120 N.J.L.J. 1112
                                         December 10, 1987

OPINION 608

Attorney for Mortgage Lender
Performing Services for Borrower

    The inquirer, as attorney for a lending institution representing it in a mortgage loan transaction, proposes to perform the title search, provide for insuring the title and presumably prepare the note, mortgage, and other closing papers. The attorney will bill the lender for such services. The lender, in turn, will bill the borrower for that work and advise the borrower that the attorney will close the mortgage loan at the attorney's offices and that the borrower may secure his own attorney to represent him if he chooses. The inquirer asks whether this procedure is in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
    Our answer is a clear "yes." We regard the proposed plan as a scheme to avoid the provisions of N.J.S.A. 46:10A-6, which prohibits a lending institution from requiring a borrower of a loan to be secured by a mortgage to employ the services of the lender's counsel or an attorney specified by the lender. The statute provides that:
    No banking institution or other financial institution authorized to engage in the business of making loans secured by mortgage, hereinafter referred to as a "lender," shall require a borrower of a loan to be secured by a mortgage on real estate, to employ the services of the lender's counsel or an attorney specified by the lender but the borrower shall have the right to be represented in the transaction by an attorney at law of New Jersey of his own selection.