Prepare and manage documents for signing

Prepare documents for signing and send

With Clio Draft, drafting and preparing form for signing is easy.

Once you have populated and drafted the documents of a project, you can prepare the documents for signing.

1. When your forms are fully prepared, click Sign (bottom right).

2. Using the checkboxes, select all the documents you want included in the signature package.

   Note: Selecting a form does not mean that it will need a signature. It only means you want it included as part of the signature package.

3. Select the relevant option for the parties who need to sign the package.

   • When selecting Me and others or Others, you have the option to add more recipients or remove them, and you can toggle between having the parties sign in a particular order by clicking Assign order to Remove order as needed.
   Note: Only include parties that need to sign these documents. In a later step you will have an opportunity to add non-signing parties who only need to be notified.
4. Click Prepare for signing. This will open the forms in a viewing area.
   • Navigate between documents using Previous document and Next document, or select a document from your list on the right.
5. Locate any blue Signature and Date fields on the forms.
   • If the form does not have any Signature and Date fields, click Add signature box and Add date box from the top left corner, then click in the document to place them where needed.
   • You can drag and drop Signature and Date fields until you are satisfied with their placement on your document.
   • To delete a field, click on the field to select it, then click the trash can icon.

6. Next, you can assign each Signature or Date field to a particular individual or sign or date it yourself.

   1. For each Date field, click on the field then select wether to add today's date (Date now) or assign the date to an individual to fill
   2. For each Signature field, select Sign now to add your own signature, or select an individual from the menu to assign the Signature to field to them for signing. Assigned fields will display the signing parties' names in green.
   Note: Each person you listed on the signing parties list will need to be assigned at least one signature on a document in the package or you will not be able to proceed.
   Fields that are left unassigned will be removed from your form when you proceed to the next step.
7. When all Date and Signature fields are added and assigned, click Done to signature package page.
8. Draft an email title and message to accompany the signature package.
   • Optional: Click + Add CC to add any parties that you want to notify about the package but who are not required to sign.
9. Click Send signature request.

The signature package sender (you) and all listed signing parties will receive copies of the package for signing. Package links expire after 14 days. Once all signing parties have signed, they along with CC'd non-signing parties will receive a copy of the fully signed package . 

Sign your documents

When you prepare document for signing and you are at the point where you are viewing the documents to add Date and Signature fields, and you are one of the parties who needs to sign a document, you can either select your name from the menu of the Signature field or you can sign the document as it is being prepared. 

When you select your name to sign later, you can sign via the email you receive in a manner similar to how your client signs.

If you choose Sign now, a modal will appear with two options of sign. You can type your signature (and choose the font) or you can upload an image of your signature. For the best results when uploading an image, use an image of your signature in black ink on a white background.

Understand the client signing experience

If your clients need information about what their experience will look with signing a package that was emailed to them, you can share the following information with them.

1. Your client will receive an email from no-reply@draft.clio.com.
2. From this email, they can click Review and sign to open the document(s).
3. When ready, they can find and click each of the Click to sign buttons.
4. They should add their signature (typed or using an image), check the box confirming that the signature is a legal representation of their signature, and then click Insert.
5. For multiple documents, they can click Continue (top right) to move to the next document until all documents are signed.
6. Click Done (top right) to complete the process.

Once all parties have signed, your client will receive an email notification with a link where they can view the signed documents.

Track package progress

Your sent package will now be listed in the project under the Signed document subtab along with its current status. You can click into the document package for more status details about each party.

You will also receive email notifications (to the email associated with your Clio Draft account about the following events:

• Client has viewed the package
• Client has signed the package
• Everyone has signed the package.
  • This means the signature package is fully completed. Signing parties will receive this email as well.

View signed documents

1. From the main Clients tab, select the client, then the project for which the signature package was created.
2. Select the Signed documents subtab.
3. Select the relevant signature package you want to view.

You can also download the document from here.

Send a reminder to sign

To send a reminder to your client to sign their documents, or to resend a signing package that expired, follow these steps.

1. From the main Clients tab, select your client.
2. Select the project with the signing package.
3. Select the Signed documents subtab.
4. Select the relevant signature package.
5. For the relevant client, click Send reminder or Send new link.

Troubleshoot unreceived signing packages

If your client hasn't received the signature package, refer to the information below to help them troubleshoot. 

1. Ask your client to check their spam and junk email folders for the email.
2. Ask your client to check their email from a computer (if possible) rather than phone, and/or to check directly their email from a browser rather than a desktop app email service.
3. Ask your client to add no-reply@draft.clio.com to their safe senders / safe emails list.

Cancel a package signing request

You can cancel a signing request any time before a recipient has signed the package. To cancel the request, follow the steps below.

1. From the main Clients tab, select the client, then the project for which the signature package was created.
2. Select the Signed documents subtab.
3. Select the relevant signature package you want to cancel.
4. Click Cancel signature request (bottom left) of the screen.

The client(s) will no longer be able to access the link associated with the original request, meaning they will not be able to view and/or sign the forms.

Understand the package ID

Under the ESIGN Act, for an electronic signature to be valid an audit trail must be provided that can prove the document was signed by the person who is indicated to have signed it. For this reason, each signing package includes and a package ID, IP address, date stamp and email. Since many courts use DocuSign to sign their orders and legal documents internally, and DocuSign includes the signature ID as part of their audit trail on every page of the signed documents, courts are increasingly viewing this as best practices and requesting that other ESIGN providers do the same. For more information your can refer to the article by DLA Piper on the relevant statutes and case law, along with an example of how DocuSign, the leading electronic signature platform displays their package ID: Audit logs key to enforceable electronic signatures.

At this time, the signature package ID in the Clio Draft platform should not (and cannot) be removed. Doing so may invalidate any e-signatures on your forms.

If you have any questions or comments, please use the chat on the bottom right of your screen to reach us.