By Legal Futures Associate iManage [1]
iManage [2], the company dedicated to Making Knowledge WorkTM, today announced new digital signature capabilities for iManage Closing Folders [3] that continue to modernise the management and governance of agreements in the cloud. The company’s latest integration with DocuSign eSignature, part of the DocuSign Agreement Cloud, enables lawyers using Closing Folders for deal closings to use advanced levels of e-signatures. These signatures meet the highest level of security services under the European law, eIDAS (Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services).
Adding to its Simple Electronic Signature (SES) or standard capability, Closing Folders now supports both Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) and Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) which offer a heightened level of identity verification of the parties involved in a transaction. While a standard electronic signature is often sufficient, transactions within heavily regulated industries, the EU, governmental entities, or other countries may require advanced digital signatures for further identity assurance.
Closing Folders is the only Legal Transaction Management (LTM) product to support the full spectrum of simple and advanced e-signatures – from counterparty signatures that are signed in advance and held in escrow pending document finalisation to advanced and qualified e-signatures.. This allows customers maximum flexibility and choice in completing signing packets and closings – meeting all the electronic signature needs of legal teams and their clients. Whichever level of e-signature is preferred or required, Closing Folders provides a single, scalable solution to keep signature processes moving swiftly within law firms while achieving alignment with local and global laws, regulatory guidelines, and firm preferences through seamless and efficient workflows.
“Closing transactions often involve hundreds of documents requiring thousands of signatures,” said Sahil Zaman, Head of Business for iManage Closing Folders. “To effectively complete the complex closing process, it is crucial to manage the signature process within the context of the deal’s ecosystem of documents. Closing Folder’s AI-enabled, deal-centric workflow, keeps transactions and deal closings on track and puts legal organisations in control of the desired amount of rigour they want to see in the assurance and security of their processes.”
With Closing Folders’ standard electronic signing capability, customers can easily automate the completion of standalone signature pages. By ‘signing in counterpart’ or holding signatures in escrow, signatures can be captured at different phases of the document’s versions to expedite transaction closing.
AES and QES are uniquely tied to the signer’s identity, require multi-factor verification, and utilise advanced encryption to detect and prevent tampering of documents. Qualified Electronic Signatures are based on qualified certificates. They can only be issued by an industry-approved, certificate authority that regulates the integrity of electronic signatures. Because this requires a face-to-face identity verification of the signatory, QES is the only signature type explicitly recognised as the legal equivalent of a ‘wet’ signature across all EU member states.