Director of Litigation Eileen Connor Recognized With National Consumer Law Center Rising Star Award | Press Release

Rising Star Award Honors Attorneys Who Have Made Major Contributions to Consumer Law Within Past Two YearsBOSTON – Today the Project on Predatory Student Lending’s Director of Litigation, Eileen Connor, has been recognized for the 2017 “Rising Star” award from the National Consumer Law Center for her significant contributions to consumer law. This award comes as a result of her Second Circuit victory in the case Salazar v. King brought on behalf of her clients who were defrauded by the predatory practices of the now-defunct Wilfred Beauty Academy.The Rising Star award is presented annually by the National Consumer Law Center's Partners Council and honors attorneys (in practice for 15 years or less) who made major contributions to consumer law within the past two years by trying or settling a case of great success and significance.Wilfred, a for-profit chain of cosmetology and business trade schools, came under government investigation in the 1980s for the misuse of student aid funds and the falsification of loan applications. The result of the investigation was an overwhelming amount of evidence proving Wilfred’s fraud in certifying students’ eligibility for loans. In 1996, the Department of Education found that Wilfred’s fraudulent practices were widespread and recommended that all Wilfred students who were improperly enrolled receive a loan discharge, reimbursement for money they had paid, and a restoration of their credit. Despite its own recommendation, the Department continued to collect on these loans, including through involuntary collection methods such as seizing tax refunds and garnishing wages.After the Department refused Eileen’s request that it suspend collections and notify all Wilfred borrowers that they may be eligible to discharge their loans, as it was required to do by law, Eileen filed this class action lawsuit in 2014. She challenged the Department’s refusal to meaningfully notify borrowers of discharge rights – rights that stem from the Department’s own failure to diligently oversee the predatory for-profit schools participating in the federal student loan program.The Second Circuit found that the Department’s refusal to notify borrowers was final and reviewable, and that judicial review was especially appropriate given the collection powers the Department exercised against the putative class members.The Second Circuit’s ruling further opens the door to relief for defrauded borrowers by showing that, in carrying out each and every function related to the federal student loan program, the Department must follow the law and its own regulations.----Established in 2012, the Project on Predatory Student Lending is the first legal services practice focused solely on representing former students of for-profit colleges. It litigates against the legal and financial conditions that allow the predatory for-profit college industry to cheat students and taxpayers.The Project has brought a wide variety of cases on behalf of former students of for-profit colleges. It has sued the U.S. Department of Education for its failures to meet its legal obligations to police this industry and stop the perpetration and collection of fraudulent student loan debt. It has also brought its clients’ experiences to bear on federal and state policymaking.