As the COVID-19 pandemic has stymied standard ways of closing deals and signing documents, Litera said today it is offering six months of no-cost access to a lite version of its deal-management platform Litera Transact.

In a message sent to Litera customers today, CEO Avaneesh Marwaha said that he is hearing from law firms that standard deal processes are not possible for lawyers working from home offices, and that many lawyers are still putting themselves and others at risk by using couriers to obtain signatures and visiting post offices to mail documents.

“We recognize that we have technology in our portfolio which can fundamentally reduce this risk, and feel it’s important we remove any barrier to accessing that technology,” Marwaha said. “As such, we’re making a lite instance of Litera Transact available at no cost for six months.”

If the crisis runs longer than six months, Litera will extend the offer, Marwaha told me in an interview yesterday.

Litera Transact is the product that the company created after it acquired two of the leading deal-management platforms, Doxly, which it acquired in August 2019, and Workshare Transact, which was part of its acquisition of the U.K. company Workshare a month earlier in July 2019.

Marwaha said that Litera mobilized over the last two weeks to create this lite version. It provides three core modules:

  • Templated closing checklists to help manage each stage of a deal.
  • Signature management and automation via DocuSign.
  • Closing books, including editing, organization, and creation.

It is designed to make it simple for firms to get up and running, with minimal need for training or support, he said.

Full information on this offer can be found here.

Following the full text of the message Marwaha sent today:

The past few weeks have been a challenge for everyone. We are adjusting our habits as we keep a physical – not social – distance, while doing our best to stay connected and operate productively.

When talking with law firms, we’ve learned how standard processes are not possible at the home office. Resources – both technical and personnel – are limited, and collecting and managing physical signatures has become extremely difficult. Couriers are visiting homes to obtain wet signatures and individuals must go to the post office to mail documents. Both of these introduce unnecessary risk in the current climate.

We recognize that we have technology in our portfolio which can fundamentally reduce this risk, and feel it’s important we remove any barrier to accessing that technology. As such, we’re making a lite instance of Litera Transact (Doxly) available at no cost for six months.

Firms can learn more on our Litera Transact business continuity initiative page.

We feel fortunate to be able to help and believe this can have a meaningful impact on lawyers’ ability to continue to serve their clients safely.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.