Monica Clark was honored at the Bankruptcy Section Reception for Pro Bono Volunteers held at the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis. For five years, Monica and other Dorsey attorneys represented a woman suffering from extreme depression and suicidal tendencies in her Chapter 7 bankruptcy claim. The bankruptcy court discharged her student loan debt of approximately $142,000, which she had acquired to attend law school. Due to her mental illness, she was never able to practice law. The creditors appealed the bankruptcy court's decision regarding the student loans because she had some excess income which they argued should be used to pay back the loans, but the decision was upheld in Federal District Court in Minnesota. The creditors then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy and district court decisions. After numerous hearings, one of the lenders appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. On October 2, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari, bringing the matter to a close.