Loan Repayment Assistance Programs - Overview
Background on the Issue
Many of today’s law graduates are faced with law school debt of $80,000 or more upon graduation. For graduates following the standard 10-year repayment schedule, this results in monthly payments of more than $900 for 10 years following graduation. With the median starting public interest salary ranging from $36,000 in civil legal aid to $40,000 for public defenders to $44,000 for prosecutors, these mortgage-size debts bar most graduates from pursuing public service legal jobs. Among those graduates who do take such positions, many – when faced with major life decisions such as starting a family – are forced to leave after two to three years of employment.
Loan repayment assistance programs ("LRAPs") have emerged as a solution for relieving the debt burden of some law graduates. LRAPs provide loan repayment or forgiveness, lower interest rates on loans, or postponed payment of law school loans to graduates entering specific types of employment, usually law-related public interest jobs. Most LRAPs contain limits on the amount of income a recipient can earn while participating in such a program. There are various types of LRAPs, administered by law schools, state bar associations and foundations and federal and state governments, providing debt relief to some law graduates. The number of these programs has begun to increase recently, but still do not meet most of the need of many attorneys who would like to work in public interest.
Key ABA Publications on LRAP
- Lifting the Burden: Law Student Debt as a Barrier to Public Service, The Final Report of the ABA Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness
- Meeting the Challenge of Law Student Debt: Loan Repayment Assistance Programs
- State LRAP Tool Kit: A Resource Guide for Creating State Loan Repayment Assistance Programs for Public Service Lawyers
This Report provides an analysis of the educational debt problem, discusses the impact of the problem on the legal profession and society, summarizes strategies that have been developed to help address the problem and highlights some success stories using these methods. The Report includes ten conclusions about the debt burden issue and its impact on the profession and presents 19 detailed recommendations which, taken together, constitute a comprehensive package designed to provide relief for and incentives to lawyers who want to serve their communities through public service careers.
The ABA designed this tri-fold brochure to promote law school LRAPs. Law school deans and/or law school administrators, such as directors of development and alumni relations offices, may use this brochure to educate potential donors about the importance of LRAPs.
The Tool Kit contains a wealth of information about creating statewide, as opposed to law school-specific, loan repayment assistance or forgiveness programs for lawyers pursuing public service legal jobs. Currently, there are eight statewide LRAPs. The Tool Kit is designed to encourage the creation of additional programs. The Tool Kit includes information about the existing programs, sample LRAP legislation with an analysis, guidance on creating an independent nonprofit organization to administer a program and other resources to assist bar leaders, law deans and other stakeholders in creating these state programs.
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