Student loan refinancing has been a hot topic during the past several years. Trendy new companies – like SoFi, Earnest, LendKey, and CommonBond – have been offering slick refinancing products to entice borrowers. Major banks and credit unions have also jumped in, sometimes offering tantalizingly low interest rates. The best loan products are generally marketed to doctors, lawyers, and other high-income professionals who tend to have large amounts of federal student loan debt, but great earning potential and excellent credit.
A lower interest rate is often the central reason to explore refinancing; after all, a lower interest rate will save you money in the long run, and could lower your monthly payments, as well. But that’s not the only thing borrowers should be considering. Turning federal student loans into private student loans through refinancing can have major, irreversible consequences, and it’s important to know what you might be giving up in exchange for that lower rate.Read More
This week, the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed the Student Loan Bill of Rights – powerful legislation that would enshrine new state-level protections for student loan borrowers in the Commonwealth. I was 
Last week, Congress passed – and the President signed – a major spending package that touches nearly every element of society. Buried deep within the 2,200 pages of legislation are some interesting provisions regarding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which allows borrowers to get any remaining balance on their federal student loans forgiven after 10 years of “qualifying payments.”
Time flies when you’re having fun. This month marks seven years since I went out on a limb and opened my law office devoted to helping student loan borrowers. It’s been an incredible experience. I’ve met hundreds of wonderful people over the years, and I never imagined how impactful this work could be.
The Trump administration released a budget blueprint yesterday, outlining how it wants Congress to address government spending. The proposal calls for 
During the past few months, I have seen a fairly rapid increase in new collections lawsuits being filed against student loan borrowers in Massachusetts for defaulted student loans that were previously held by Sallie Mae and/or Navient. This is noteworthy because in my experience, these loans had been predominantly placed with non-attorney third-party debt collection agencies, or out-of-state collection law firms that rarely filed suit. This is a major shift.
Getting sued on a defaulted student loan can be overwhelming and terrifying. In my experience, most people who are brought to court by student loan debt collectors have never been sued before, so they don’t know what to expect. And dealing with debt collectors, attorneys, court personnel, and judges can be intimidating and embarrassing.
Well, 2017 has been quite an explosive year, hasn’t it? And there’s been a lot going on in the world of student loan law – so much, in fact, that it can be a bit overwhelming to keep everything straight. So as we wrap up this year, here’s an overview of what went down for student loan borrowers, and some hints of what’s to come in 2018.
News outlets are reporting that the House GOP has drafted legislation that could reshape the entire federal student loan system.
Late this week, the House GOP unveiled its