The electronic signaturefor law firms can be a solution to their current situation. Law firms in particular, and the Spanish legal sector in general, still have a long way to go. At least as far as digital transformation and innovation are concerned. According to the report State of innovation and digitization of the legal sector in Spain by KPMG Abogados, published in November 2023, the sector is lagging behind in the field compared to others such as healthcare or energy. In fact, 64% of companies surveyed do not have LegalTech solutions – even more than half of the businesses as a whole do not have sufficient knowledge about it – compared to the minority 36% that have. These data show that the sector needs to be updated.
As globalization advances and legal challenges become more complex, legal professionals must adapt to new market needs and seek innovative LegalTech solutions to provide effective, efficient and accessible legal services. The electronic signature for law firms is one of the best performing technological solutions.
Benefits of electronic signatures for law firms.
From law firms to law offices, there are many entities that offer legal services. Despite the different legal specialties that exist, they all aim to offer the best legal support to clients in need. In this changing context, the electronic signature is a technological solution that can transform processes, with numerous benefits for lawyers.
Do you want to learn how this tool improves daily tasks, processes and customer experience in the legal sector?
Read on to learn more about its benefits in the industry!
A more resolute and committed brand image.
The electronic signature for law firms brings benefits for administration or clients, but it is also responsible for projecting a better brand image. This attribute is especially relevant in the legal sector, since the person who needs to turn to a legal professional will opt for the one that performs better practices, has greater prestige or is more committed to the job.
In this sense, law firms that opt for electronic signatures are perceived as more decisive entities than their competitors, since they offer an agile and intuitive solution with full legal guarantees.
In addition, LegalTech tools play a key role inachieving ESG objetives(environmental, social and corporate governance). These criteria seek to improve corporate governance,, ensure regulatory compliance, promote transparency and reduce dependence on paper. This last goal, as we have already seen, is covered by the electronic signature. However, although achieving these criteria is a priority for businesses,76% do not yet have the necessary knowledge of LegalTech tools to include them in their objectives (KPMG, 2023).
Security and authenticity.
Viafirma’s electronic signature solutions software offers advanced security levels such as identity authentication and encryption, to guarantee the integrity of the document and the authenticity of the signatures. Specifically, the advanced electronic signature collects essential points of the process such as:
- Unequivocal identification of participants
- Their e-mail addresses
- Mobile telephone numbers
- IPs of the devices
Thanks to a document formalized as an audit, all the modifications that have been made and the date of their execution are reflected.
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In addition, Viafirma’s solutions scrupulously follow the international standards in the field: the European Union’s elDAS Regulation.
Cost, time and resource savings.
Internationally, many companies have technological tools and processes to optimize resources, reduce costs and time. However, in Spain this is not the case, as the state of digital transformation of legal services companies still leaves much to be desired, placing it at the tail end compared to other sectors.
In the medium term, it can have a direct impact on the competitiveness of Spanish companies. If the legal departments of businesses in our territory do not want to lose competitive advantage in the market, it is essential to improve the digitization of the department with LegalTech tools such as electronic signatures.
In addition, by using this technological solution to reduce administrative work, you avoid scanning, storing and using physical documents. This significantly reduces paper consumption, leaving a positive footprint on the planet and your pocket.
Its application for lawyers, jurists and legal departments.
As you know, in this digital transformation scenario, the electronic signature is the tool with the highest level of adoption in legal services companies. To prove it, you only have to look at the data:
- Of the companies that have adopted LegalTech solutions, 89% of them use electronic signatures.
- 7% plan to incorporate it as a digital tool
- 4% has it under consideration.
It has many application possibilities that can help legal professionals in their day-to-day work. We show them to you!
Law firms and lawyers.
As a legal professional, you are used to dealing with hundreds of documents on a weekly basis. The digital signature allows you to streamline your day-to-day tasks. Do you need to act on behalf of a client, for example? Legally and operationally you can do it with the digital signature! You will be able to obtain an authorization from your client to act as a legal representative.
In law firms, electronic signatures can also be used for:
- Sign and send legal documents
- Meeting minutes
- Partner agreements
- Data protection documents
- Service contracts
- Communicate legal notices
- Confidentiality agreements
- Among others!
Sworn translations.
Although the process of signing, sealing and sending sworn translations was carried out manually until a few years ago, after the pandemic, the tendency to use electronic signatures spread in order to avoid any possible contact. Since then it has been digitized and is now the predominant method.
Both the use of the electronic signature and the electronic seal are valid for sworn translations, as stated in Article 10 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, 2015, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations:
“Since the Administrations are the main addressees of the documents translated by the ITJs it is admissible for them to be signed electronically by means of one of the systems listed in the aforementioned article”.
Legal departments
On the other hand, in legal departments, this tool can help to optimize strategic priorities such as:
- Provide proactive legal advice.
- Manage a higher workload with the same number of employees.
- Improve process and workflow optimization.
- Reduce costs
- Automate processes.
In short, all the benefits and use cases we have seen in this article show the possibilities of LegalTech solutions for lawyers, advisors and jurists. Thus, we can only hope for a widespread implementation of electronic signatures.
Viafirma, your technological solution in the legal sector.
As an industry professional; do you want your clients to participate in more efficient, effective and accessible processes?
Viafirma can offer you management systems thatwill help you automate your processes and legal documents, from a perspective:
- Legitimate
- Efficient
- Innovative
- Private for your clients
Contact us and we will show you how we can help you integrate this technological tool in the legal sector.