Ellex Valiunas is a member of the leading Baltic law firm group Ellex, which has the most extensive specialised team of lawyers – over 100 work in Lithuania and over 250 in the Baltic countries.

Since 1992 the firm has accumulated significant experience advising business clients and represented the country’s most high-profile cases. The company provides legal consultations of the highest competence to public and private sector clients in all areas of company management, regulation of business processes, and dispute resolution.

“After deciding to sign the documents electronically, we were surprised how effortless the switching was – both Ellex Valiunas employees and customers smoothly and quickly absorbed the new habit. When the tool is convenient, it easily becomes a routine.”

Nomeda Kemeklienė, Director of Finance and Administration

Challenge

In 2019, e-signature options were still a topic that raised a lot of questions for many. Die-hard fanatics of the blue pen didn’t want to hear about this innovation. Those who have yet to hear about it with one ear found it too complicated, requiring additional technologies. For others, it was an assistant that can be successfully applied in everyday life and work. E-signature has not passed by the team of the Ellex Valiunas law firm either – they are determined to facilitate their own and their clients’ processes by signing documents using e-signing. The organisation has done its homework thoroughly beforehand.

For lawyers at work, processes are patiently and precisely thought out, primarily it is aimed to reach convenience for clients and the lawyers themselves. Therefore, while implementing Dokobit, a comprehensive digital guide answering any e-signing-related question (from the levels of the e-signature to the validity period) was prepared. It was also important to dispel the myth that e-signature and e-signing platforms are the same.

Equally important was the Ellex Valiunas team’s goal to reduce the use of paper even more. It was an opportunity to go hand in hand with implementing the sustainability strategy.

Solution

In 2019, the Ellex Valiunas office started looking for a smooth, intuitive, and convenient tool for digitising the signing of documents. They were concerned the documents to be signed inside (for organising their work) and outside (customers and suppliers) the office.

As business legal advisers, law firms often play the role of mediator. When the parties must sign a document, it is necessary to discover and propose the most convenient way of signing for both parties. Both, complete transparency and clarity are required – it is crucial that neither lawyers nor clients would have any e-signing questions. Thus, Dokobit appeared in Ellex Valiunas path.

Result

When the pandemic swept the world, Ellex Valiunas was ready for it – as they had been signing documents by e-signature for some time already. Early taming of the e-signature helped to avoid the headache associated with the chaotic digitisation of processes. At the beginning of the pandemic, work was going smoothly within the organisation and with external clients.

The most prominent feature noted in all the processes of Ellex Valiunas was the reduction of loads of paper in the lawyers’ everyday – after starting to use Dokobit, the internal consumption of paper was significantly reduced.

Not only that, Ellex Valiunas lawyers were among the first in the market to start providing legal advice related to qualified e-signature, and based on their example, helped their clients implement digital options for signing documents. The organisation once again ensured that innovation always leads to a positive change – the new habit has been easily and quickly absorbed by customers and employees.