Manatt Financial Services Partner Brett Natarelli, Associate Madelaine Newcomb and Counsel Paul Heeringa co-authored an article for The Business Lawyer on the status of remote online notarization (RON) and how the pandemic accelerated the adoption and acceptance of electronic and remote practices, even as the remote closing process remains in its formative years. “Even before the world was forced to confront COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, many were interested in conducting real estate closings remotely over the internet to eliminate the need to gather human bodies around a closing table in one physical location,” the authors wrote. “Business motivations for digitizing the closing process included reducing transaction costs, reducing potential fraud by using video observation and digital electronic document protections, and improving the customer experience by allowing customers to conduct their transactions on their phones.”