Our attorneys have been continuously engaged in state student loan finance matters for over 40 years. We have participated in federal student loan program financings by public entity issuers in a majority of the States and Puerto Rico. We have also had substantial legal responsibility for the establishment and financing of numerous state-sponsored supplemental student loan programs and have developed a unique breadth and depth of experience in these highly specialized areas. Hawkins is one of a handful of professional firms of any kind that has remained engaged on a daily basis in student loan finance related matters throughout this period and annually participates as bond counsel or as underwriters’ counsel in financings for multiple state programs. We also regularly assist industry groups in the development of solutions to legal issues affecting the financing of such programs.
Hawkins is highly qualified to advise clients with respect to all legal aspects of student loan finance, including:
- Determination of loan demand;
- Preparation of legislation to accommodate program development;
- Preparation, revision and revocation of plans for doing business;
- Negotiation, preparation and interpretation of loan processing, origination, servicing, custody and collection, as well as program administration and documentation;
- Sale of loan portfolios, and merger and transfer of program functions;
- Negotiation and preparation of fixed, variable rate bonds, commercial paper, floating rate note, federal conduit, asset-backed and private placement financing documentation;
- Analysis of state and federal tax and regulatory law provisions and preparation of related documentation;
- Structuring of creative financing structures to take advantage of governmental and educational institution subsidies and credit or liquidity support;
- Negotiation with credit, liquidity and swap providers;
- Post-issuance administration of financing programs, including arbitrage requirements and bond amendment, repurchase and retirement programs;
- Rating agency requirements; and
- Preparation of initial offering disclosure and of secondary market disclosure.
