The problem
Many clients are overseas and signed client care paperwork comes back by scan, courier or not at all. If you open 12 matters a month and posting, chasing and filing takes 15 minutes each, that's 180 minutes, 3 hours a month.
What the AI does
Legalesign is an e-signature service for legal documents. You upload the client care letter and any consent forms, send them to the client's email, and track whether they are signed, with an audit log. Solo Pro is £25 a month excluding VAT with fair use of 100 documents a month; Solo Basic at £10 allows 20, which two documents for each of 12 matters exceeds. The solicitor checks the signed pack before the matter starts.
A worked example
A small immigration firm in London opens about 12 matters a month, many for clients outside the UK. A caseworker sends each client a signing link for the client care letter and consent forms, and files the signed copy.
Before
15 minutes to send, chase and file each signed pack: 3 hours a month
After
About 5 minutes per pack: 1 hour a month
What it's worth
About 2 hours a month saved (10 minutes x 12 matters = 120 minutes), worth around £60 if caseworker time is worth £30 an hour. Each matter has two documents (client care letter and consent forms), so 24 a month, over Solo Basic's fair use of 20; Solo Pro is £25 a month excluding VAT. Solo plans are single-user; more than one sender means Team at £15 per user (2 to 5 users).
How to set it up
- Ask your COLP whether each document can be signed electronically and how you will confirm the client's identity.
- Choose Solo Pro at £25 a month, because 24 documents a month exceeds Solo Basic's fair use of 20.
- Upload your client care letter and consent forms.
- Send a test to a colleague abroad or on a different network and check the copy and audit log.
- Ask Legalesign for its data protection documentation and where data is stored, and record the answer.
What goes wrong
- Confirming who is actually signing matters with a client you may never meet. Follow your firm's ID and anti-money-laundering process before work starts.
- Legalesign's pricing page doesn't state where data is stored. Immigration files are highly sensitive, so ask before using it.
- Prices exclude VAT. Solo plans are single-user, so several senders need Team at £15 per user (2 to 5 users).
- A client without good internet or a smartphone may need a different route.