Christopher Peterson, a commercial law professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, presented his research at Harvard Law School on Friday. His speech delivered the findings from a study co-authored with Steven Graves of California State University at Northridge. The study finds that Payday lenders, creditors that charge interest rates averaging about 450 percent, are more prevalent in the Bible Belt and Mountain West. Peterson, who has written extensively on consumer finance issues, explained, “it was exciting to share my research with some of the nation’s top commercial law scholars.”