Both a closing agent and your personal attorney are attorneys, which often leads to confusion over the difference between the two. A closing agent is merely a vendor, if you will, or consultant providing services, whereas an attorney is obligated to represent your best interests above all.
An attorney represents the client as a fiduciary, meaning that the attorney has to put the interest of the client above all other interests. He can be brought on at any point in the transaction. As a fiduciary, an attorney representing either a buyer or a seller can advise the client on the risks of accepting a particular set of deal terms and what is customary for different deal terms.
A closing agent, on the other hand, is engaged specifically to put the deal together: to prepare the transaction documents for the parties to review, handle the deposit, and pay out all of the parties at the closing table. Importantly, a closing agent does not have a fiduciary duty to any of the parties. According to the Florida Bar, a closing agent is not permitted to suggest terms to the parties for their deal. This distinction is important to bear in mind especially when a business buyer or seller has never completed such a transaction before.
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