M. Hale
Drawn
Finger or stylus. Familiar, human, easy to recognize in a board packet. Stored as vector strokes plus the certificate, not as a floating image anyone could paste.
E-signatures
A name, an intent, a document that did not change.
An electronic signature is any electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to a record by a person with intent to sign. It is not a font. It is not a JPEG of your autograph. It is a decision bound to a file.
The idea
What “signed” has always meant
Paper signatures work because a person meant to adopt the writing, and because the mark sits on that writing. Courts have accepted marks that were not elegant: an “X,” a stamp, a typed name at the foot of a telegram. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) say the same thing in modern clothes: a contract or signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic.
That is the floor. Practice still has to show three things. Intent — the person meant to sign. Consent — they agreed to do this transaction electronically. Association — the mark is tied to this version of the record. Signed-ai is a desk for capturing those three, then keeping the proof.
Forms of the mark
How people actually sign on a screen.
The law is technology-neutral. Your desk should still pick a method that matches the stake.
Typed · Hale
Typed or selected
A printed name, a chosen script, or a saved mark. Valid when the click that applies it is an intentional act on this document — not when a signature file is dropped onto a blank page in isolation.
Click-to-sign
Process
A checked box that says “I agree,” a button labeled “Adopt & sign,” a one-time code. UETA and ESIGN expressly allow a process, not only a picture of handwriting.
Where the law sits
ESIGN, UETA, and a note on eIDAS.
United States · federal
ESIGN (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.) makes electronic signatures and records usable in interstate commerce. Consumer disclosures have extra consent rules. Some records still want paper — wills and certain family-law instruments among them, depending on the state.
United States · states
UETA is the state twin, enacted almost everywhere. New York uses its own Electronic Signatures and Records Act. The practical result for a commercial desk is the same: electronic can satisfy a signature requirement.
Europe · eIDAS
eIDAS defines simple, advanced, and qualified electronic signatures. A U.S. commercial packet is usually a simple or advanced signature with a strong log. Qualified certificates are a different, regulated product. We say so instead of pretending every scribble is a QES.
What we do not claim
Signed-ai is not a law firm and not a notary. Some closings still need a commissioned notary, an apostille, or wet ink by statute. The reader can flag those packets. It cannot repeal the statute.
Questions desks ask
Short answers for people who have to mean it.
Is a typed name a real signature?
It can be, if the person intended it as their signature on that record. Courts have enforced typed names, “/s/”, and clickwrap. The fight is rarely the font. It is whether the person meant to adopt the document and whether you can show which document.
Do both parties need to use Signed-ai?
No. You send a link. The counterparty reviews the brief, consents to electronic records, and signs. They receive the executed PDF and the certificate. They do not need a seat to finish one packet.
What if someone says they never signed?
You produce the certificate: identity method, timestamps, page views, consent language, IP hash, and the document hash. That is stronger than a photocopy of a wet-ink last page. It is still a facts case — which is why the log exists.
Can we sign after the AI rewrites a clause?
The reader does not rewrite. If a human edits the file, Signed-ai hashes the new version. Prior signatures do not ride along. That is the point of association.
Is this a replacement for a notary?
Not by default. Remote online notarization is a licensed act in the states that allow it. Signed-ai captures electronic signatures. If a packet needs a notarial certificate, we tell you before you send it.
Put it on a packet
Theory is cheap. A sealed file is the product.
Bring an agreement. Run the reader. Send it to the people who still have to sign.