Every state’s laws and practices are somewhat different. Nevertheless, much about commercial lending and fi nancial affairs is based on general contract rules and drafting that are similar throughout the United States. Historically, on the East Coast, lawyers were always involved in closing lending transactions, whether commercial or residential. On the “opposite coast,” a contrary mentality was prevalent as early as 1978. At that time, laypersons (albeit title employees, bankers and real estate professionals) ran the show in commercial real estate. William Shakespeare must have not only passed through but also stayed a while on the West Coast—all attorney participation had been “killed,” as a character famously advises in Henry VI.