MoFo’s advocacy for a pro bono client faced with debilitating student loan debt was featured in several media reports, including U.S. News & World Report, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal and CBS Money Watch. On a cutting-edge issue playing out for student loan debtors across the United States, MoFo achieved a complete victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for pro bono client Michael Hedlund, a law school graduate who failed the bar multiple times, could not afford to pay his student loans and sought relief in bankruptcy court. The court's published decision clarifies the standard of review governing undue hardship determinations for student debtors, and, as a result, will mean significant relief for student debtors in situations similar to Mr. Hedlund's.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the decision “comes at time of mounting concern over student debts” and “could help other student-loan borrowers by making the appeals process less costly and possibly discouraging creditors from appealing so many full or partial discharges.”
The MoFo victory and court decision was also covered by Law360 and Above the Law.