Segev LLP Embraces eSignature for Efficiencies and Ethos
As in most business success stories, the lead characters are industrious and resourceful. Segev LLP is no exception. Just seven years ago, Alon Segev and his brother Ron, sons of Canadian immigrants, established their Vancouver-based boutique law firm specializing in the heavily regulated markets of real estate, cannabis and online gaming. They are risk-takers who make informed decisions quickly – traits they share with their forward-thinking clients.
Segev subscribes to this formula for success: People, Processes & Technology + Experience
This business is quick to adapt to different technologies. They recognize the benefit of automation to make workflows more efficient. It has helped them retain and quickly grow their team from six to 25, all of whom are free from chasing paper to focus on value-added legal work.
Alon admitted to an embarrassing moment on a video call a number of years ago where he got called out by a client for flipping the pages of a printed contract. His client had a laugh at his old-school reliance on paper. That was the wake-up call for modernizing operations in their practice.
Reduce reliance on paper
Their first commitment was to reduce reliance on paper and physical signatures by moving to electronic signatures. As legal representatives, Segev LLP had to be certain of the security, privacy and legality of their chosen e-signature solution. DocuSign fits the bill, bringing the benefit of digital date and time stamped documents of completion that are court-admissible in Canada and many other countries around the world.
Electronic signatures have been a game-changer for the firm. With clients in the US, Canada, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, e-signature has made everyone’s lives easier. The technology aligns the practice culturally with its clientele and solves the challenge of doing business in multiple time zones. Modernized processes are now fully expected. Documents are transferred digitally and signatures finalized with a click or tap, anytime on virtually any device.
The importance of integration
Segev’s tech stack has continued to mature since adopting e-signatures. They recently added a new legal records management solution that has an API to DocuSign – integrating client records with signed documents. New billing software to reduce their accounting burden was chosen because it, too, has an API connection to DocuSign, seamlessly sharing data between applications. Segev even built a secure client portal so users can access their own documents, eliminating administrative tasks of document retrieval, copying and emailing by the firm’s staff.
“We choose technology to empower our clients and reduce reliance on our staff.”
Alon Segev, founding partner, Segev LLP
A good example of added value DocuSign brings to Segev LLP is in their private placement transactions which require subscription agreements to be sent to shareholders for signature. There are numerous boxes to check and signatures required on every agreement. Segev used to assign a professional to carefully review every contract, ensuring that no initial or signature was missed. Using DocuSign, agreements can’t be completed if an initial or signature is inadvertently omitted. The DocuSign failsafe delivers significant cost savings to the firm.
Alon Segev laughs when he looks back on the days the practice first adopted eSignatures. They had to send an introductory email explaining to clients how it worked and what to expect. Now it’s so commonplace, and the clientele so accustomed to digital processes, he tells us they’d likely get an earful of negative feedback if they weren’t using them. The firm has quickly increased its reliance on e-signatures – growing the number of envelopes sent by over 100% from year one to year two.
Being digital-ready has enabled seamless business continuity during COVID lockdowns. When legal operations were deemed as “essential services”, Segev’s digitized processes were already in place so a network upgrade was all it took to make the staff fully operational remotely. For a while, Alon was the sole practitioner in the office while the rest of the team safely worked from home. Says Segev:
“We cannot work remotely without DocuSign – and in this day and age it would be contrary and counterproductive to operate otherwise.”