Announcement of new BFSLA template opinions
The BFSLA Opinions Committee has released 3 new opinion templates and has updated the previously released forms.
They are all available via the links below, together with mark-ups in the case of the revised templates.
The new opinion templates are:
- a trustee opinion (Dec 2015), where one or more obligors are trustee of a trust;
- a secured opinion (Dec 2015), where the documents opined on include security documents; and
- cross-border opinion (Dec 2015), where an Australian company is signing a foreign law document
The updated templates are:
- the standard template opinion (Dec 2015), to be issued to a single recipient relating to an unsecured agreement and an Australian company obligor; and
- a standard syndicated template (Dec 2015), to be issued to an agent for a syndicate in relation to an unsecured syndicated facility and an Australian company borrower.
As before, the standard templates are designed to smooth the process of the giving and reviewing of opinions, and to reduce the negotiations and difficulties that can delay transactions.
All of the template opinions continue the “less is more” philosophy ― keeping the language (including assumptions and qualifications) to a minimum.
The BFSLA Opinions Committee has also prepared:
- a document containing suggested principles of etiquette (Dec 2015) to apply (subject to instructions) between firms when requesting and negotiating opinions;
- a Note on ‘Across-the-table’ Opinions (March 2016) with a discussion on some of the issues that arise when a firm gives an opinion to persons other than its own client; and
- a document regarding Issues for the Opining Firm to Consider where an Obligor is an Individual (March 2016)
Downloadable attachments to previously released forms:
| Trustee opinion (Dec 2015) | download |
| Secured opinion (Dec 2015) | download |
| Cross-border opinion (Dec 2015) | download |
| Standard template opinion (Dec 2015) | download |
| Standard syndicated template (Dec 2015) | download |
| Suggested principles of etiquette (Dec 2015) | download |
| Note on Across-the-table Opinions (March 2016) | download |
| Issues for the Opining Firm to Consider where an Obligor is an Individual (March 2016) | download |