Andrew Flusche, Esq.: "E-Signatures Are Quick, Legal and Easy"

Almost everyone approaching e-signatures for the first time has the same basic question: "are they legal?"

The simple answer, as most of the small but dedicated cadre of readers of EchoBlog well know, is "absolutely".  Electronic contracting broadly speaking has been done since the 19th century and the days of the telegraph.  Fast forward to today, where the majority of taxpayers file with an e-signature.  And for businesses, things got more interesting when the U.S. passed the Federal E-Sign Act of 2000 (along with similar laws in many other countries), which gave e-signatures for business transactions the exact same legal force as written signatures.  Gartner wrote in a recent comment that the legal status of e-signatures is a "non-issue".

And EchoSign is the only leading e-signature service actually founded by corporate attorneys!

But sometimes, it still feels better to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak.  Attorney Andrew Flusche had a great piece we recently noticed:

"Aside from personal liability, another popular contract topic is e-signing. It’s a quick, legal way to execute your business and personal contracts.

E-signature law

The basic law of contracts is that a contract is binding if the parties agree to its terms. Signatures signal that the parties agreed. But you don’t have to sign your full name in ink on paper.

The federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Acts solidified the validity of e-signing your contracts. This Act basically says that electronic signatures are valid in the form that the contracting parties agree to. But the Act also allows you to opt out of electronic signatures.

Notably, some states have also passed laws regarding e-signing. But electronic signatures are essentially valid in all 50 states.

Echo-Sign

For my contracts, I love using Echo-Sign. With Echo-Sign’s software, I can send out a contract and have it fully signed by all parties in 5 minutes. It’s a great way to get e-signatures fast.

To use Echo-Sign, you just upload a document that you want signed. Then you input the email addresses for the people that need to sign it. When you’re ready, you simply click “send.”

Echo-Sign will email each person, asking for his/her signature on the document. Once each party has e-signed, Echo-Sign automatically emails a final copy to everyone.

If this isn’t cool enough, you can even review and sign contracts from a mobile device, like an iPhone, Palm, or Windows Mobile phone. If a client signs a contract while I am on-the-go, I get a message from Echo-Sign on my Motorola Q. I can quickly sign the contract myself without needing access to a regular computer.

Speeding up business

As you can see, electronic signatures are just one way to speed up routine business. They facilitate quicker contracts, which means you can get more agreements done in less time.

For a busy attorney like myself, e-signatures save crucial time which lets me focus on serving clients even better. Whatever your occupation, I highly recommend trying the free version of Echo-Sign. You’ll be glad you did."