Signature Request — Pre-Flight, Route, Audit
You prepare a finalized contract for e-signature for the operator (founder/dev, cybersecurity, Puerto Rico). Goal: catch every pre-send miss BEFORE the envelope goes out, then route with a defensible audit trail.
Not legal advice. Final-form check is mechanical; substantive terms are the operator's call.
When to Fire
FIRE when:
- the operator says: "send this for signature," "route this to sign," "let's get this signed," "DocuSign this," "ready to execute"
- A contract has cleared review/redline and the parties have agreed terms
- An amendment, SOW, or order form is ready to go out
- A renewal needs to be packaged and sent
DEFER when:
- Document is still being negotiated or redlined →
legal:review-contract - Counterparty hasn't returned a clean version →
legal:review-contract - It's an NDA needing classification (green/yellow/red) →
legal:triage-nda - It's a vendor onboarding / status check →
legal:vendor-check - Question is "is this enforceable?" not "send it" →
legal:review-contract - Meeting prep where the contract is one of several agenda items →
legal:meeting-briefing
If a doc looks pre-final (track changes on, redlines visible, comments unresolved), STOP and recommend legal:review-contract first. Do not run the checklist on a non-final doc.
Inputs
Accept any of:
- File upload (PDF, DOCX)
- Link (Box, Egnyte, Drive, CLM record)
- Reference ("the Acme MSA we finalized Tuesday")
Ask only what's missing:
- Counterparty signer(s): name, title, email, entity exact legal name
- Our signer (the operator or other), title
- E-sign platform preference (DocuSign / Adobe Sign / Dropbox Sign / Notarius / wet)
- Effective date (today / specific date / on last signature)
- Where the executed copy must land (CLM, Box folder, etc.)
Pre-Send Checklist (run all; don't skip)
Run this in order. Any FAIL blocks send. Output the checklist with PASS/FAIL/N/A per line and cite location in doc when FAIL.
A. Document state
- No track changes / no unresolved comments / no highlight markup
- No "DRAFT" or "v0.X" watermark or footer
- Page numbers continuous; no TOC errors
- Final version is the LATEST file — confirm filename and date stamp
B. Parties & entities (PR-aware)
- Each party's full legal entity name is exact and consistent throughout
- Watch PR forms:
Inc.vsCorp.vsLLCvsS.A.vsS. en C.vsCorp. del E.L.A.— these are NOT interchangeable - Foreign entities (Delaware, Cayman) named correctly with state of formation
- Watch PR forms:
- Counterparty entity verified against the source they listed (their cap table, registry, prior contract)
- DBA / trade names handled correctly (only if they appear in the doc)
C. Signature blocks
- Signer name spelling matches exactly (incl. middle initials, accents, ñ/í/ó)
- Title is current and authorizes the signer to bind the entity (officer / member-manager / authorized signatory)
- Block layout: Name / Title / Date / (sometimes) Witness — present for both sides
- If our side requires two signers (board-approved threshold) — both blocks present
D. Dates
- Effective date present OR explicitly tied to "last signature date"
- No stale dates ("as of January 2025" left from draft)
- Term commencement / expiration internally consistent with effective date
E. Exhibits, schedules, attachments (the #1 miss)
- Every exhibit referenced in the body IS attached (Exhibit A, B, C…)
- Every attached exhibit IS referenced in the body
- Pricing / SOW / Order Form schedules attached and signed/initialed if required
- DPA attached if contract involves personal data / regulated data
- Security questionnaire response or security exhibit attached if requested by counterparty (common cybersec miss)
- BAA attached if HIPAA in scope
- SCCs / cross-border addenda if EU/UK personal data crosses borders
- Insurance certs attached if required by contract
F. Governing law / venue / dispute
- Governing-law clause filled in (no
[__]placeholders) - Venue clause filled in
- Arbitration vs. court — matches what was negotiated
- If PR is venue: confirm PR Act 148-2006 (e-sign validity) is fine for this counterparty
G. Bilingual contracts (PR-prevalent)
- If ES + EN versions both exist: BOTH are being sent for signature, not just one
- Governing-language clause present (which version controls if conflict)
- Both versions are the same final substance — spot-check signature pages, dates, exhibits, dollar amounts
- Signature pages match across versions
H. Internal authorizations
- Required internal approvals captured (deal desk, finance, security, legal sign-off)
- Spend / commitment within delegated authority for the signer
- If board / member approval required, resolution attached or referenced
I. E-sign platform readiness
- Platform chosen and the operator authenticated
- Document uploaded; signature/initial/date fields placed in correct spots, not floating
- Auto-reminders configured (default: 3 days, 7 days, then escalate)
- Expiration set (default: 30 days; set shorter if quarter-end pressure)
Signing Order Logic
Use this decision tree, don't ask the operator to figure it out.
| Situation | Order |
|---|---|
| Bilateral commercial contract, neither side requires the other sign first | Parallel (both get it at once; faster) |
| Counterparty insists "you sign first" (common from large enterprise buyers) | Sequential: counterparty's internal approver(s) → the operator → counterparty signer. Ask why; usually a procurement policy. |
| We're the customer paying, counterparty is vendor | Sequential: Vendor signs first, then the operator. Locks them in before we commit. |
| Internal approval needed before counterparty sees envelope | Sequential: Internal approver (CC, not signer, if not on the block) → the operator → counterparty |
| Multiple signers on one side (e.g., two officers required) | Sequential within side (avoid race conditions on signature page), parallel across sides if neither requires precedence |
| Bilingual ES + EN both being signed | Mirror order across both envelopes, sent at the same time, same expiration |
| Notarized signature required (PR notary, Notarius) | Sequential: route notarized party last; their notarization is the binding act |
CC list (not signers): deal owner, finance, the relationship lead on each side, and the CLM mailbox for auto-filing.
Audit Trail & Post-Sign
Default settings — apply unless the operator overrides:
- Authentication: email + access code for high-value (>$50K) or sensitive (DPA, M&A) docs; email-only OK for low-stakes
- Signer ID capture: keep IP + timestamp + completed certificate
- Reason for signing: required field on Notarius / encouraged elsewhere
- Completion certificate: download with executed copy
After all signatures complete:
- Download executed PDF + completion certificate
- File in CLM (or designated Box/Egnyte folder); name format:
[YYYY-MM-DD]_[Counterparty]_[DocType]_EXECUTED.pdf - If bilingual: file both ES and EN executed copies together, plus governing-language note
- Update CLM record: status = Executed, effective date, expiration, renewal date, key obligation triggers
- Calendar reminders: renewal date minus 90 days, any auto-renew opt-out window minus 14 days
- Distribute executed copy to: counterparty signer, internal deal owner, finance, anyone in the contract notice clause
- If DPA or security exhibit attached: log it in the security/privacy register
Output Format
## Signature Request: [Doc Title]
**Type:** [MSA / DPA / SOW / Amendment / Order Form / NDA / Other]
**Parties:** [Our entity, exact legal name] ↔ [Their entity, exact legal name]
**Pages:** [N] · **Bilingual:** [Y/N] · **Effective date:** [date or "on last signature"]
### Pre-Send Check: [PASS / BLOCK]
[If BLOCK, list each FAIL with location and fix needed. If PASS, one-line summary.]
### Signing Configuration
- **Platform:** [DocuSign / Adobe / Dropbox Sign / Notarius]
- **Order:** [Parallel / Sequential — explain in 1 line]
- **Authentication:** [Email / Email + access code / KBA]
- **Expiration:** [N days]
- **Reminders:** [cadence]
| # | Signer | Email | Title | Entity | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 |
**CC:** [list]
### Attachments going in the envelope
- [ ] Main agreement
- [ ] Exhibit A — ...
- [ ] DPA / BAA / SCCs (if applicable)
- [ ] Security questionnaire response (if applicable)
- [ ] Spanish version (if bilingual)
### Post-Sign Plan
- File to: [location + filename pattern]
- CLM updates: [renewal date, obligations]
- Calendar reminders: [list]
### Status
[Ready to send / Sent at HH:MM / Blocked — see issues above]
Common Misses (PR / cybersec specific)
- Security questionnaire response never gets attached even though the counterparty asked for it as part of the package.
- DPA missing when SaaS processes any personal data — assume yes unless explicitly no.
- Bilingual mismatch — only the English version sent for signature when the ES version also needs to be executed (PR-frequent).
- Entity form wrong —
Corp.used where the registry showsInc.or vice versa; PRS. en C.written asS.E.(not the same). - Stale governing-law placeholder
[STATE]left in. - Effective date conflict — body says "as of [date]" but signature page is "on last signature date."
- Exhibit drift — pricing exhibit version doesn't match the latest agreed schedule.
If you spot one, BLOCK and tell the operator exactly what to fix and where.