Changes to CFPB will affect the average person, Lawless tells News Bureau

“It’ll just be a steady drip, drip, drip of companies trying to game the system and nickel and dime people via aggressive practices,” Professor Robert Lawless told the Illinois News Bureau about changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He noted that laws preventing actions like those taken by banks preceding the subprime mortgage crisis […]

Lawless discusses dismissal of bankruptcy watchdog

Tara Twomey’s tenure as executive director of the U.S. Trustee Program was recently terminated by the Trump administration, drawing criticism from Professor Robert Lawless. In a blog for Credit Slips, Lawless writes that “Under Twomey’s leadership the US Trustee Program did dozens of things that make the system work just a little bit better for […]

American College of Bankruptcy names Joshua Livingston ’25 a Distinguished Bankruptcy Student

The American College of Bankruptcy has selected Joshua Livingston ’25 as the Seventh Circuit Distinguished Bankruptcy Law Student for 2025. Distinguished Bankruptcy Law Students are selected annually for each Circuit based on their academic excellence, professional accomplishments in bankruptcy or restructuring-related courses, passion for restructuring and insolvency, and commitment to public service and pro bono […]

CBS quotes Lawless on when to file bankruptcy

When struggling with debt, many people delay filing for bankruptcy as long as possible; however, delaying may be more harmful than many realize. “People misunderstand bankruptcy and wait too long to see a bankruptcy lawyer. Most people would benefit by going earlier,” Professor Robert Lawless told CBS in a new article about the timing of […]

Lawless publishes new article on overindebtedness

Research on overindebtedness and household incomes represents “low-hanging fruit,” according to Professor Robert Lawless. In a new article published in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, he and his co-authors review current literature about who files bankruptcy, what causes bankruptcy, what happens in bankruptcy court, and what happens after cases conclude. They also […]

Kaplan recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award

Professor Richard Kaplan is the recipient of the 2025 AALS Aging and Law Section’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors his distinguished career of teaching, service, and scholarship in aging and the law. A letter from the AALS Aging and Law Section explained his selection, noting “dedicated service to the profession, to your students, to […]

Kaplan presents at the American Tax Policy Institute Symposium

Professor Richard Kaplan presented “Gender Discrimination in Retirement Plan Distributions” at the American Tax Policy Institute Symposium, It’s a Man’s World: Revealing and Addressing Hidden Gender Bias in Tax Law and Policy, in Washington, D.C. His paper will appear next year in an issue of the Pittsburgh Tax Review devoted to the Symposium’s presentations.

The Street features Kaplan on changes to retirement planning

In a video interview, Professor Richard Kaplan spoke to The Street’s Retirement Daily about the six major changes enacted by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The changes, he explained, represent Congressional efforts to address deficiencies in employer-provided retirement savings plans and continue a pattern of pension plans accommodating an array of social initiatives that […]

Wall Street Journal quotes Lawless on policy issues to watch

Though the results of the November elections in the United States will represent a mandate for one group, there are several issues the Biden administration will likely seek to address in its last few months in the White House. The Wall Street Journal compiled a list of some of these policy priorities, including student-loan discharges. […]

ABI quotes Brubaker on asbestos case

Bankruptcy Judge David S. Jones of New York ruled recently on a chapter 11 plan from cosmetics company Revlon regarding asbestos claims arising from products containing talc. In his ruling, Judge Jones noted that future asbestos claims can be discharged without a trust. In the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Rochelle’s Daily Wire, Professor Ralph Brubaker provided […]