Over a career of 20 years, Tim has been instrumental in shaping the US online notarization and digital identity industries. He currently serves as a Special Advisor and digital rights counsel for the emerging law and policy of digital identity, online trust services, online notarization, data sharing, and consent-based information privacy for both the private and public sectors. Tim’s continuing focus is to ensure that digital systems are built to serve human-centered needs and rights, including respect for privacy and ethical criteria.
He has held various roles, most recently as an ABA-appointed Advisor to the Uniform Law Commission’s Committee on Notarial Acts and as a member of the Advisory Board for the European Union’s LIGHTest Program. His work in the electronic notarization industry goes as far back as the early 2000’s when, as Executive Director of the National Notary Association, he led a team that spearheaded the first round of electronic notarization laws. In 2006, he helped author and testified on the first ever electronic notarization legislation before the US Congress (the “IRON Act”). As a result of this experience,
Growing out of these experiences, in Virginia (2011; re-enacted in 2021), Tim was an author of the first online notarization law in the US. Since that time, he has been involved in the 30 other state enactments growing out of the Virginia model. He continues to speak and write on the topic, including giving legislative testimony.
With respect to the digital identity industry, Tim has long supported teams in developing identity proofing services and products. Related to this, he served as Special Advisor on Digital Identity for the Commonwealth of Virginia, in which role he spearheaded the thought-leading digital identity law in Virginia (2015; re-enacted in 2020) and assisted in the development and implementation of identity authentication, data sharing, cyber-risk minimization, and citizen privacy compliance policies for the Commonwealth’s agencies.
Because of his knowledge of notarial law, and as founder of the Cybernotary Society, Tim continues to be tapped as an expert witness in litigation involving notarial acts.