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The Law Society of Scotland (LSoS) rolls out Smartcards to all its solicitor members this month.  The Law Society in England has, in contrast, rejected the idea, for now at least.

We spoke to Neil Stevenson, LSoS Director of Representation, who spearheaded the project to introduce smartcards, regarding the benefits he envisages for the profession.

Efficiency

Many practices continue to feel the pinch, and, in common with all professional membership bodies, LSoS is trying to find ways of delivering its services as efficiently as possible.  The card will reduce the need for a paper Practising Certificate to be issued every year (the physical card is valid for six years) saving cost.  According to Stevenson, there are also a number of other benefits - including a physical ID (replacing the separate card many solicitors paid an extra fee for), an online ID, and a digital signature, taking advantage of changes in the law last year which opened up their use in Scotland.

Digital Signatures for Transactions

In an age where transactions are increasingly undertaken by email and electronic data transfer, three issues typically arise:

  • Printing, signing and scanning of documents reduces the efficiency that the electronic process seeks to create
  • Electronic signatures are not very secure, nor always appropriate at key stages in a transaction
  • It is not always certain where a document or email originates from

The smart card has built-in encrypted digital signature technology which allows recipients (including solicitors in England & Wales who are not signed up to the system) to identify the signature and check that it is valid, and belongs to the person claiming to have signed and sent the document.

Fake Lawyers and Fake Law firms

As previously reported on this website, the incidence of frauds involving 'solicitors' claiming to be working in a particular firm, and indeed entire 'fake' law firms has become a significant problem over the last couple of years.  The SRA has taken to publishing regular updates of known fake and spoofed firms, and has had to issue warnings regarding reliance on the 'find a solicitor' function.

At Lockton, we wondered whether the Smartcards could become a significant tool in the fight against this type of fraud.  LSoS are using a technology solution developed by the Spanish Bar Association, and used by more than 150,000 lawyers already.  Stevenson agreed that, while no solution is 100% resistant to fraud, "experience from the EU over the last ten years suggests that this type of fraud would be incredibly difficult following the introduction of the Smartcards".

Other transactional risks

Other risk management benefits that LSoS anticipate with the smart cards include:

  • Version control:  any changes made to a document after it has been digitally signed 'kick off' the signature
  • Claims defence: Using your digital signature on meeting notes can prove that the notes were contemporaneous rather than created in response to the claim
  • Reduce delay risk: If postal deadlines are missed, signed documents can still be submitted online

While any new system is bound to experience some teething problems, and will introduce its own complexities and risks, from a risk management perspective there is much to commend in the Smartcard revolution.

Implications for Solicitors in England & Wales

We will wait to see if the experience north of the border changes the mind of the Law Society of England & Wales in the future.

In the meantime, if you are working on cross-border transactions, remember that you will shortly be able to check on the validity of any digitally signed documents, as well  as check the real-time identity and practising status of the solicitors sending them.