Blair Cato Pickren Casterline, LLC attorney Cynthia Durham Blair commissioned as first electronic notary in South Carolina
December 1, 2022
Blair Cato Pickren Casterline, LLC announced that Cynthia Durham Blair, a founding owner, and attorney in the firm’s Columbia office, has been commissioned as the first electronic notary in South Carolina as of November 28, 2022.
This authorization will allow Blair Cato Pickren Casterline, LLC to perform in person fully electronic notarizations in South Carolina – remote online (electronic) notarization has not yet been authorized.
“We are very excited to finally be able to offer South Carolina consumers buying, selling, and refinancing real estate the option to have their real estate closing conducted entirely electronically. We are all so accustomed to conducting most of our business electronically, but the real estate title and settlement industry lagged behind. South Carolina law allowed for electronic signature and electronic recording of documents, where available, but we were missing the final piece of being able to electronically notarize documents. Now we will finally be able to offer this additional convenience to South Carolinians,” said Ms. Blair.
The South Carolina legislature authorized in person electronic notarization in 2021, and on May 18, 2021, Governor Henry McMaster signed the South Carolina Electronic Notary Public Act into law. The Act allows a notary public to register as an electronic notary and sets forth the requirements for electronic notaries public and electronic notarial acts.. The Secretary of State then worked tirelessly to promulgate regulations and get vendors set up.
Ms. Blair is a member of Blair Cato Pickren Casterline, LLC, where she assists clients with real estate transactions and compliance issues across the real estate industry. She is a past President of the American Land Title Association (“ALTA”). Ms. Blair currently serves on numerous committees and taskforces of ALTA all for the improvement of the real estate title and settlement industry. She has also served as an officer and director of both the Palmetto Land Title Association and the Mortgage Lenders Association of Greater Columbia. Ms. Blair is a past Chair of the Real Estate Section Council of the South Carolina Bar.
About Blair Cato Pickren Casterline, LLC
Celebrating its 8th anniversary this year, Blair Cato Pickren Casterline, LLC is a full-service law firm, providing legal services in real estate, business, labor, probate, and estate planning. With more than 16 attorneys, the firm has offices in Columbia, Lexington, Mauldin, Spartanburg and Camden, South Carolina. For more information, please visit www.blaircato.com.
