The legal industry has grown at a breakneck speed in recent years and would reach $908.26 billion in 2025, up from $713.7 billion in 2020. The sector is heavily dependent on paper, and lawyers must move tons of paper to close daily deals. One of the highest paper users, Law firms spend an average of $1,000 per employee annually or $83 per month. Another research says that a single lawyer generates 20,000 to 1,00,000 printed pages per year. It shows how the growing demand for legal services has a direct effect on physical paperwork.
The legal industry is slowly taking the path of modernization. When it comes to using technology in the legal field, many things still need to be figured out. There have been discussions in the past about how technology is making lawyers obsolete. While that might not happen soon, technology is indeed making the legal industry better. Electronic signatures are just one of many ways technology is transforming the legal industry.
The benefit of deploying electronic signatures in the legal industry is that it can reduce the paperwork & make the tedious legal process more secure, rapid and trustworthy for businesses.
How can lawyers use electronic signatures for remote working & everyday work?
If you are a lawyer who is tired of spending hours signing hundreds of documents. In that case, you can digitally sign every legal document in a minute by using electronic signatures. Lawyers can use this application to create, sign & use legally binding documents online from their office, on the move, at their home, or remote location anytime, anywhere.
Due to the ease with which eSignatures get installed on any portable tablet, laptop/desktop, or smartphone. They are a fantastic tool for legal firms to transfer information, share documents, and connect with customers.
Here is how lawyers can use it by following these easy steps:
- Open the installed eSignature application on a portable device
- Upload the legal document using the file button, Google Drive or Dropbox
- Use the signed document sharing feature to decide who receives the document
- Fill in the subject & message fields to inform the recipients of the signed documents’ agenda.
- Use the application interface to draw, write or upload your signature & capture the signer’s intent
- Send the signed documents to the recipient’s email
- Receive eSigned documents on email & view the document on the eSignature app
Tips for choosing electronic signatures for your law firms
Adopting an eSignature is as simple as using this technology. You should seek the answer to these questions before finalizing the application for your legal firm.
Is it user-friendly? You have to ensure that the electronic signature is simple to use for lawyers and other legal professionals. Ask the employees to test the technology in day-to-day business and check if they solve the operational problems in a fast, secure & most effortless way.
Is it secure? The application should protect confidential client data as well as financial transactions in the contract or agreement. Look for eSignature tools that work on HTTPS connection, have strong electronic identification, multi-factor authentication, Audit Trail, and are backed by eSignature laws like eIDAS, UETA, ESIGN, and the GDPR act.
Is it flexible? How flexible is the application - Would the application support employees working from home? How many portable devices are supported by this application? Can the application adapt as per your organizational changes?
Is it legally compliant? The electronic signature application should comply with international eSignature laws like eIDAS Act, ESIGN Act, UETA Act. These laws can help you reduce the cost of paper-based transactions, time consumption, and assure hassle-free execution.
Case Study
Introduction
Emma Stanley law was founded in 2016 to make legal services easily accessible to her clients. Part of the plan was to set up a virtual law office that would allow her to operate anywhere. As a sole practitioner, Emma knew if she could sign undertakings remotely, her practice didn’t need to come to a halt when she was away.
So, they searched for an intelligent solution like electronic signatures without the risk of delaying settlements.
Challenge
Use a legally authorized digital signing solution that would be acceptable to other law firms to sign undertakings and settlements remotely & securely.
Solution
When Emma Stanley law learned about electronic signatures, they knew it was the right solution for their business needs.
Its security features include Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology offering one of the highest levels of security for legal documents. The tamper-resistant seal makes it challenging to manipulate electronically signed copies.
Additionally, they get notification about document changes made by any concerned personnel as they have access to the audit trail feature, which provides timestamps for the signing sequence.
As global eSignature laws back this outstanding technology, Emma Stanley Law began using it comfortably to sign undertakings quickly, which was acceptable to other law firms as well, even while Emma was out of the office.
Benefits of electronic signature solutions for law firms
Increased document visibility with Audit Trail
Law firms using e-signature solutions assure that only authorized persons securely sign their client’s confidential documents. It safeguards the record against illegal access, forgery, or manipulation. The embedded audit trail feature includes additional information about the e-signature transaction, revealing confidential information like who signed, the date and time of signing, and the digital certificate used to sign the document digitally.
Streamline legal processes
Electronic signature systems enable law firms to streamline their legal processes in several ways. Employees working in legal firms can use electronic signatures for quick and effortless signatures on legal documents from any location and device. The eSignature software installed on laptops, mobile devices, or tablet devices enables legal transactions more quickly. Without the need for document signing and maintenance, law firms can focus their legal expertise on other critical operations, such as guaranteeing customer satisfaction, rather than on document signing and maintenance.
Reduce overall costs
Electronic signatures have been adopted as a viable solution by many legal companies due to the significant benefits to their bottom lines. Law firms that use a digital signature save money on ink, paper, printers, paper, and equipment maintenance by eliminating the need for physical signatures. The ability to handle the signing process more predictably is made possible by consolidating the entire cost of document signing into a predictable monthly fee.
Client data protection
Cyberattacks in the legal industry are on the rise because law firms hold a considerable amount of sensitive customer information in their possession. E-signature systems enable legal businesses to retain and protect client information effortlessly, preventing papers and files from being damaged, or even worse, stolen or destroyed using cloud-based technology.
Improve communication with clients & partners
When legal documents use paper for signature, it is impossible to determine their status in the signing process. Following up with customers who have not signed a document is challenging for law firms as they are unsure if they received it or not.
Digital signatures expedite organizing and managing paper documents by reducing the amount of time and resources necessary. By utilizing a well-established e-signature system, law firms may track outstanding signature requests without requiring additional resources.
Conclusion
If you’re in the legal field and are not using electronic signatures yet, you’re missing out on many things. Paperwork can get lost, misplaced, or delayed in the mail, and then you’re stuck waiting. Thankfully, there’s a better way to get paperwork signed—electronic signatures. Using electronic signatures can reduce paperwork, speed up the process, and increase efficiency. You can decrease your overhead, save time and money, and have a higher degree of security as well.
So, what are you waiting for? Start using eSignatures for legal firms.