Speed is often seen as the benchmark for progress in legal processes. Faster turnaround times,...
Last Wednesday, the Videosign team and I attended the LegalEx event in London - a fantastic event that brings together forward-thinking law firms, legal tech innovators, and operational leaders from across the UK.
We had one clear objective: listen to the common problems in the industry.
From conversations at our exhibit stand to talks from industry leaders, one thing was clear - Legal firms aren’t struggling with digital tools. They’re struggling with disconnected workflows.
Here’s what we heard, what’s changing, and where firms are heading next.
The Common Challenges Firms Are Still Facing
Despite a shift in language and legislation over recent years, many firms told us they are still frustrated by:
Fractured workflows
Legal teams often rely on a combination of systems - case management platforms, document storage tools, identity verification providers and separate e-signature solutions. What does this mean? Duplicate work, manual data entry, and avoidable extra steps.
Compliance worries
Even firms already using remote signing solutions expressed concerns around compliance. How can we clearly evidence a signee’s understanding and intent?
Client experience pressure
Clients increasingly expect legal services to feel as seamless as online banking or insurance onboarding. Delays caused by printing, scanning or sending physical documents back and forth are becoming harder to justify.
Delays to completed documents
The traditional methods of document completion have resulted in the same problems for decades. Firms can wait days or even weeks for documents to be completed and returned. These delays cost firms money, increase workload and can leave their staff feeling frustrated. Clients don’t sign until they feel comfortable. The question becomes: how do we help them reach that point faster?
The overriding theme: efficiency is important, but confidence and clarity are equally significant.
Misconceptions About Remote Signing and Audit Trails
One of the most interesting points to note from LegalEx was how persistent certain misconceptions remain.
“Remote signing isn’t as secure as in-person signing.”
“An audit trail is just a timestamp.”
Secure digital signing, when the correct steps are taken, can provide a far stronger evidential record than traditional wet-ink processes. IP logs, timestamps, identity verification, and tamper-proof seals create layered verification that paper simply cannot replicate.
A truly compliant audit trail should include:
Example of what a complete digital audit trail can include:
Many firms were surprised to learn how defensible a digital process can be when the right tools are in place.
The bottom line? The legal sector advises caution and mitigation daily. This does not mean change is the enemy. With the direction this industry is moving, the real risk is being left behind.
What Are Progressive Firms Prioritising in 2026?
Looking ahead, the most forward-thinking firms we spoke to are not just looking at how to complete electronic signatures, they’re reviewing their entire workflows.
Here’s what’s top of their agenda:
Integrated systems or standalone tools?
Firms want signing to sit within their existing case management and onboarding systems rather than an additional step that requires manual uploads and downloads. A platform that allows you to conduct your meetings, complete your documents and pass verification all in one place? Now that would be handy.
Stronger identity verification
Compliance has been and probably always will be top of the list of things to worry about. Prioritising strong client due diligence (CDD) and AML compliance are becoming non-negotiable. Digital identity verification integrated directly into signing workflows is emerging as a priority and an important way to expedite the process.
Audit-ready ahead of time
Rather than reacting to documents being challenged or audits, progressive firms are building processes that are evidentially strong from day one.
Can we make efficiency gains?
Time-to-completion data, reduced onboarding time, and fewer document errors are now being tracked and reported internally. Legal operations leaders are under pressure to demonstrate the firm is using every available tool to optimise these processes.
To sum up: 2026 planning is less about “going digital” and more about the measurable gains legal tech can help you achieve.
How LegalEx conversations reinforce the shift toward integrated workflows
One thing became clear to us: legal tech is no longer evaluated in isolation. It’s assessed based on how well it integrates into a firm’s broader workflows and operational processes.
Remote signing, identity verification, and compliance tracking now, more than ever, need to work in tandem, not as separate processes.
In addition to harmony, the shift is also about:
- Reducing the risk of administrative error
- Improving audit defensibility
- Ensuring a smoother client experience
- Protecting firm reputation
The firms leading the conversation weren’t the ones asking whether digital transformation is necessary. They were asking how best to make it work for them.
Final Thoughts
If I had to summarise LegalEx in one quote:
The most forward-thinking law firms are moving beyond reacting to regulation. They are designing workflows built for the long term.
The firms that will thrive in 2026 and beyond are those that:
- Prioritise integration over multiple tools
- Build compliance into the process, not around it
- Treat client experience as an opportunity for your business to jump to the front of the queue
- Demand evidential strength from their digital solutions
For us at Videosign, these conversations reinforced something important. Secure, integrated remote signing is not just about saving paper. It is about strengthening client experience, improving evidential defensibility, and modernising legal operations without compromising compliance.
LegalEx confirmed something important: the appetite for change is here. The next step is implementation.
