The Future of Electronic Signatures in Commercial Property Transactions

Introduction

Electronic signatures have become much more common in recent years. Both clients and firms are finding that in some cases they are going to work better than the traditional ‘wet ink’ signatures. In fact, some clients want to do everything on their phones and don’t want to look at or print off paper copies of anything. Whereas many people immediately think of platform e-signature providers such as DocuSign or AdobeSign, there is still the Mercury signing protocol that will work well in many situations.

This webinar will look at what the current position is and the practice notes available from Land Registry, the Law Society and other sources - pointing out the advantages and the pitfalls. In some cases there may be too much risk or cost, or it may not be possible to use e-signatures and traditional methods may be the only way.

The next generation of e-signings is Qualified Electronic Signatures - no witness is needed and so identity and possible fraud are going to be an important issue - there are a few QES providers at the moment. Though only a handful of deals have used it so far, it is clear that this is something the Land Registry are keen to progress with.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• Basic requirements for contracts and deeds, virtual and 'wet-ink'
• Types of e-signatures - simple emails, scans, and e-signature portals
• Recent case law in this area
• Land Registry progress in this area - what is a QES?
• Latest changes to Practice Guide 82
• Comparison of the various methods (platform, Mercury or ‘wet-ink’) in relation to:
• Contracts
• Transfers
• Mortgages
• Other real estate documents
• Practical and physical issues
• Are there any other documents where ‘wet-ink’ is essential?
• Also we will look at a step-by-step walk through of how to use one of the most popular platforms showing issues that need particular care to ensure that the final document is enforceable and registrable at Land Registry. The order of signing and witnessing needs particular care