A practitioner documenting a loan must decide how best to prepare loan documents that reflect the specifics of the transaction. Depending on the size, purpose, and complexity of the loan, and the nature of the borrower and its business, it may be more appropriate to document the loan using shorter-form documents, rather than lengthy agreements that can run to hundreds of pages.

Generally, smaller and simpler loan transactions may warrant the use of shorter-form documents which can streamline the drafting and negotiating process and keep the legal fees for the transaction at a more affordable level. At the same time, the parties must ensure that the loan documents contain all material provisions that appear in the term sheet (if there is one) or that are necessary for the loan in question. This may mean that certain portions of the loan documents may be more detailed and lengthy, even if shorter-form documents are used. Part of the practitioner's role is to determine the appropriate style of the loan documents, including whether to document the loan using shorter-form documents.

This Toolkit contains links to continuously maintained resources that provide information for practitioners intending to use shorter-form documents for a particular loan.