MatterReady™ Sign for legal · API coming soon
Electronic signatures for law firms
Engagement agreements, authorizations, and intake documents may be read again years after they're signed. Firms on MatterReady get e-signatures built into intake, and legal software teams can use the MatterReady Sign API, which seals each completed document with a trusted timestamp and keeps the audit trail inside the PDF.
Two ways to use it
Point-and-click for firms, an API for legal software
Law firms: signing built into intake
MatterReady generates engagement letters from intake data and sends them for multi-party e-signature, with the attorney signing after the client. Signing is part of the platform, alongside intake, scheduling, and Clio sync.
Legal software teams: the Sign API
Building a practice tool, client portal, or intake product? The Sign API (coming soon) adds document signing for $99/month and 200 envelopes, with no per-seat fees as your customer base grows.
Legal workflows
The documents firms send for signature
Engagement and fee agreements
Client signs first, attorney countersigns, and the sealed copy records exactly when each signature happened.
Authorizations and releases
Medical records authorizations, information releases, and other forms a client has to sign before work can start.
Intake documents and questionnaires
Client information forms and intake documents, with pre-filled fields so clients only add what's missing.
Acknowledgments and disclosures
Conflict waivers, scope-of-representation acknowledgments, and disclosures that need a signed, dated record.
Why the Sign API fits legal work
Evidence that stays with the document
Every envelope sent through the MatterReady Sign API includes:
- Sealed with an Adobe-trusted certificate and an RFC 3161 timestamp from an independent timestamp authority
- A hash-chained audit trail of every view, signature, and decline, with the completion certificate appended to the signed PDF
- Each signer consents to sign electronically and attests to their signature before it is applied
- Signing order, so the attorney countersigns only after the client
- Your firm's name and logo on the signing page
- A public verification page for checking a sealed document later
What can be signed electronically
The federal ESIGN Act and state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act generally give electronic signatures the same legal effect as handwritten ones. Both carve out exceptions, including wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts, certain family-law matters, and court orders and official court documents. Documents that must be notarized follow your state's notary rules.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements for your jurisdiction and document type.
Electronic signature questions from law firms
Can my firm use MatterReady Sign without a developer?
MatterReady Sign is API-first, so it suits firms with a developer or legal software vendors. Firms that want to prepare and send documents point-and-click can use the e-signatures built into the MatterReady intake platform.
Do clients need an account to sign?
No. Each signer gets a private link by email and signs in the browser.
Can the attorney countersign after the client?
Yes. Set a signing order and each signer is emailed only when it is their turn, so the attorney can sign after the client (or before).
Are electronic signatures valid for every legal document?
No. Federal and state e-signature laws give electronic signatures legal effect for most transactions, but they exclude some documents, such as wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts, and some court and family-law documents. Confirm the rules for your jurisdiction and document type.
Get started
Firms looking for intake, engagement letters, and signing in one place can explore MatterReady with sample data. Building legal software and need a document signing API? The MatterReady Sign API is coming soon, so join the early-access list.