LAW SCHOOL DEBT AND LRAPs

Recruiting and retaining talented and experienced attorneys to public service is essential to a nation committed to the rule of law and to the promise of equal justice. Yet the alarming rise in the cost of a legal education combined with the modest salaries of public interest attorneys has far-reaching effects that harm the legal profession and our judicial system.

Because the burden of educational debt presents a formidable barrier to the pursuit of a public interest career, Equal Justice Works assists law schools in creating or improving Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs). These programs provide debt relief to graduates who pursue nonprofit public interest law organizations or public service jobs with federal, state or municipal governments and provided a needed complement to the benefits available under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. In today’s world of increasing competition among schools, LRAPs enhance the capacity to attract and retain desirable students, cultivate a diverse student body, preserve career choices for law graduates and assist public interest organizations in recruiting and retaining public interest lawyers—thus contributing to a more just society.

The Impact of Debt
About 80 percent of law school students borrow to pay for law school expenses. The average loan debt for law school loans is $83,181 for private law school graduates and $53,509 for public school graduates (ABA Legal Education Statistics for the Class of 2006). On a standard 10 year repayment plan, a borrower with $100,000 in total debt ($80,000 for law school loans plus $15,000 for undergraduate loans) would have to pay more than $1100 per month.

Meanwhile, the median salary for entry-level civil legal aid lawyers in 2005 was $36,000 (National Association for Law Placement 2006 Public Sector and Public Interest Attorney Salary Report).

Raising Awareness about LRAPs and Sharing Expertise
Equal Justice Works is considered the national expert on LRAPs and is leading the campaign for law schools to create and improve support for students entering public service. Our staff makes LRAP presentations at national and regional conferences. Equal Justice Works offers training programs to law school staff and students for schools seeking to create an LRAP and for schools that already have a program, but are seeking to improve it. Equal Justice Works advises LRAP administrators on the impact of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 on LRAP design and provides expertise to several LRAP committees, including the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (LRAP subcommittee) and previously advised the National Legal Aid and Defender Association committee examining loan repayment and pension issues for the Legal Services Corporation.

Financing the Future
Financing the Future, first published by Equal Justice Works in 1994, again in 2000 and 2004 and most recently in December 2006, is a comprehensive analysis of every law school LRAP and public interest scholarship program in the country. The publication creates a climate where schools create or improve their programs based on what the competition is doing.

Contact: Heather Wells Jarvis, Program Manager, Law School Advocacy, hjarvis@equaljusticeworks.org, 202-466-3686 ext. 103

Additional Resources: Financing the Future: Responses to the Rising Debt of Law Students, December 2006, www.equaljusticeworks.org.