E-signatures, the law and

the barriers of tradition

Welcome

Introduction to webinar

Chris

ClarkeDirector of performance and improvement

With thanks to

What Scape do…

▪ UK wide construction framework procurement

▪ Fast, compliant, simple, design for community benefit

▪ £2.5bn active work; 600+ active public sector clients

▪ The key: we facilitate contracts between clients and good

contractors formed using standardised (but adaptable) NEC

contract templates = rigour and good practice

A digital sector?

What is BIM?

...use of a shared digital representation

of a built asset

to facilitate design, construction and

operation processes

to form a reliable basis for decisions

[BS EN ISO 19650]

BIM themes

Culture

Less (not) adversarial

New habits

Data-sharing

Better (leading) practice

New standards

Technology

Increased (seamless)

compatibility

New tools

Process

Greater (total) clarity

New methods

BIM data-sharing

What is blockchain?

▪ Blocks = digital information or data

▪ Parties via unique digital signature

▪ Date, time and reward

▪ Hash = cryptographic code

▪ Chain = database of verified information

▪ Uses distributed ledgers = multiple digital records (public or private)

▪ Secure

▪ Party data is anonymised

▪ Blocks are impossible to delete

Current contracts?

▪ Adversarial

▪ For legal enforcement

▪ No certainty

▪ Not serving business’ needs

▪ Paper-based wet-signed

▪ ‘A burden and a bore’

Smart(er) contracts?

Electronic

Created electronically

Negotiated as paper-based

contract

Shared and sent using email

Signed using electronic

signing protocol

Stored (on cloud) as a single

document

Digital

Created using logic of Q&A and

common clause bank

Negotiated digitally

Shared and sent using digital

platform

Signed digitally eg DocuSign

Stored with other contract

documents in digital shared platform

Updates become part of contract

data

Digital asset during use, end and

demolition phase

Smart

Also known as intelligent

contracts

Contract created, negotiated

and agreed in spoken

language

Contract translated into

computer code

Capable of self-execution (at

least in part) with minimal

human intervention

Updates automatically (live

contract with recorded history)

Wake up and smelling the e-signature coffee….

▪ Summer 2017…new coffee machine (5 yr service

contract)

▪ Contract award…agreed terms…signed… first coffee

order…in 11 minutes! ALL on my smartphone.

▪ A legal experience (and not a trial).

What if WE did this…for construction?

The Business Case

▪ Paper, paper everywhere

▪ Version control hell

▪ Contract exchange takes

ages

▪ Courier and printing costs

▪ Procurement compliance concerns

▪ Lack of visibility for performance

management

▪ Fast

▪ Paperless

▪ Free

▪ CompliantThe benefits

The Best Bit….. DATA in use

By signing a contract this way…

▪ contract is immediately available to all

▪ data is immediately pushed into other systems

▪ E.g. Site postcode; economic analysis, carbon analysis, logistics

▪ E.g. Start/end dates – set valuation cycles, inspection dates,

performance checks

▪ E.g. Key contacts – ready for communication

Our journey

▪ Business case (2018)

▪ Selecting supplier

▪ Pilots; integrations (2019)

▪ Available in use for consultancy and civils projects

across the UK (2020)

▪ Turbo engaged – Covid-19 and lockdown (April 2020)

Our experience so far

As a team we CAN:

• Execute a contract in moments

• Deliver digitally - brief to contract

through BIM to site and back,

paperlessly

• Enhance governance and control

through thoughtful use of e-

signature workflows

• Enable Covid-proof procedures

• Make contract data democratically

and thoughtfully available

BUT we also…

• By tradition…only

execute a contract on

wednesdays

• By constitution…sign

deeds under seal

• By habit …print out the

documents for the only

time when we sign them

Breaking down barriers

Public sector and private

sector governance and

constitution can be

complemented not

contradicted by digital

contracts

BUT only if…

• Effective, safe legal

review of the opportunity

is undertaken

• Practitioners seek

change

• Benefits shared

Legal advice (public sector)

http://www.bevanbrittan.com/insights/articles/2

020/signing-documents-during-the-covid-19-

pandemic/

http://www.bevanbrittan.com/insights/articles/2

020/covid-19-executing-deeds-and-documents/

• Signing electronically

• Executing deeds and

documents

http://www.bevanbrittan.com/insights/articles/2020/signing-documents-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/http://www.bevanbrittan.com/insights/articles/2020/covid-19-executing-deeds-and-documents/

David Kitson

Partner

Questions and answers

Thank you for attending