December 13, 2017
Bloomberg BNA: The looming collapse of student loan asset-backed securities
“Most of these debts were securitized into student loan asset backed securities, called SLABS. And within this universe of SLABS, there are entire SLABS filled with dischargeable student loans. For example, the SLM Private Education Student Loan 2009-CT Trust is composed of more than 100,000 loans made to students attending…
November 10, 2016
Supreme Court addresses pleading and proof requirements one more time
On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court took what could be a landmark action. While the rest of the country’s eye were turned to the oral arguments that day on the constitutionality of DOMA in the case of United States v. Windsor, the Court took a less heralded but…
November 10, 2016
Recent developments in the battle over hydraulic fracturing
The Marcellus Shale stretches across the Appalachian Mountains, and may hold over 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Gas companies are eager to exploit this resource using the controversial technique, hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). This valuable and untapped resource has caused a battle in the northeast among gas companies, environmentalists,…
April 15, 2016
Changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Late last year, significant changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure inserted a new consideration for courts when deciding the proper scope of discovery. Gone is the familiar test of “reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” In its place is a requirement of proportionality “to…
