Digital trust in legal services: Identity verification, authentication and electronic signatures
How digital identity, secure authentication and electronic signatures are reshaping the relationship between legal professionals and their clients.
Trust is becoming part of the legal digital experience
Remote consultations, electronic documents and online services are changing how law firms, notaries and legal organisations work with clients. These channels make legal services more accessible, but they also raise essential questions: who is accessing the service, how is confidential information protected, and can documents be signed and managed with the required level of assurance?
Digital trust is not simply a technological requirement. It is a foundation of the professional relationship between legal practitioners and their clients.
The digital transformation of legal services
Remote meetings, electronic contracts and digital case files reduce reliance on physical appointments and paper. Clients increasingly expect convenient, responsive services they can access from different locations and devices.
The challenge is to offer this flexibility without weakening confidentiality or accountability. A digital service must preserve the safeguards that make the interaction trustworthy.
Identity verification and client onboarding
Identifying a client is essential before sharing confidential information or establishing a formal relationship. In-person checks remain important, but can be difficult when the client is remote.
Digital identity proofing can support remote onboarding by checking identity documents and, where appropriate, comparing the portrait with the person presenting it.
Document authenticity
Check whether the identity document appears genuine and its data can be reliably verified.
Applicant verification
Assess whether the person completing the process matches the identity presented.
These checks can help reduce impersonation and fraudulent access, provided they reflect the service, its risks and applicable identification requirements.
Biometric recognition and passwordless authentication
Biometric recognition and passwordless authentication can strengthen digital security, but they describe different things. Biometric recognition analyses physical or behavioural characteristics, such as facial features, to support recognition or identity verification. Passwordless authentication allows access without a traditional password and may rely on biometrics, cryptographic credentials or other factors.
Biometrics describe a way of recognising a person. Passwordless describes a way of accessing a service without entering a password.
Passwordless methods reduce reliance on passwords that may be reused or compromised. When biometric data is processed to uniquely identify a person, however, it is a special category of personal data under GDPR and requires an applicable Article 9 condition and safeguards. See the GDPR, Articles 4(14) and 9.
Electronic signatures and digital documents
Electronic signatures support remote workflows, but their assurance and legal effects differ. eIDAS distinguishes three levels:
Electronic signature
Electronic data associated with other electronic data and used by the signatory to sign.
Advanced electronic signature
Uniquely linked to the signatory, capable of identifying them, created under their control and connected to the signed data so subsequent changes can be detected.
Qualified electronic signature
An advanced signature based on a qualified certificate and created by a qualified signature creation device.
A qualified electronic signature has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature under eIDAS. An advanced electronic signature is subject to different requirements and should not be presented as legally identical. See eIDAS, Articles 25 and 26.
In Italy, the Electronic Identity Card (CIE) can be used with the official CieSign service to create an advanced electronic signature. See the Ministry of the Interior guidance on signing with CIE.
Digital document management can also simplify approval workflows and reduce paper handling. Documents must still be managed and preserved according to applicable legal and technical requirements, including the Italian Digital Administration Code (CAD) where relevant. See the Codice dell’Amministrazione Digitale.
Security, privacy and regulatory considerations
Legal organisations handle personal records, contracts and confidential communications. Protection must cover collection, access, sharing, storage and retention.
The GDPR establishes principles such as data minimisation, purpose limitation, integrity and confidentiality. Practical safeguards include access controls, secure authentication, traceability and retention policies.
eIDAS provides the European framework for electronic identification and trust services, including electronic signatures. In Italy, it operates alongside national provisions such as the Codice dell’Amministrazione Digitale. The applicable requirements depend on the process and document concerned.
Compliance is not achieved by adopting a single tool. Each workflow must be assessed against its purpose, risks and required level of assurance.
Building a connected digital legal workflow
Identity verification, authentication, electronic signatures and document management are consecutive stages in the same digital relationship between a professional and a client.
Verify identity
Establish the client’s identity using checks suited to the service and its risks.
Authenticate access
Protect access to the relevant platform, account or service.
Sign documents
Use a signature method that meets the document’s legal requirements.
Manage records
Organise and preserve documents and relevant process information.
Connecting these stages can reduce manual steps and fragmented experiences. Interoperable tools fit existing processes and can evolve with the organisation.
Making digital trust foundational to legal services
Digital transformation is more than moving traditional activities online. It means considering identity, security, confidentiality and document integrity at every stage of the client relationship.
When appropriately selected and connected, identity verification, biometric recognition, secure authentication and electronic signatures can help legal professionals deliver more accessible, efficient and trustworthy services.
Digital trust should not be an additional feature of legal services. It should be a foundation of every digital interaction between professionals and clients.
Make every legal interaction more secure.
Simplify client onboarding, identity verification and document signing. Discover how digital trust can improve your legal workflows.
Talk to our team“In legal services, trust is built into every interaction. Digital experiences should make it easier to establish, without adding complexity.”
Digital identity and electronic signatures work best when they fit naturally into people's workflows. Good design makes complex processes simpler, more secure and accessible.
