CT Signature for legal

E-signature for law firms.

Engagement letters, retainer agreements, settlement documents, NDAs, client authorizations — sent for signature, signed on any device, returned with a tamper-evident audit certificate. Pay-as-you-go pricing means a solo practitioner and a 50-attorney firm each pay for what they send.

Get early access What's included

Engagement: Signed before the work starts
Audit-ready: Defensible if challenged
Pay-per-envelope: No per-seat traps

What law firms send

Documents that drive matters

From engagement through closing, e-signature flows fit how legal documents actually move.

Engagement letters and fee agreements
Retainer agreements and trust authorizations
Settlement documents and releases
Client authorizations (medical records, etc.)
NDAs and confidentiality agreements

ESIGN/UETA

Federal + state law

Audit trail

Defensible evidence

Templates

Standard packages, ready

Multi-signer

Client + co-counsel + opposing

Why this matters

Engagement that doesn't get signed is engagement that doesn't bill.

A new matter starts with an engagement letter. The traditional path is the prospective client receives the engagement letter via email PDF, prints it, signs, scans it back (badly), and emails the scan back to the firm — if they remember to. Some don't. Some sign and forget to send. Some sign and send three weeks after the work has started, because the urgency was on the legal question, not the paperwork. Every day the engagement isn't signed is a day of risk for the firm: working without a binding fee agreement, working without conflict resolution documented, working without retainer in trust.

CT Signature collapses that. The engagement letter goes out from a template the moment the firm decides to take the matter. The client signs from their phone in the time it takes to read the agreement. The signed PDF and audit certificate land in the matter file before the firm's attorney returns from lunch. The work that used to risk being unbilled or under-protected is now documented from day one.

For settlements, releases, and client authorizations, the audit certificate is the defensible evidence law firms need. Every signed document includes a cryptographic hash of the document at signing, plus an audit log of every action: viewed, signed, IP, device fingerprint, timestamps. If a settlement is later disputed or a release is challenged, the evidence package is in the matter file.

Why law firms switch to CT Signature

Engagement letters in hours, not weeks — client signs from their phone immediately
Defensible audit trail — cryptographic hash + IP/device evidence per signature
Reusable templates — your standard engagement, ready for next client
Multi-signer routing — client, co-counsel, opposing counsel
Pay-per-envelope — no per-seat tolls for adding paralegals

Capabilities for legal practice

What the platform delivers for law firms.

Reusable templates for engagement and standard documents

Build your standard engagement letter, retainer agreement, NDA, and common settlement templates once. Every future send is a 30-second template fill instead of redrafting from precedent. Different practice areas use different template variants.

Multi-signer routing for complex matters

Sequential, parallel, or mixed signing flows. Client signs first, co-counsel countersigns, opposing counsel acknowledges. Each signer sees only their assigned fields; the next signer is automatically notified when the prior one finishes. AIA-style routing for documents requiring multiple parties' signatures in specific sequences.

Tamper-evident PDFs with cryptographic audit

Every signed document includes a cryptographic hash and a separate audit certificate. The hash means the document can be verified later as the exact one that was signed. The audit certificate documents every action: viewed, signed, IP, device fingerprint, timestamps. Defensible under any review.

Field validation

Required fields, format validation (date of birth, case numbers, dollar amounts), conditional fields (if you select X, you must answer Y). The follow-up calls about missing or unclear field entries that used to chew up paralegal time disappear.

ESIGN / UETA compliance for legal documents

Engagement letters, retainer agreements, settlement documents, NDAs, and most client authorizations signed electronically are legally binding under federal ESIGN and state UETA. Some specific document types (wills, certain real estate documents, certain notarized documents) have state-specific exceptions; CT Signature handles the document categories where e-signature is permitted, which covers the bulk of practice paperwork.

Pay-as-you-go pricing

Subscription tiers cover capabilities; volume scales with envelopes sent. A solo practitioner sending 8 engagement letters a month and a 50-attorney firm sending 800 each pay for what they send. No per-seat licensing tax for adding a paralegal or a junior associate.

What it looks like in practice

A few ways teams use this.

New client engagement on Friday afternoon

New client meeting Friday at 3pm. The matter is taken. Attorney sends the engagement letter from a template at 4pm. Client signs from their phone at 5pm before leaving the office. Signed engagement with audit trail in the matter file before the firm closes for the weekend. Monday morning the work begins with engagement on file.

Settlement document with multiple parties

Settlement of a 3-party dispute. Settlement document needs signatures from all 3 parties plus their respective counsel. Sequential routing: party A and counsel sign first, party B and counsel sign next, party C and counsel sign last. Each signer sees only their fields; each notification is automatic. The settlement that used to require an in-person closing or overnight courier rounds becomes a 5-business-day async cycle with full audit trail.

Client authorization for medical records

Personal injury matter; client needs to authorize medical record release from 3 providers. Three separate authorization documents sent in parallel. Client signs all three on her phone in 5 minutes during her lunch break. Records requests go out the next morning. The medical record collection that used to take 6 weeks of mail loops starts on day one.

Frequently asked

Common law firm questions.

Are electronic signatures legally binding for engagement letters and other legal documents?

Yes. Federal ESIGN and state UETA laws give electronic signatures the same legal standing as ink for engagement letters, retainer agreements, settlement documents, NDAs, and most legal documents in all 50 states. Specific document types with state-specific exceptions (wills, some real estate documents, certain notarized documents, court filings with specific signing requirements) need traditional handling; CT Signature handles the document categories where e-signature is permitted, which is the vast majority of practice paperwork.

What about state bar rules around electronic signatures?

Most state bars permit electronic signatures for client engagement and similar documents under ESIGN/UETA. State-specific bar opinions or rules of professional conduct may impose additional requirements (informed consent to electronic signing, retention requirements, etc.); these are typically straightforward to satisfy with CT Signature's audit trail and consent flow. Firms should review their specific state bar's guidance on electronic engagement.

How does the platform handle privileged or confidential documents?

All documents are encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+). Access control limits who can view documents within the firm. Multi-tenant data isolation ensures other firms on the platform have no access to your matters. Audit trail captures every access. The technical posture is appropriate for privileged communications; firms remain responsible for their own internal access controls and conflict checks.

Can the audit certificate be used as evidence if a signature is later challenged?

Yes. The audit certificate is the standard evidence package courts and arbitrators look for when an electronic signature is challenged. It documents the cryptographic hash of the signed document, every action taken (viewed, signed, declined, etc.), IP addresses, device fingerprints, and timestamps. The certificate can be authenticated independently of the platform — the cryptographic math is verifiable on its own.

How does pricing work for a solo practitioner?

Subscription tiers plus pay-as-you-go pricing. A solo practitioner pays for the envelopes they actually send. Self-serve onboarding means no enterprise sales call is required. Most solos can have their first engagement letter sent within minutes of signing up.

Can paralegals send documents on behalf of attorneys?

Yes. Role-based permissions support paralegal-driven workflows where paralegals prepare documents, route them for attorney review (optional intermediate step), then send to clients for signature. The audit trail captures attribution at each step — who prepared, who approved, who sent.

Engagement signed before the work starts.

Get on the early-access list and we'll set up your firm with your standard engagement letter and retainer agreement pre-loaded as templates.

Request early access Back to CT Signature