Student Loan Bankruptcy Attorney
KEVIN HANLY
Kevin Hanly is a student loan bankruptcy attorney and has extensive experience in business litigation.
Kevin was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was a scholarship student and captain of the swim team at St. Peter’s Prep, graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, and received his law degree and MBA in finance from New York University.
Admitted to practice in the State and Federal courts of New Jersey, Kevin Hanly is a member of New Jersey State Bar Association and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, and a graduate of the Student Loan Workshop. The Student Loan Workshop is the nation’s foremost student loan bankruptcy attorney training program.
Hanly practices law in northern New Jersey, especially in Hudson, Bergen and Passaic counties. He was a partner at Milton, Keane & Brady in Jersey City (1984-1991) and Hanly & Ryglicki (1991-2003). During these time periods, Hanly practiced extensively in bankruptcy and business related litigation. After a year as general counsel to the Paterson Public Schools, Hanly started his own practice with offices in Wyckoff and North Bergen. For the last 8 years, Hanly practiced extensively in foreclosure defense, mortgage modifications, and consumer related issues.
Hanly has dealt with student debt and student loan bankruptcy for over 30 years through his bankruptcy practice. When the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 1978, dealing with student loans did not present the challenges that students and their parents face today. Why? The amount of student debt was manageable because the cost of a college education was a fraction of what it is today. In addition, under the Code in the early years, student debt was dischargeable after 5 years of payments, then 7 years.
Beginning in 1998, the law was changed. The only way a student or parent could discharge student debt was by demonstrating an “undue hardship”. This is a high hurdle which many people cannot meet. Over the years, Hanly has developed a multi-faceted approach to dealing with both federal and private student loan debt and student loan bankruptcy in today’s environment.
In 2010, Legal Services of New Jersey awarded to Kevin Hanly the Equal Justice Medal for his long term commitment to providing pro bono legal services in the area of bankruptcy to needy individuals and families in Hudson and Bergen counties.
Kevin Hanly is a member and past president of the Dartmouth Club of Northern New Jersey, and is currently the secretary of the Wyckoff-Midland Park Rotary.
Hanly is a volunteer member of the Wyckoff Planning Board. He is married for 38 years and has two grown sons. As a devoted father and avid sports fan, he has coached baseball in Wyckoff, NJ and basketball in Ridgewood, NJ.