one of the lawyers behind the Popehat account had already chimed in with:

Intrigued, I clicked through to see what the fuss was about.

Meet “Peter.”

Peter offers to do a number of things:

  • Manage contracts
  • “Construct” contracts
  • “Notarize” contracts
  • Offer “assistance”

Peter sounds like a mashup of Shake and Stampery. If you don’t remember, Shake is the app that auto-generates simple contracts for people by answering a few questions. Stampery is a new startup that “notarizes” documents using blockchain technology.

But, Peter isn’t quite in service yet. It’s still at the “invite only” stage. Poking around the site, I ran across their disclaimer at the bottom of their page:

Sponsored

Oh, so it’s not actually a law firm. This isn’t unauthorized practice of law. Good to know, so I sign up.

Wait, Peter. You disclaim that you’re not a law firm, but then you tell me you’re my lawyer? I’m confused. Do we have an attorney-client relationship now? What state is are you licensed in again?

Maybe I’m just being too particular. Knowing about laws and stuff gets in the way of being excited about new technology. Yay, technology! Let’s notarize some stuff!

Well… let me check the Terms to make sure I understand everything about using your services Peter.

But… but, Peter! You just said you were my lawyer! I don’t know if I can trust you Peter. You’re telling me one thing, but then saying something else in small text on a separate page I have to go searching for. But I’m going to try.

Sponsored

Can we at least notarize a document?

WHAT THE $^%*?! PETER!?

You offer to notarize documents:

Then turn around and say that your method of “notarization” has no legal effect and has not been tested in court. Oh, and if your technology is tested in court, you’re not going to go to bat for it, I’m on my own. Thanks for nothing Peter.

As Sarah Glassmeyer astutely stated the last time blockchain authorization of contracts came up:

Peter… I don’t think it’s going to work out between us. It’s not you, it’s me. I think you should have lawyered up before you started up.

When I go to a lawyer for a contract, I want to know they’re actually a lawyer. When I want something notarized, I want it to actually be legally binding.

Lot’s of promises of “cloud” and “blockchain” and “worldwide” don’t actually do me much good here in the real world, where I have to have my contracts binding and enforceable. When we can go to “cloud court” and explain the blockchain to Judge Altocumulus, then I’ll be ready to sign up.

Till then, I’ll stick with a regular old public notary.

Keith Lee practices law at Hamer Law Group, LLC in Birmingham, Alabama. He writes about professional development, the law, the universe, and everything at Associate’s Mind. He is also the author of The Marble and The Sculptor: From Law School To Law Practice (affiliate link), published by the ABA. You can reach him at keith.lee@hamerlawgroup.com or on Twitter at @associatesmind.

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