A Better Way to Notarize, for Cohen & Fitch LLP and Every Client They Serve
Cohen & Fitch LLP is a New York City civil rights and criminal defense firm dedicated to fighting for and defending the rights of abused, underprivileged, and disenfranchised individuals in both federal and state courts. Like most small practices, they run a lean operation with limited office hours and a full caseload.
Notarization shows up at least twice in every case: at intake, when the firm brings on a new client, and at the end, when settlement papers need to be signed before a check can be issued. For a long time, getting those documents signed meant working around everyone's calendar and hoping it all came together.
Now it doesn't.
When the platform is the problem
Before Cohen & Fitch landed on Proof, they put several other remote online notarization platforms to the tests. What they got was frustration. Documents were difficult to pre-mark. Videos froze mid-session. At one point the audio on a session cut out entirely, and Ilyssa Fuchs, a partner at the firm, had to keep the client on speakerphone just to finish the session.
"It was taking me twice as much time to get documents set up as it would have if I'd just met the person in person," she said, "and once I was in the session, it was taking twice as long to get everything done because of the connection issues."
The firm had actually used Proof before, on a one-off basis about a year earlier. The difference was obvious. That experience had been smooth and streamlined, and when it came time to find a real long-term solution, Proof was the natural starting point.
Three options, zero waiting
When Cohen & Fitch moved into formal evaluation, the sales process confirmed what the earlier session had suggested. Proof was willing to work with the firm as it actually is. "We felt like Proof was really willing and open to working with us and crafting a solution that worked for us as a small firm," Fuchs said.
Today, Cohen & Fitch gives clients three choices at both intake and settlement. They can come into the office in person. They can do a virtual meeting and then handle notarization themselves through a local notary. Or they can receive a Proof link after the virtual meeting and complete everything remotely, on their own schedule, with a notary from Proof's network.
Clients pick the option that works for them. Some prefer to come in. Others just want it done. "I have clients who want to sign the documents in the next 30 minutes from their phones," Fuchs shared.
Working on everyone's terms
Using Proof's notary network means Fuchs doesn't need to be credentialed on the platform or available every time a client is ready to sign. Clients can complete their notarizations after work hours, on their own timeline, without any coordination with the firm. "It's given me a lot more flexibility," she said, "because I don't have to sit around waiting for clients to sign on."
The result is a notarization workflow that fits the way Cohen & Fitch actually operates. Clients have real options and the flexibility to use them. The firm has the same. Fuchs was confident enough in what she found that she was already recommending Proof to colleagues before the contract was even signed.
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