LEGAL agreements which could take weeks to settle could be done in hours with the introduction of electronic signatures, a law firm says.

Ellis Jones Solicitors says it is the first firm in Dorset and Hampshire to take up the DocuSign service.

It follows a 12-month trial in which 45 per cent of agreements were completed and returned in less than six hours.

The company now plans to introduced electronic signs for a range of transactions including terms and conditions, commercial agreements, business sales and purchases and board minutes and resolutions.

Gustav Patrick, a solicitor in Ellis Jones’ business services department, spearheaded the DocuSign initiative.

He said: “Finalising contracts and agreements can often be a time-consuming administration task for our clients.

“However, since piloting DocuSign we have seen this lengthy process reduced from days and weeks to a matter of hours now that agreements don’t have to be printed, scanned or posted for manual signing.

“We can now offer a more convenient service as well, given that clients can finalise and sign agreements securely from any device and any location.”

Ellis Jones says agreements will also be more secure and provide clients with a better overall experience.

Mr Patrick added: “A recent deal was completed in a matter of hours despite multiple signatories being located in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Our clients will be able to complete and sign agreements from anywhere on any device, allowing them to complete important agreements on the move without losing valuable time.”

DocuSign used by more than 250,000 companies and over 100 million customers across 188 countries with almost a million transactions completed each day.

Jacqueline de Gernier, its regional vice president commercial sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “We are seeing encouraging momentum with regards to legal firms adopting electronic signature platforms. Ellis Jones is a shining example of a forward-thinking law firm.”

Ellis Jones’ managing partner Nigel Smith said: “We are the first law firm in Dorset and Hampshire to be offering DocuSign as a service to our clients.

“This clearly demonstrates our continued commitment to providing the best possible service for our clients.”

Ellis Jones is also trialling virtual data rooms (VDR) for the buying and selling of businesses using the cloud to securely store and share documents.