Safety Net Project Director Julie McCormack and the students working with her on criminal record sealing (a mostly administrative process before the Massachusetts Probation Service) have taken advantage of the enforced slow-down brought about by […]
The three victories result in more than $137,000 in back payments plus significant ongoing monthly benefits moving forward; fourth case decision pending; others in pipeline In the two short weeks of March before LSC moved
This article, by Kelsey J. Griffin, appeared in the Harvard Crimson on April 15, 2020. Several Harvard Law School clinics are shifting their focus to provide legal aid to vulnerable populations affected by the ongoing
Harvard Law School Clinics Focus on Coronavirus Legal Aid Read More »
The Legal Services Center’s staff and students hope you are staying safe and healthy. We are all doing the best we can as we take on new challenges in advocating for client communities made ever
LSC Responds to COVID-19: An Update from Our Clinics Read More »
In this time of great economic uncertainty, financial assistance is available for eligible Massachusetts residents who have served in the military. Chapter 115 provides financial assistance to low-income veterans and their dependents, including survivors, across Massachusetts.
NEW: Financial Assistance for Veterans Read More »
We mourn the passing of John D. Hamilton, a longtime champion of legal services, who was instrumental in the establishment of a permanent home for LSC in Jamaica Plain. The post below was originally published by WilmerHale
Remembering John D. Hamilton Jr., Law Firm Leader and Legal Services Champion Read More »
More than 400,000 veterans currently at risk of being unlawfully turned away from treatment for service-related mental health conditions and other disabilities without due process Thousands of veterans with less-than-honorable “bad paper” discharges have been
LSC mourns the loss of John F. “Jack” Cogan ‘52, longtime champion of the Legal Services Center, who passed away in late January at age 93. Cogan, a Harvard Law graduate and former managing partner
The Legacy of John F. Cogan, Leader in Boston Legal & Philanthropic Communities Read More »
The Legal Services Center will be home to a new LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic headed by Alex Chen ’15, an HLS lecturer on law and clinical instructor. The following was published by Harvard Law Today on
LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic Launches at Harvard Law School Read More »
With the presidential primaries now in full swing, the issue of the nation’s whopping $1.5 trillion in student loan debt – and whether to cancel it – has become a popular topic, highlighting a growing
Dear Presidential Candidates: Yes, You Can Cancel All Student Debt on Day One Read More »
The Legal Services Center staff mourns the loss of our colleague, Dale Kensinger, longtime volunteer attorney in LSC’s Tax Clinic. This post celebrating Dale’s life and work was written by Tax Clinic Director Keith Fogg
Remembering Dale Kensinger Read More »
One year ago, the Dream Center chain of for-profit colleges collapsed, closing schools across the country – including the Art Institutes, Argosy University, and South University -and leaving tens thousands of students stranded and scammed
My Student Loan Truth: Jared’s South University Story Read More »
When the Department of Education seized Andrea’s tax refunds to pay for bogus student loan debt from Corinthian Colleges, there were devastating effects for her entire family. Andrea Smith is a single mother living in
My Student Loan Truth: Andrea’s Story Read More »
The founder of the Project on Predatory Student Lending is recognized for leading the fight against predatory for-profit colleges and fighting for the rights of over one million student borrowers. Toby Merrill ’11, founder and
LSC’s Toby Merrill ’11 named to the TIME 100 Next list Read More »
Lieutenant Colonel Shannon McLaughlin of the Massachusetts Army National Guard will deliver this year’s Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, November 21 at noon at Harvard Law School. McLaughlin, who deployed to Afghanistan
For Immediate Release November 5, 2019 Contact: Katie Ward 603-689-8170 New Veterans Initiative Launched To Connect Low-Income Veterans With Underutilized Benefits New Online Tool Aims to Help Thousands of Low-Income Massachusetts Veterans Access Financial Assistance
96% of the 900 class members who submitted affidavits in support of this motion said their lives are worse today than before they went to school On Wednesday, October 30, a judge certified the class
UPDATE: Judge Grants Class Certification to 200,000 Student Borrowers in Sweet v. DeVos Read More »
Through Harvard Law School’s Federal Tax Clinic, students have the unique opportunity represent low-income taxpayers in disputes with the IRS, both before the IRS and in federal court. Working individually and in teams, they represent
LSC Student Argues Tax Case in Federal Court Read More »
Amanda Wilson went to Everest College in Chelsea, Massachusetts to get a degree in medical assisting. When the Corinthian-owned school collapsed and was found to have misled students, the Massachusetts Attorney General filed an application
Amanda’s Everest Institute Story Read More »
“Secretary DeVos has repeatedly and brazenly violated the law to collect for-profit college students’ debts and deny their rights, and today she has been held accountable.” Toby Merrill, Director Project on Predatory Student Lending
Major Victory for Defrauded Students as Education Department Is Held in Contempt, Fined Read More »
Attorneys at the Legal Services Center represent thousands of low-income clients every year to protect their rights. Our attorneys also bring their expertise and passion to bear through publications that raise awareness of critical issues
Emily Wilkinson, JD ’17 shares how her time as a student in LSC’s Predatory Lending and Consumer Protection Clinic influences her work as an attorney and motivated her to return to LSC as a Skadden
Alum Brings Innovative Consumer Protection Project to LSC Read More »
“It’s wrong and I’m not going to sit down and shut up about it.” Lyndsie Ross attended the Art Institute of California, where she was pressured into signing up for a design program and
My Student Loan Truth: Lyndsie’s Art Institute Story Read More »
ITT and Corinthian Borrowers Continue to Fight for Relief as the Department of Education Skirts the Law Every Step of the Way At the end of last week, there was a great deal of news
The Latest Reports on Betsy DeVos Scamming For-Profit College Students Read More »
Jessica is a plaintiff in the lawsuit Sweet v DeVos, in which she and six other former for-profit college students are suing the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary Betsy DeVos, seeking to force the
Student Loan Truth: Jessica’s Art Institute Story Read More »
When Theresa graduated from the Brooks Institute in 2006, she never imagined that she would find herself suing the U.S. Department of Education years later over her student loan debt. But after being cheated by
My Student Loan Truth: Theresa’s Brooks Institute Story Read More »
In December 2018, scores of Art Institute campuses closed their doors. Before the closure, students got three options: (1) transfer to another Art Institute campus to complete their degree, (2) participate in a teach-out at
The Veterans Legal Clinic at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School (LSC) is piloting a new technology tool to help fight poverty among the state’s most financially vulnerable military veterans and their
A Simple Online Legal Tool Designed to Help Reduce Poverty for Military Veterans Read More »
The Legal Services Center strives to place the voices of Boston’s communities at the heart of its practice. While Julie McCormack, Director of the Safety Net Project, facilitated People’s Law School community workshops around the
Settlements Do More for Cheated ITT Students Than DeVos As Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education continue to sit idly, indifferent to massive fraud committed by ITT against more than 750,000 former students, the
ITT Trustee, CFPB, and States Settle with Private Lender to Eliminate Millions in Debt Read More »
Ruling has implications for domestic violence survivors nationwide Survivors of domestic violence in Massachusetts and nationwide facing eviction have won a major victory in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC)* with a new ruling
At the American Constitution Society’s National Convention in Washington, D.C. this week, Project on Predatory Student Lending director and founder Toby Merrill was honored as a finalist for the prestigious David Carliner Public Interest Award.
By: Drew Henderson, J.D. ’19 Drew Henderson, J.D. ’19 For years, Corinthian Colleges, a network of over one hundred for-profit schools, defrauded students to rake in profits from taxpayer-funded federal student aid. Tens of thousands
In the Fight for Student Loan Relief Read More »
Last Saturday, I went to a town hall in New Hampshire hoping for the opportunity to ask Pete Buttigieg one question: Would he encourage his education department to cancel federal student debt from predatory for-profit colleges? I
Mayor Pete Answers My Question About Predatory For-Profit Colleges Read More »
By Clea Simon. Published by the Harvard Gazette on April 11, 2019. Photos by Heratch Ekmekjian. “Reaching out to others is how you find out who you really are,” said Daniel Nagin, vice dean of
Harvard Gazette: LSC puts compassion into action Read More »
The rights of more than 100,000 borrowers are affected by this court ruling. Update, March 28, 2019: Even after a federal judge told it to stop, the Department of Education is still trying to get
The Department of Education Is Still Trying to Take Students’ Tax Returns Read More »
In our Student Loan Truth blog series, our clients share what they really got from their for-profit college and how the debt affected them. Their experiences demand a public reckoning on student debt and an end
My Student Loan Truth: Kristina’s Virginia College Story Read More »
Nearly three years after submitting its original Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request, the Project on Predatory Student Lending is still waiting for the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to fulfill its legal obligations to produce
The harsh reality is that the burdens of student debt are not shared equally. Students of color borrow more on average than other students seeking the same degree, and are two to three times more
Higher Education is Failing Students of Color, but Congress Can Help Read More »
In January of this year, Dream Center Education Holdings—the parent company of Argosy and several other schools—entered into a federal receivership. A receivership occurs when a court appoints someone outside a company to control the
Argosy University Stipends Read More »
