News Round Up

"Student Loans -- Do Criminals Have More Rights?," by Richard Gaudreau (Huffington Post)

Money Quote: "With all of the special protections afforded federal loans under the law, it's not surprising a study by the National Consumer Law Center ("NCLC") found the Department of Education ("ED") to be abysmal at resolving consumer complaints. NCLC found the culprit to be Ed's penchant for abdicating its responsibility for student loans to private debt collectors. The Department of Education awarded almost $1 billion in commissions in 2011. Collectors insisted on stiff payments, ignoring rules that made borrowers eligible for leniency. One collector working for Educational Credit Management Corporation received $454,000 in commissions in one year. This is more than double the yearly salary of the commissioner of the Department of Education. The CEO of Sallie Mae, a private student loan collector, has found the student loan business so profitable he owns his own golf course. Unencumbered by the fiduciary duties expected of a government agency towards its citizens, private debt collectors are free to ignore complaints as costly distractions."

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"True Confession: I've Completely Given Up Hope of Paying Off $186,000 Worth of Student Loan Debt," by Mandi Woodruff (Business Insider)

Money Quote: "'The way I see it, I'm already screwed,' Jackson told us. 'I'd rather make sure my kids are OK. Unless I start making significantly more money [my situation] is not gonna change."

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"Digging Into Student Loan Legislation: What these 7 Pending Laws Would Mean,"  by Tuition IO (Student Loans Made Simple)

A proposed legislation round-up.

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"Thomas Jefferson Law Prods Support from Alumni,"  by Jacob Gershman (Wall Street Journal Law Blog)

Money Quote: "Stop hating on Thomas Jefferson School of Law. That's the plaintive plea from a group of graduates who say their school is getting a bum rap. About two dozen alumni attached their names to a letter defending their alma mater against claims that the school bamboozled its students....A public relations consultant for the school wrote the first draft of the letter, a spokesman for Thomas Jefferson law school told Law Blog. The lead signer, a San Diego attorney who graduated in 2008 and just stepped down as head of its alumni association, was 'very involved' in the editing process, the spokesman said."

Some of this stuff you can't even make up.

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"Why People Go to Law School -- Or At Least Why I Did,"  by New Dealer (The League of Ordinary Gentlemen)

Money Quote:  "It seems to me that we have thousands of young people who graduated from top colleges and universities every year but cannot get jobs because their diplomas do not say Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and maybe Dartmouth, UPenn, and Columbia every now and then....I think that a lot of these people choose law school because every other job opportunity seems closed to them."

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"Law School Applications Continue to Slide,"  by Catherine Ho (Washington Post)

Money Quote: "[Georgetown University Law Center's Dean of Admissions, Andrew] Cornblatt said growing concerns about the legal job market and law school debt are driving away less-serious potential applicants who a few years ago might have been eager to enter law school to weather the recession."