Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Practice Tip: <B>Electronic & Digital Signatures in Word</b>
Have you ever had to print out a document just because you had to sign it before faxing it? Or have you ever done a merge mailing, only to have to print out and sign each letter individually? Wouldn't it be better if you could just sign all these documents electronically and send them electronically to their respective recipients? This article will shed some light on what is meant by electronic and digital signatures as well as provide details of how you can digitally sign a document in Word.
On June 30, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN Act), which became effective throughout the U.S. on October 1, 2000 (for a copy go to http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_bills&docid=f:s761enr.txt.pdf). The E-SIGN Act implemented a national standard for all electronic transactions that broadly encouraged the use of electronic signatures, contracts and records by providing legal validity for these instruments as long as the signatories complied with the standards of the Act. The E-SIGN Act does not mandate any specific method of technology be used in order for business to conduct electronic transactions. It simply provides a framework within which parties can conduct business electronically with the assurance that their signed documents are legally valid and enforceable. Since the E-SIGN Act is so broad in scope, a “signed” electronic transaction can comprise anything from a simple e-mail exchange to a complex public key/private key authentication procedure.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.