Mike Scott, head of real estate at Cripps Pemberton Greenish, said his firm has been using e-signatures and virtual closing for some time, although this hasn’t been adopted widely in the property sector.
However, not
all documents can be signed electronically.
Scott said:
‘One of the main issues for property lawyers is that documents that are
registrable at the Land Registry currently require wet-ink signatures so we
have no option but to fall back on physical documents and wet-ink signatures in
some cases.
‘Lenders also
often have stringent requirements, such as execution of documents before
lawyers, which cannot now be met. Novel solutions are being discussed and
opined upon, but no-one wants to see the enforceability of documents entered
into during this period being challenged at a later date.
‘Given the
likelihood of a sustained period of office closures and restriction of
movement, and to enable transactions to continue, we need all stakeholders (HM
Land Registry and lenders in particular) to be looking at their procedures and
requirements to ensure that, wherever possible, these are modified to
accommodate the reality in which we are all now having to trade.’
Property law
firms have had to adapt fast to the strictures of the pandemic in order to
protect clients and employees.
Cripps
Pemberton Greenish was able to move its entire workforce of 450 people to
remote working within a couple of days, and has set up an online advice hub for
clients affected by the impact of the coronavirus.
Scott said:
‘We have been working with our clients to try to mitigate the impact so, for
example, in anticipation of lockdown we have put in place powers of attorney
for some clients which enables execution of documents without the two
signatures and common seal which would otherwise have been required.
‘We have worked
with other clients to put in place new protocols for executing documents where
clients’ offices have been closed and we also look at whether it is possible in
any particular transaction to enter into holding documents which do not require
wet-ink execution and which allow the final documentation to be completed at a
later date.’
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