Increasingly businesses & risk-managers are becoming aware of the need to implement sound policies & best practices based on a recent judicial mandate holding employers liable for ensuring that their staff Notaries follow professional standards of care when carrying out their duties. The court ruled standards often go beyond what is spelled out in state law. These issues can be professionally managed with the right knowledge, which is why the NNA has opened a key session of its 2010 Conference in Chicago to employers of Notaries.

With compliance & liability issues increasing dramatically, employers are faced with the need to set clear policies for their staff Notaries & to need sound record keeping & regular, formalized training to meet best practices requirements.

This information is so important that a special General Session at the Conference featuring an analysis of the Vancura v. Katris case is being offered without charge to employers of Notaries. The General Session, scheduled for Thursday June 17 at 9 a.m., will feature a discussion with Michael Closen, an attorney & leading expert in notarial best practices who testified as an expert witness before the New York Appellate Court.

In Vancura v. Katris, the Court ruled that an employer can be held liable for the misconduct of its Notary employees who are not properly trained or supervised. Employers now have a broad “common law” duty to protect the public from a Notary who fails to meet the standard of care outlined in the Model Notary Act, even if state law does not mandate that level of performance.

The session will detail employers’ responsibility to train & supervise staff Notaries & focus on generating notarial standards of care that protect the public, & protect themselves & their Notaries from liability.