Electronic Signatures in Commercial Property Transactions - What Does the Future Hold?

Introduction

Electronic signatures have become much more common since the pandemic. 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 since of course the buck stops with the firm of solicitors or conveyancers at the end of the day. 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.

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 were the key changes made in October 2022 to the CLLS and TLS practice guide?
• What were the conclusions of the Government’s final report in March 2023 on electronic signatures and what does the future hold?
• 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.

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Thursday 9th January 2025

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 1,700+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email [email protected] for more details.