August 2005
Mortgage Banking/Consumer Finance Commentary
Regulatory Redlining: Illinois Encourages Lenders
to Abandon Cook County
Drawing a redline around Cook County, Illinois recently enacted a new anti-predatory lending law that transfers the authority of borrowers and lenders to make residential mortgage loan decisions to credit counselors
who are not required to demonstrate any expertise to assume such responsibility. HB 4050, which Governor
Rod Blagojevich signed on July 21, 2005, is an attempt to reduce the high rate of foreclosures resulting from
alleged predatory lending practices in the Chicago area. It seeks to accomplish this objective by establishing a
predatory lending database pilot program for residential mortgage loan applicants in Cook County, which is
predicated on the findings of private credit counselors. As we detail below, however, the new law does not
articulate standards to be used to determine whether credit counseling is required, how credit counselors are
supposed to determine the fitness of a borrower for a particular loan, and whether the counselors have the
technical expertise to make the required determinations. In this regard, the law may be constitutionally
flawed. The only certainty is that the new law will materially delay and complicate loan closings, give the
state government unfettered access to the personal financial information of its citizens, and empower credit
counseling agencies that participate in class action claims against lenders to enjoy free discovery for future filings. Little wonder that many responsible lenders seriously are contemplating abandoning the “Pilot Program
Area” in Chicago.
WHEN DOES THE LAW GO INTO EFFECT?
January 1, 2006. The pilot program will last for four years.
SUMMARY OF THE PILOT PROGRAM
Under the pilot program, brokers and originators of residential mortgage loans in Cook County must submit
required borrower information to the predatory lending database, managed by the Illinois Department of
Financial and Professional Regulation (the “Department”), within ten (10) days after taking the mortgage
application. Unlike other anti-predatory lending laws, this law applies to prime and nonprime loans irrespective of the APR, points and fees or dollar amount on the loan. The Department will compare the information
with credit counseling standards it develops and determine whether credit counseling is “recommended” for
the borrower. Despite this discretionary language, this “recommendation” is actually a mandatory requirement that the borrower seek counseling. In fact, the loan cannot close until any required credit counseling is
completed and the counselor submits required information to the database. Assuming no changes are made to
the loan terms, this entire process may take more than a month from application to closing. If any changes are
made to the loan terms after the broker or originator submits information to the database, the process begins
from scratch. The broker or originator must pay any costs associated with required credit counseling, and
there is no specific allowance to pass these costs on to the borrower.
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham
LLP
HB 4050 also imposes reporting requirements on title insurance companies and closing agents, apparently
irrespective of whether the broker or originator on the loan is required to submit information to the database or
the borrower is required to obtain credit counseling. Failure to comply can make the mortgage non-recordable.
Below we provide a loan origination timeline based on the requirements of HB 4050, details regarding the
specific information that each type of entity (i.e., broker or originator, credit counselor, and title insurance
company or closing agent) must submit to the database, penalties for violations of HB 4050, and the potential
impact of the law.
LOAN ORIGINATION TIMELINE
■
Ten Days from Application—Within ten (10) days from application, the broker or originator submits
the required information to the database (described below).
■
Seven Days from Receipt of Information—Within seven (7) days of receiving the information from the
broker or originator, the Department will compare that information against credit counseling standards
that the Department will develop by rule (which are not yet available and as to which the Illinois
Legislature provided no standards) and determine whether credit counseling is “recommended.” Note
that HB 4050 does not set a time frame for the Department to notify the broker or originator and borrower
of its recommendation. If credit counseling is “recommended,” the borrower must obtain credit counseling. Such counseling cannot be waived. The Department must notify the borrower of all HUD-certified
counseling agencies in Illinois and direct the borrower to interview with a counselor associated with any
of those agencies.
■
Change of Information—Extends Time Frame—If at any time after submitting the information, the
broker or originator changes the terms of the loan or issues a new commitment to the borrower, then
within five (5) days thereafter, the broker or originator must re-submit all of the required information.
Within four (4) days of receiving the information from the broker or originator, the Department will compare that information against credit counseling standards that the Department will develop by rule and
issue a new determination of whether credit counseling is “recommended.” As discussed above, HB
4050 does not set a time frame for the Department to notify the broker or originator and borrower of its
recommendation. If credit counseling is “recommended,” the borrower must obtain credit counseling.
Such counseling cannot be waived. The Department must notify the borrower of all HUD-certified counseling agencies in Illinois and direct the borrower to interview with a counselor associated with any of
those agencies.
■
Ten Days from Notice of Required Counseling—Within ten (10) days after receipt of the names of
HUD-certified counseling agencies, the borrower must select a credit counseling agency and interview
with a counselor associated with that agency. The law is silent on what happens if there are no available
credit counseling agencies. The broker or originator must pay the costs associated with this mandatory
counseling.
■
Seven Days from Interview—Within seven (7) days of interviewing the borrower, the credit counselor
must submit to the predatory lending database all of the required information (described below).
The borrower and broker or originator must not take any legally binding action in connection with the loan
transaction until the later of the following:
(a) The Department issues a determination not to recommend credit counseling for the borrower; or
(b) The Department issues a determination that credit counseling is recommended for the borrower and
the credit counselor submits all required information to the database.
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■
Upon Recording and Ten Days from Closing—Within ten (10) days after closing, the title insurance
company or closing agent must submit the required information to the database. Although ambiguous,
this appears to be the case irrespective of whether the broker or originator on the loan is required to submit information to the database or the borrower is required to obtain credit counseling. In addition, upon
recording the mortgage, the title insurance company or closing agent must simultaneously file with the
recorder a database-generated certificate of compliance with the above requirement. A mortgage cannot
be recorded without this certificate. Also, if any notice of pending suit (lis pendens) for foreclosure is
recorded on the property within the pilot program, a certificate of service must be simultaneously recorded that affirms that a copy of the lis pendens was filed with the Department. If not so recorded, the lis
pendens is not recordable and is of no force and effect.
WHICH BROKERS AND ORIGINATORS MUST SUBMIT INFORMATION
ON WHICH LOANS TO THE DATABASE?
Any brokeri or originatorii who takes mortgage loan applications on residential real property located in the
Pilot Program Area must submit information to the database unless exempt. All brokers and many, but not all,
originators who are exempt from licensing under the Illinois Residential Mortgage Lending Act (the
“RMLA”) are exempt from the pilot program. Originators or brokers who are exempt from the RMLA as well
as HB 4050 include state or federally chartered banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions or insurance companies authorized to do business in Illinois. Additional exemptions are available for brokers, but not
for originators.iii
Any loan to or for the benefit of any natural person made primarily for personal, family, or household use, primarily secured by either a mortgage on residential real property or certificates of stock or other evidence of
ownership interests in and proprietary leases from, corporations, partnerships, or limited liability companies
formed for the purpose of cooperative ownership of residential real property, all located in Illinois, are subject
to this program. There is no APR, points and fees or dollar trigger. There is no distinction between first- or
subordinate-lien loans, purchase-money or refinance loans or open- or closed-end loans. Thus, all such residential mortgage loans in the Pilot Program Area, not just high cost home loans, are subject to the requirements.
The “Pilot Program Area” is defined as “all areas within Cook County designated as such by the Department
[of Financial and Professional Regulation] due to high rate of foreclosure on residential home mortgages that
is primarily the result of predatory lending practices.” The Department must designate this area within
30 days after the effective date of HB 4050 (i.e., 30 days after January 1, 2006). Thus, it is possible that brokers and originators will have to start complying with this law up to 30 days before the geographic region at
issue is defined. There is no way to determine how broadly or narrowly the Department might define the area.
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BROKERS AND ORIGINATORS SUBMIT TO THE DATABASE?
For each loan for which the originator takes an application, brokers and originators must submit all of the following information within ten (10) days of application:
■
Identifying Information—The borrower’s name, address, social security number or taxpayer identification number, date of birth, and income and expense information contained in the mortgage application;
■
Security Information—The address, permanent index number and a description of the collateral and
information about the loan or loans being applied for;
■
Loan Terms—The loan terms, including the amount of the loan, the rate and whether the rate is fixed or
adjustable, amortization or loan period terms and any other material terms;
■
Credit Score—The borrower’s credit score at the time of application;
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■
Originator Information—Information about the originator and the company for which the originator
works, including the originator’s license number and address, fees being charged, whether the fees are
being charged as points up front, the yield spread premium payable outside of closing, and other charges
made or remuneration required by the broker or originator or its affiliates or the broker’s or originator’s
employer or its affiliates for the mortgage loans;
■
Affiliate Information—Information about affiliated or third party service providers, including the names
and addresses of appraisers, title insurance companies, closing agents, attorneys, and realtors who are
involved with the transaction and the broker or originator and any moneys received from the broker or
originator in connection with the transaction;
■
Disclosure Information—All information included on the Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending
statement disclosures given to the borrower by the broker or originator;
■
Tax Information—Annual real estate taxes for the property, together with any assessments payable in
connection with the property to be secured by the collateral and the proposed monthly principal and interest charge of all loans to be taken by the borrower and secured by the property of the borrower;
■
Source Information—Information concerning how the broker or originator obtained the client and the
name of its referral source, if any;
■
Notices Required by Law—Information concerning the notices provided by the broker or originator to
the borrower as required by law and the date those notices were given; and
■
Sale and Leaseback—Information concerning whether a sale and leaseback is contemplated and the
names of the lessor and lessee, seller and purchaser.
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD CREDIT COUNSELORS SUBMIT TO THE DATABASE?
Credit counselors are required to submit the following information to the predatory lending database within
seven (7) days of interviewing the borrower:
■
All of the information that brokers and loan originators are required to submit to the database (see list
provided above);
■
Any information from the borrower that confirms or contradicts the information called for above;
■
The name and address of the credit counselor;
■
Information pertaining to the borrower’s monthly expenses that assists the credit counselor in determining whether the borrower can afford the loan or loans for which the borrower is applying;
■
A list of the disclosures furnished to the borrower, as seen and reviewed by the credit counselor, and a
comparison of that list to all disclosures required by law;
■
Whether the borrower provided tax returns to the broker or originator or to the credit counselor, and, if
so, who prepared the tax returns;
■
The date the loan commitment expires and whether a written commitment has been given, together with
the proposed date of closing; and
■
A statement of the recommendations of the credit counselor that indicates the counselor’s response to
each of the following statements: (a) the loan should not be approved due to indicia of fraud; (b) the loan
should be approved; no material problems noted; (c) the borrower cannot afford the loan; (d) the borrower does not understand the transaction; (e) the borrower does not understand the costs associated with the
transaction; (f) the borrower’s monthly income and expenses have been reviewed and disclosed; (g) the
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rate of the loan is above market rate; (h) the borrower should seek a competitive bid from another broker
or originator; (i) there are discrepancies between the borrower’s verbal understanding and the originator’s
completed form; (j) the borrower is precipitously close to not being able to afford the loan; (k) the borrower understands the true cost of debt consolidation and the need for credit card discipline; and (l) the
information that the borrower provided the originator has been amended by the originator.
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD TITLE INSURANCE COMPANIES OR CLOSING AGENTS
SUBMIT TO THE DATABASE?
Within ten (10) days after closing, the title insurance companyiv or closing agentv must submit the following
information for inclusion in the predatory lending database, apparently irrespective of whether the broker or
originator on the loan is required to submit information to the database or the borrower is required to obtain
credit counseling:
■
Identifying Information—The borrower’s name, address, social security number or taxpayer identification number, date of birth, and income and expense information contained in the mortgage application;
■
Security Information—The address, permanent index number and a description of the collateral and
information about the loan or loans being applied for;
■
Loan Terms—The loan terms, including the amount of the loan, the rate and whether the rate is fixed or
adjustable, amortization or loan period terms and any other material terms;
■
Tax Information—Annual real estate taxes for the property, together with any assessments payable in
connection with the property to be secured by the collateral and the proposed monthly principal and interest charge of all loans to be taken by the borrower and secured by the property of the borrower as well as
any required escrows and the amounts paid monthly for those escrows;
■
Disbursement Information—All itemization and descriptions set forth in the RESPA settlement statement including items to be disbursed, payable outside closing “POC” items noted on the statement, and a
list of payees and the amounts of their checks;
■
Title Insurance Company/Closing Agent Information—The name and license number of the title
insurance company or closing agent together with the name of the agent actually conducting the closing;
■
Parties at Closing—The names and addresses of all originators, brokers, appraisers, sales persons, attorneys, and surveyors that are present at the closing; and
■
Additional Closing Information—The date of closing, a detailed list of all notices provided to the borrower
at closing and the date of those notices, and all information indicated on the Truth in Lending statement
and Good Faith Estimate disclosures.
As drafted, title companies would have to report on the originations of federally chartered depository institutions, even though those institutions themselves do not have to report. Upon recording the mortgage, the title
insurance company or closing agent must simultaneously file with the recorder a database-generated certificate of compliance with the requirements in HB 4050. A mortgage cannot be recorded without this certificate.
Also, if any notice of pending suit (lis pendens) for foreclosure is recorded on the property within the pilot
program, a certificate of service must be simultaneously recorded that affirms that a copy of the lis pendens
was filed with the Department. If not so recorded, the lis pendens is not recordable and is of no force and effect.
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS
A violation of HB 4050 is an “unlawful practice” under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices
Act (the “Fraud Act”). Penalties available to the Attorney General under the Fraud Act include: (a) injunctions; (b) revocation, forfeiture or suspension of any license; (c) appointment of a receiver; (d) dissolution of
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domestic corporations; and (e) restitution. Additional penalties of $10,000 per violation may be imposed for
violations committed against a person 65 years old or older. In addition to the above Attorney General remedies, any person who suffers actual damage as a result of a violation of the Fraud Act committed by another
person may bring an action against such person within three (3) years after the cause of action accrued. The
court may award actual economic damages or any other relief the court deems proper, which could include
punitive damages, costs or attorney’s fees.
POTENTIAL IMPACT OF HB 4050
It is clear that the predatory lending database reporting requirements will impose a burden on brokers, originators, credit counselors and closing agents. However, there is no way to estimate exactly how much time, personnel, and financial resources will have to be spent complying with this law, primarily because the geographic region at issue has not yet been defined and the actual technology that will be used to report the information
to the database has not yet been determined.
Collecting substantial volumes of borrowers’ personal credit information raises obvious privacy concerns.
Apart from the general discomfort many borrowers may have with allowing a state government to collect their
personal financial information, a more tangible consumer concern is the recent rise of identity theft from large
databases. HB 4050 does not impose any specific security requirements or structure to protect borrowers’
information residing in the database. There is also no guidance on how long such information will be retained
by the state. Apart from clarifying that the information will not be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act, there are few indications of the security measures the Department will use.
While largely unproven from an empirical perspective, many observers believe that certain forms of credit
counseling help consumers make better financial decisions and reduce loan defaults. Indeed, this is the premise underlying various federal and state laws that require pre-purchase or pre-refinancing credit counseling.
There is nothing unique in an anti-predatory lending law that requires the borrower to complete credit counseling prior to consummating a loan transaction. Among the many unique aspects of this law, however, is the
requirement that a credit counselor make certain statutorily prescribed findings, which it then must share with
the Department and to which the borrower and lender effectively, but not explicitly, are bound. Whether the
rate of the loan is above the market rate is one of the determinations that must be made, along with a determination of whether the borrower cannot afford the loan or is precipitously close to not being able to afford the
loan. In effect, the law delegates to the credit counselors the effective duty to decide whether the borrower
can obtain the loan on the proffered terms.
Ironically, despite the vast power granted to credit counselors, the law makes no attempt to ensure that there
are sufficient credit counselors either in number or by expertise to handle the large number of prospective loan
applications that will be subjected to the law. Based on information from HUD's website, there are only 26
HUD-approved credit counseling agencies in Chicago, Illinois. While we don't know the number of loans
made in 2004 in the Pilot Program Area, it is clear that there may not be enough credit counseling agencies to
handle the mandatory workflow. More importantly, the law makes no effort to determine whether the credit
counseling agencies have the requisite ability to make the evaluations required in the statutes at all or with any
uniformity among the various approved agencies. Of course, the threshold problem is that the law fails to provide even a modicum of standards that can be applied by the credit counseling agencies. Even if there were
standards, however, the law does not require a showing that the credit counseling agencies know how to apply them.
Whether a credit counseling agency is HUD-approved is the only eligibility requirement under the law for a
credit counseling agency to be able to assume the responsibility to determine a borrower's fitness for a loan.
Yet HUD has no regulations on the approval criteria for a housing counselor, although it has some informal
guidelines that it uses. HUD promulgated proposed regulations in 2004, which have not yet been finalized.
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The only substantive requirement in the proposed regulations relating to technical proficiency is that the
agency employ staff trained in housing counseling with at least six months experience and be familiar with
housing programs offered by conventional mortgage lenders and other housing or related programs that may
assist their clients. That's it! We do not question the desire of HUD-approved counseling agencies to do the
right thing by their clients. Whether they have the technical expertise to do so, however, is not an explicit
legal requirement imposed by HUD. By relying solely on HUD approval as a proxy for expertise, Illinois has
adopted a system that imposes no material eligibility criteria on the credit counselors who are empowered to
determine the borrower's eligibility for a loan.
While they may not have the expertise to determine the propriety of a loan product for a particular consumer,
HUD-approved credit counselors do have the expertise to file or participate in class action lawsuits against
lenders. For example, one of the HUD-approved credit counselors in Chicago is the local chapter of ACORN,
and its national website touts the lawsuits it has brought against lenders. One wonders if the real purpose of
the law, or at least an ancillary purpose, is to create a discovery database for non-profits that wear multiple
hats as credit counselors and class action plaintiffs.
The law may not survive constitutional challenge given the lack of standards. May the Illinois legislature delegate to a state agency and unidentified private parties the power and authority to execute and administer a law
without making the basic policy choices that would serve as standards to guide and restrain the exercise of discretion and protect against arbitrariness? Time will tell.
If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Larry Platt (202.778.9034 /
lplatt@klng.com), Nanci Weissgold (202.778.9314 / nweissgold@klng.com), Laura Johnson
(202.778.9249 / laura.johnson@klng.com), or any member of K&LNG’s Mortgage Banking
Group to discuss the pilot program in more detail.
ENDNOTES
i
A “broker” is defined as a person, partnership, association, corporation, or limited liability company, other than those
persons, partnerships, associations, corporations, or limited liability companies exempted from licensing under the
RMLA, who performs the following activities: (a) soliciting, processing, placing, or negotiating a residential mortgage loan, which means for compensation or gain, either directly or indirectly, accepting or offering to accept an application for a residential mortgage loan, assisting or offering to assist in the processing of an application for a residential
mortgage loan on behalf of a borrower, or negotiating or offering to negotiate the terms or conditions of a residential
mortgage loan with a lender on behalf of a borrower including, but not limited to, the submission of credit packages
for the approval of lenders, the preparation of residential mortgage loan closing documents, including a closing in the
name of a broker; and (b) the act of helping to obtain from another entity, for a borrower, a loan secured by residential
real estate situated in Illinois or assisting a borrower in obtaining a loan secured by residential real estate situated in
Illinois in return for consideration to be paid by either the borrower or the lender including, but not limited to, contracting for the delivery of residential mortgage loans to a third party lender and soliciting, processing, placing, or negotiating residential mortgage loans. HB 4050, Pub. Act 94-0280, § 20 (to be codified at 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 77/70(a)); 205
Ill. Comp. Stat. 1-4(c), (o), (p).
ii
An “originator” is any natural person who, for compensation or in the expectation of compensation, either directly or
indirectly makes, offers to make, solicits, places, or negotiates a residential mortgage loan. HB 4050, Pub. Act 940280, § 20 (to be codified at 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 77/70(a)); 205 Ill. Comp. Stat. 1-4(hh).
iii An “originator” is defined under HB 4050 as that term is defined in Section 1-4(hh) of the RMLA (see Endnote ii,
above), except an “exempt person.” HB 4050, Pub. Act 94-0280, § 20 (to be codified at 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 77/70(a)).
Under HB 4050, an “exempt person” is defined as that term is defined in Section 1-4(d)(1) and (d)(1.5) of the RMLA.
Id. Under Section 1-4(d)(1) and (d)(1.5), an exemption is available for the following: (a)(i) any banking organization
or foreign banking corporation licensed by the Illinois Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate (the “Commissioner”)
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or the United States Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) to transact business in Illinois; (ii) any national bank,
federally chartered savings and loan association, federal savings bank, federal credit union; (iii) any pension trust,
bank trust, or bank trust company; (iv) any bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union organized
under the laws of Illinois or any other state; (v) any Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act licensee; (vi) any insurance company authorized to transact business in Illinois; (vii) any entity engaged solely in commercial mortgage lending; (viii) any service corporation of a savings and loan association or savings bank organized under the laws of
Illinois or the service corporation of a federally chartered savings and loan association or savings bank having its principal place of business in Illinois, other than a service corporation licensed or entitled to reciprocity under the Real
Estate License Act of 2000; or (ix) any first tier subsidiary of a bank, the charter of which is issued under the Illinois
Banking Act by the Commissioner, or the first tier subsidiary of a bank chartered by the OCC and that has its principal
place of business in Illinois, provided that the first tier subsidiary is regularly examined by the Commissioner or the
OCC, or a consumer compliance examination is regularly conducted by the Federal Reserve Board; and (b) any
employee of a person or entity mentioned in (a), above. 205 Ill. Comp. Stat. 1-4(d)(1), (1.5).
“Broker” is defined under HB 4050 as that term is defined in Section 1-4(p) of the RMLA (see Endnote i, above). HB
4050, Pub. Act 94-0280, § 20 (to be codified at 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 77/70(a)). Under the RMLA, the definition of
“broker” exempts any person listed under Section 1-4(d)(1) through (6) of the RMLA. 205 Ill. Comp. Stat. 1-4(p).
Thus, the entities in Section 1-4(d)(1) and (d)(1.5), set forth above, are exempt from the definition of “broker” under
HB 4050 (and are exempt from licensing under the RMLA). In addition, the following entities, listed in Section 14(d)(2) through (6) are exempt from the definition of “broker” under HB 4050 (and are exempt from licensing under
the RMLA), but appear to remain subject to the requirements in HB 4050 when acting as an “originator”: (a) any person or entity that does not originate mortgage loans in the ordinary course of business making or acquiring residential
mortgage loans with his or her or its own funds for his or her or its own investment without intent to make, acquire, or
resell more than 10 residential mortgage loans in any one calendar year. (b) Any person employed by a licensee to
assist in the performance of the activities regulated by the RMLA who is compensated in any manner by only one
licensee. (c) Any person licensed pursuant to the Real Estate License Act of 2000, who engages only in the taking of
applications and credit and appraisal information to forward to a licensee or an exempt entity under the RMLA and
who is compensated by either a licensee or an exempt entity under the RMLA, but is not compensated by either the
buyer (applicant) or the seller. (d) Any individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity that originates, services, or
brokers residential mortgage loans, as those activities are defined in the RMLA, and who or which receives no compensation for those activities, subject to the Commissioner's regulations with regard to the nature and amount of compensation. (e) A person who prepares supporting documentation for a residential mortgage loan application taken by a
licensee and performs ministerial functions pursuant to specific instructions of the licensee who neither requires nor
permits the preparer to exercise his or her discretion or judgment; provided that this activity is engaged in pursuant to a
binding, written agreement between the licensee and the preparer that: (i) holds the licensee fully accountable for the
preparer's action; and (ii) otherwise meets the requirements of Section 1-4 and the RMLA, does not undermine the purposes of the RMLA, and is approved by the Commissioner. 205 Ill. Comp. Stat. 1-4(d)(2)-(6).
iv A “title insurance company” is defined as “any domestic company organized under the laws of [Illinois] for the purpose of conducting the business of guaranteeing or insuring titles to real estate and any title insurance company organized under the laws of another State, the District of Columbia, or a foreign government and authorized to transact the
business of guaranteeing or insuring titles to real estate in [Illinois].” HB 4050, Pub. Act 94-0280, § 20 (to be codified
at 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 77/70(a)).
v
A “closing agent” is defined as “an individual assigned by a title insurance company or a broker or originator to ensure
that the execution of documents related to the closing of a real estate sale or the refinancing of a real estate loan and
the disbursement of closing funds are in conformity with the instructions of the entity financing the transaction.” Id.
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Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham (K&LNG) has approximately 1,000 lawyers and represents entrepreneurs, growth and middle market companies, capital markets participants, and leading FORTUNE 100 and FTSE 100 global corporations nationally and internationally.
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