All Present And Correct

The accelerated adoption of electronic signatures and embracing of technological document solutions has not removed the need for a witness to be physically present... yet.

When we look back at 2020, in among all the chaos and worry, we will recognise it as a year of tremendous progress in terms of how we deal with documents. The significant logistical challenges of circulating, executing and completing traditional documents during a pandemic forced us to question centuries old practices. The acceptance by the Land Registry of so-called 'Mercury deeds' (May 2020) and electronic signatures (July 2020) represented a seismic shift, facilitating the adoption of technology-led solutions that would previously have been unthinkable in property transactions. Life will never be quite the same again.