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Student Loan Debt Project II

Mon, 02/01/2016 - 4:00am

Judge Waites would like to announce the initiation of a Student Loan Debt Project II and solicit the participation of interested members of the SC Bankruptcy Bar.

In an effort to educate debtors, members of the Bar and the public in general on non bankruptcy programs related to student loan debt,  in the first phase of the Student Loan Debt Project last year, the Bankruptcy Court published a Student Loan Primer on its website and formed a partnership with SC Legal Services and American Student Assistance to provide ongoing access to student loan advisers.

The second phase of the project has three goals:

1. To expand training on non-bankruptcy administrative programs for use in managing student loan debt and to learn how these programs affect a debtor who has already filed a bankruptcy case;

2. To develop a library of non-standard plan provisions and contacts helpful to a debtor in Chapter 13 or 11 who seeks to manage student loan debt via a reorganization case; and

3. To identify volunteer attorneys available to represent low income debtors who are unable to afford representation in undue hardships cases and, with the assistance of student loan creditors' counsel, develop forms, protocols, and procedures which would be helpful in resolving such cases. (This may be especially helpful to young attorneys who are interested in gaining trial experience on a pro bono or low bono basis.)

Attorneys or paralegals interested in working on this project during 2016 should advise Sarah Kistler at Sarah_Kistler@scb.uscourts.gov.