In a recent episode of Unconventional, host Bill Tessar sat down with Lightning Docs CEO Nema Daghbandan to discuss how legal insight and automation are reshaping private lending.
Nema’s path into the industry was anything but planned. After graduating from law school during the financial crisis, he found himself immersed in private lending at a time when the market was still taking shape. That early exposure gave him a full-spectrum view of the industry, from regulatory compliance to loan origination and investor protections.
As private lending expanded beyond California and into new markets, Nema identified a growing challenge. Loan documentation was becoming a bottleneck. Each state introduced its own regulatory nuances, and templated documents often failed to reflect the legal distinctions that mattered most. What lenders needed was not just faster documents, but documentation built to respond intelligently to the facts of each deal.
That insight led to the creation of Lightning Docs.
Instead of relying on static templates, Lightning Docs uses a fact-based interview process that mirrors how experienced professionals evaluate a transaction. Details such as borrower structure, property location, lender residency, and loan purpose directly inform how documents are generated. This approach allows lenders to produce compliant, accurate loan documents across jurisdictions without slowing down the closing process.
For lenders operating at scale, Lightning Docs can also integrate directly into existing workflows. Loan documents are generated automatically in the background, reducing manual effort while maintaining consistency and compliance across every deal.
The conversation also highlights a broader philosophy behind Lightning Docs’ growth. Rather than prioritizing rapid expansion, Nema emphasizes trust, consistency, and long-term relationships. By actively participating in conferences, sharing industry knowledge, and engaging directly with lenders, Lightning Docs established credibility long before many clients ever became customers.
Today, Lightning Docs serves as a core infrastructure partner for some of the largest private lenders in the country. The platform has helped bring structure and standardization to business-purpose loan documentation in an industry that historically lacked a true benchmark.
As private lending continues to evolve, the episode underscores a clear takeaway. When deep industry understanding is paired with thoughtful automation, lenders gain more than speed. They gain confidence, scalability, and greater control over their operations.