A year ago this week, I opened one of the first law offices in the country dedicated entirely to helping student loan borrowers. I had no idea what to expect; I knew a lot of people in this country had student loan-related legal problems, and I thought I could help, but I just didn’t know what challenges and hurdles I might face, and whether I would actually be able to help people. It’s been a truly exciting and (dare I say) successful year. I had a little fun and crunched some numbers to see what’s been accomplished here over the past 12 months:

• Over $910,000 (nearly $1 million!) in student loans have been brought out of default.
• 26 borrowers have been switched to Income-Based Repayment plans, with tens of thousands of dollars in total monthly savings compared to Standard and Graduated repayment plans.
• 21 borrowers have been removed from collections.
• 30 borrowers have been issued federal Direct Consolidation loans, with over $2 million in student loans consolidated.

Honestly, my favorite aspect of the work has been the clients. All of you have been truly a pleasure to work with, and you make my job so enjoyable (and sometimes even fun… Let’s be serious, what can be more fun than snatching a $100,000 student loan from the clutches of a nasty collections agency?). I have to say, although I am very proud of these numbers, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Looking forward to new challenges and loftier goals for the coming year.