Nathan Howard, ’12, corporate counsel for CommonBond, was the subject of a June 13 profile in Corporate Counsel (subscription required).

The article notes that Howard began working with CommonBond Inc., a company that refinances student loans, while he was still a law student. Indeed, the article traced Howard’s role, as one of the students who helped get the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic started, in contributing to the launch of CommonBond.

"I liked how the team was ambitious and focused on tackling this broader student loan problem,” Howard said, referring to the three CommonBond co-founders who were among the clinic’s first clients in 2011.   

In 2012, Howard became the company’s first full-time hire, since CommonBond co-founder and CEO David Klein said, “starting a financial technology company in a tightly regulated space means you need to move quickly, but you also have to move in a way that’s compliant.”

Though Howard initially handled tasks from customer service to assembling office furniture, he took on increased legal duties as the company grew.

“Now, more than four years, a billion dollars in loans and 80 employees later, I'm still here,” said Howard, who now chiefly focuses on complex financial transactions and regulatory work.

Since its launch in 2012, CommonBond has attracted massive investments, acquired additional startups and garnered attention from media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Inc. and Forbes.