It's evolution - physical signatures need to evolve or die

 

In general I think that physical signatures are archaic and not that meaningful. It's not impossible to forge a physical signature by hand and its even easier with computers. More and more documents are made into PDF's so you end up with digital copies of your signature being sent around in insecure emails. 

This is about evolution and survival of the fittest. Physical signatures are slow, stupid and ugly and they should get eaten by the digital signatures. 

 Here are some things to consider:

• Have you ever sent signature pages for a contract without the rest of the pages?
• Do you regularly compare (using "Find Differences" in Microsoft Word) the "final version" of a contract against the redline version to make sure its correct?
• Do you regularly initial every page of a contract, in addition to signing the signature page?
• Do you have a scanned copy of your signature that you just cut and paste onto digital contracts? 
• Do you use a convenient service like Zosh to save time executing PDF agreements by email?
• Do you always get back the countersigned document with BOTH signatures on it?

How hard would it be for someone to take your signature off of one document and cut and paste it onto another one? How hard would it be for someone to take a 10 page contract with your signature on it and swap out one of the pages in the middle with different terms.

Even worse, many people these days just sign the signature pages and send them separately from the rest of the pages. At that point, the other party can attach whatever they want to the beginning of it.

And it doesn't have to be a malicous act. What if someone just sends you the wrong final contract to sign. Would you notice? What if they send an old version by accident?

I know what you're thinking... I'm being paranoid. No one does stuff like this right? I must admit that no one has ever done anything like this to me before. However, if you put any faith in physically signing a document to begin with, I think these are all reasonable concerns. 

So here is how I sign contracts:

1. Compare the final version to the last redline that I approved to make sure I'm signing the same document I think I am.
2. Initial the bottom of every page of the document (except the signature page). If a page has blank space, initial at the end of the text not at the bottom of the page.
3. Always send the entire document, never just the signature pages. At least this way I have record of the fax or email with all of the pages together in one place so I can prove what I signed.
4. When I send my signed contract, I create a reminder to make sure I receive my countersigned copy.

EXCEPTION: If I'm working with two lawfirms (mine and the opposing counsel) and they are handling all of the paperwork then I expect them to be responsible for most of the process I outline above. In those cases I'm comfortable signing only the signature pages and putting them with the lawyers "in escrow" until we agree on the final document.

How long will it take for physical signatures to go away? They really are an archaic legacy of the pre-digital age. A signed document doesn't "prove" much it just makes us feel good. It helps to avoid confusion by making it clear what copy of the document is the final one. There are better ways to handle this today, such as digital signatures and other forms of authentication. However, they are still "geeky" tools that haven't hit the mainstream. 

Companies like EchoSign are paving the way for a more secure and more efficient way to execute documents and its slowly taking on. Recently I signed an NDA with Microsoft using a fully digital signature process and so I'm optimistic that over the next 5 to 10 years we will see most large businesses moving away from physical signatures and towards something like Echosign's model.

How do you sign contracts? Do you take any other precautions besides the ones I list here?

Comments

[Cheap North Face]

Don't know what is wrong what is rite but i know that every one has there own point of view and same goes to this one

[BridgetDaniels22]

All people deserve good life and loan or financial loan would make it much better. Because freedom bases on money state.

[moncler down]

This is a very useful slant on things.

[Ben]

Electronic signatures are gaining traction and the market for online signatures is evolving too, i can recommend another e-signing site called docshaker.com which is more for small business than echosign. As Jason said, it has a lot to do with intent as well as identity, online e-signatures tick a lot of boxes - for example it's difficult for a contractor to say they didn't even know about the contract - which they can do sometimes - when you've got proof you sent them an email through an independent 3rd party site. We don't use it much but you can also have people verify their identity by forcing them to log in via their specific facebook account, it all adds up to more proof of identity and intent.

[e-sign act]

I think use of digital signature is more beneficial than physical signature in every term. Digital signature helps in increasing security as well as privacy. It is easy to send data from from place to another one using digital signature.

[Jason Cohen]

I'm with Dane. I take all those shortcuts you mentioned, and I shouldn't, but who has the time?

I have another technique: I just don't sign things unless I *really* have to.

I do save electronic copies of everything, including drafts and emails saying things like "this is the final." That way if there's a dispute (unlikely), AND if somehow the wrong copy with signed, there's a trail linking back to the true, agreed final. That does hold up in court.

Bottom line for me: If you actually make it to court, it's going to be about intent anyway, which means email conversations and meetings heresay counts too.

[Sergey S.]

When possible I request two signed copies by mail, one of which I return back after I sign it.

[Damon Cali]

Sounds like you're about as paranoid as I am, but I think we're a minority. I try to take comfort from the fact that a contract is not valid unless there is a "meeting of the minds", but practically speaking, that doesn't provide much protection from errors, communication problems or fraud.

I think that's part of the reason that digital signatures haven't taken off. Most disagreements, I imagine, stem from divergent perceptions rather than deceit or errors in document transmission.

Another annoyance is when multiple copies of a contract are signed. No need for that nonsense at all.

[Ben Hamill]

I don't sign a lot of contracts and, in fact, the last one I did was for a mortgage, which you pretty much have to sign twice on every page as it is. However, I have been saying that hand-written signatures should be done away with ever since I learned what PGP was. Modern cryptography is much more advanced than the protections you get from writing your name given Photoshop exists. I think it's a pity I can't sign a check (hahaha, who uses these? ;) ) with a digital signature.

[Dane Collins]

I don't know if it's going to change anytime soon but I can't wait for it to change. I can't tell you how tired I am of the print/sign/scan loop.