Skip to content

COVID-19 – leading law forward using DocuSign

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, our Firm is focusing on business continuity, including supporting the business continuity of our clients. Practice innovation investments we have made help our business to continue “as usual” even when the unexpected happens. We have planned to be one step ahead to assist our clients in times like these.

Many of your employees and transaction professionals are now working remotely so obtaining in-person signatures may be impractical. Our team at Stewart McKelvey can support current and upcoming corporate transactions electronically and help you obtain electronic signatures with the click of a button using the DocuSign platform.

DocuSign is an e-signature platform providing convenient service to over 180 countries. The receiver does not need an account to sign a document using DocuSign. You can even sign a document using your mobile device. Our DocuSign platform is also fully integrated with Closing Folders, our legal transaction management software that allows our team to work efficiently and diligently in sending, receiving, and managing documents electronically. Executed signatures are sent back to us instantly upon signing.

DocuSign complies with Canadian laws and the laws of our leading trading partners, including the United States and the United Kingdom. In Canada and elsewhere, documents signed using a DocuSign electronic signature are legally enforceable. Electronic commerce legislation in each of the Atlantic provinces permits electronic signatures that are “created or adopted” for signing legal documents.

DocuSign allows the signatory to upload an electronic signature, draw an electronic signature using the mouse on their computer, or use a pre-defined signature set by DocuSign. Each signature type, even those that are “adopted” (not created from the signatory’s paper signature),  should be legally enforceable on most corporate transaction documents.

There are exceptions for special documents which cannot, under electronic commerce legislation and other laws in Atlantic Canada, be signed electronically. These exceptions include:

  • Wills and codicils and trusts created by wills or codicils
  • Powers of attorney
  • Many documents that create or transfer interests in land
  • Promissory notes and other negotiable instruments

Please speak to a member of our corporate group to explore whether DocuSign will work for your transaction, or to learn more about how we can assist you to obtain electronic signatures and maintain business continuity. Most of us remain reachable, as you normally would, by telephone or e-mail. We will continue to monitor and respond to the latest developments.


This article is provided for general information only. If you have any questions about the above, please contact a member of our Corporate/Commercial Group.

SHARE

Archive

Search Archive


 
 

Dude, where’s my cure? On the road to benefits coverage of psychedelics

May 3, 2023

Included in Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 12 By Dante Manna[1] Once known for recreational use, psychedelics are slowly gaining medical legitimacy as research emerges on possible therapeutic benefits for mental health…

Read More

Discovery: Atlantic Education & the Law – Issue 12

April 28, 2023

We are pleased to present the twelfth issue of Discovery, Stewart McKelvey’s legal publication targeted to educational institutions in Atlantic Canada. Our lawyers provide insight on a number of topics facing universities and colleges including…

Read More

Raising capital under the Nova Scotia Innovation Equity Tax Credit regime

April 17, 2023

By Kyle S. Hartlen, Gavin Stuttard, and Colton Smith What is the Innovation Equity Tax Credit? The Nova Scotia Innovation Equity Tax Credit (“IETC“) is a non-refundable personal and corporate income credit intended to encourage…

Read More

Changes to Canada’s Competition Act coming into effect this summer: a primer on recent amendments impacting Canadian businesses

April 13, 2023

By Deanne MacLeod, K.C., Burtley G. Francis and David F. Slipp In June 2022, Canada’s federal government enacted a number of changes to the Competition Act (the “Act”) as the first step in a comprehensive…

Read More

Nova Scotia to limit medical notes for employee absences

April 4, 2023

This article was updated on April 19, 2023. By Mark Tector and Ben Currie On April 12, 2023 Bill 256: Patient Access to Care Act received Royal Assent. Schedule B of the Bill is the…

Read More

Recent Amendments to the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations

April 3, 2023

This Thought Leadership article is a follow-up to our January 2023 article on the introduction of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. By Brendan Sheridan On January 1, 2023, the…

Read More

Consultation on potential amendments to the Cannabis Regulations

March 31, 2023

By Kevin Landry and Jahvon Delaney Background On March 25, 2023, the Government of Canada released a Notice of Intent titled Consultation on potential amendments to the Cannabis Regulations. The Notice outlines that Health Canada is…

Read More

New reporting requirements for beneficial ownership of Nova Scotia companies

March 28, 2023

By Kimberly Bungay On April 1, 2023, the Nova Scotia government will proclaim into force Bill 226, which amends the Companies Act (the “Act”) to require companies formed under the Act to create and maintain…

Read More

Abuse of sick leave / failure of employee to participate in accommodation process: Vail v. Oromocto (Town), 2022 CanLII 129486

March 21, 2023

By Chad Sullivan and Kathleen Starke Background A recent decision, Vail v. Oromocto (Town), 2022 CanLII 129486, involved several grievances including an unjust dismissal claim by a firefighter as well as a grievance filed by…

Read More

Underused Housing Tax Act introduces new tax on vacant or underused housing

March 13, 2023

By Stuart Wallace and Kim Walsh On January 1, 2022, the Underused Housing Tax Act (the Act) took effect. The Underused Housing Tax (the UHT) is an annual 1% tax on the value of vacant or…

Read More

Search Archive


Scroll To Top