95-09 An attorney who, either directly or indirectly, performs legal services on behalf of a bank/lender in the closing of a residential real estate transaction, does so at his/her peril when the borrower is not represented by counsel. The attorney must exercise caution to avoid any suggestion that he/she acts on behalf of the borrower. The need to exercise caution is particularly strong with respect to loan packages which provide significant savings to a borrower who chooses to proceed to closing without his/her own attorney
92-01 An attorney who is an officer in the trust department of a bank may not represent customers or potential customers of the bank by which he or she is employed in the preparation of wills, trust agreements and other legal instruments pertaining to trusts, estates and related trust department business, whether or not the client pays for these services to the bank or to the individual officer/lawyer, and whether or not the bank is named as a fiduciary.
91-08 An attorney is entitled to represent a private client seeking financing through a lending agency in which the attorney sits on the Board of Directors provided that: (1) the attorney does not participate in any part of the process which determines the client’s eligibility for the loan (e.g., the loan review process, voting on approval of the loan, etc.); and, (2) the attorney, at the outset, fully discloses to the private client and to the bank his representation of the client and, after full disclosure to the client of potential conflicts that could arise, both parties consent to his representation.
90-08 An attorney may not provide simultaneous representation to a borrower and a lender. An attorney may furnish the lender with title insurance and a proposed mortgage deed or comply with other similar loan requirements on the buyer’s behalf so long as the attorney does not enter into an attorney-client relationship with the lender.
79-23 Bank requiring attorney to represent borrower and mortgagee bank in real estate transaction