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Public Interest/Public Sector Day Public Interest Law Certificate Develop a Public Interest Career |
| "In engaging in public service, law students are awakened to the sense of personal --Justice Sandra Day O'Connor |
Financing Your Public Interest CareerFELLOWSHIPSSummer Fellowships Many law students who do public interest legal work during the summer are expected to finance all or a portion of their summer work with outside funding. Students should plan ahead and apply for applicable summer fellowships. Click here to visit PIC’s Compilation of Summer Fellowship Opportunities. PSLawNet National Summer Funding Opportunities Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Fellowships ABA Directory of Current Funding for Current Law Students by School Additionally, at least eighteen law firms have adopted a “Split Public Interest Summer,” allowing 1L and 2L students to split their summer work between a law firm and public interest organization while paying the law student for the entire summer. Yale Law School has prepared a list of participating firms. Check out PSLawNet’s site for more information. Post-Graduate Fellowships Click here to access PIC’s compilation of Post-Graduate Fellowships. PSLawNet Fellowship Corner, Fellowship Calendar provides a calendar of post-graduate fellowship applications deadlines. Equal Justice Works hosts three types of post-graduate fellowships, which include: The Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP) has a compilation of International Public Service Fellowships, and a guide to finding and funding for an international public service opportunity. You can find them here. Yale Law School Career Development Office’s has a guide to Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowships. Harvard Law School has a guide to Law Firms Offering Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowships. OTHER FUNDING Soros Foundation The Impact Fund
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTThe increasing law school tuition rates and climbing student loan debt are leaving students who are interested in pursuing a legal public interest career very concerned. According to the ABA Special Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness, a law student will graduate with an average of $80,000 in student loan debt. According to a 2006 study conducted by the National Association of Legal Placement (NALP), the national median starting salary for a legal services lawyer is $36,000. On a 10-year repayment schedule, the expected monthly student loan payment is roughly over $800 per month. The ABA Special Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness (2001-2003) produced a report, Lifting the Burden: Law Student Debt as Barrier to Public Service, American Bar Association (2003), which analyzes student debt for public service lawyers and also provides suggestions for addressing the need. Equal Justice Works also produces the “Financing the Future” report, which provides a wealth of facts and figures on Law School Loan Repayment Assistance and Public Interest Scholarship Programs. Their most recent report, Financing the Future. The 2006 report is available here. Currently, there are several programs in place that ease the burden of student loan repayment, including Loan Repayment Assistance Programs [LRAPs]. There are also ways to structure loan payments to lower the monthly payment, as well as tax credits and deductions that may apply.
LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMSFEDERAL LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ATTORNEYS The College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) was signed into law on September 27, 2007. Although there are still details to be worked out through federal regulation, the Act provides substantial support for public service attorneys through loan forgiveness and income based repayment. For basic information about the CCRAA, please view this fact sheet. For ongoing updates and detailed information, please visit the Equal Justice Works CCRAA resource center. Loan Repayment Assistance Programs [LRAPs] are currently sponsored by a growing number of law schools, several participating employers, and more than a dozen states.
Law School Sponsored LRAP
Employer Sponsored LRAPs Federal Employer Loan Repayment Programs Federal agencies are authorized to develop loan repayment assistance plans. In 2005, 30 Federal agencies provided nearly $28 Million to their employees with loan repayment assistance. Nearly 11% of the benefits went to 479 Attorneys. Although each agency’s loan repayment plan is unique, all are governed by 5 U.S.C. 5379, 5 CFR Part 537, and 5 U.S.C. 2105. Employees can receive up to $10,000 per year and $60,000 total. To qualify, employees must commit to working for the agency for at least three years. LRAP benefits are considered income for tax purposes. An updated list of Federal agencies that are currently providing loan repayment benefits is available in the 2005 Federal Loan Repayment Program Report to Congress. In 2005, the federally funded Legal Services Corporation began a pilot LRAP, funded by a $1 million Congressional appropriation. The pilot program provided up to $5000 per year to approximately 60 attorneys at 6-10 LSC-funded agencies. The pilot will last for three years, so long as funding remains available. Prospective and current staff attorneys at the selected agencies with up to three years of experience and an annual outstanding law school debt of at least $2,400 may apply for assistance. To qualify for the first year of assistance, attorneys must have annual salaries of no more than $45,000, annual household incomes up to $90,000, and net worth of no more than $35,000 (or a total household net worth under $70,000). In California, the Legal Services Corporation LRAP programs that are currently in place include: Legal Services of Northern California Loan Repayment Assistance Program and California Rural Legal Assistance Loan Repayment Assistance Program. Please check the LSC website, www.lsc.gov, for updates or ask an LSC-funded employer directly if they are participating. A list of LSC-funded agencies can be found here. Non-Profit Employer Loan Repayment Assistance Programs Certain non-profit employers offer LRAPs of varying amounts. Loan repayment assistance from employers is considered income for tax purposes. A list of California employers offering assistance is below. Please note that this list may not be comprehensive. You should ask an employer if they offer an LRAP. More information may be found at the Legal Services Corportation’s or Equal Justice Works websites. Below is a list of LRAPs at Iolta-funded programs in California:
Post-Graduate Fellowships Offering Loan Repayment Assistance Several post-graduate fellowships provide loan repayment assistance, which include:
ALTERNATIVE LOAN REPAYMENT OPTIONSThere are four main repayment plans for Federal loans: Standard Repayment, Extended Repayment, Graduated Repayment and Income-Contingent Repayment. The last three have lower monthly payments than Standard Repayment, but to get the lower payments, the lender extends the term of the loan and increases the total amount of interest repaid over the lifetime of the loan. Depending on your lender, private loan repayments may be similarly structured. However, Income Contingent Repayment is available only for federal loans. Obviously, you need to read the loan terms, but generally repayment plans work as follows: Standard Repayment. You pay a fixed monthly amount for a loan term of up to 10 years. Depending on the amount of the loan, the loan term may be shorter than 10 years. Extended Repayment. This plan allows a loan term of 12 to 30 years, depending on the total amount borrowed. Stretching out the payments over a longer term reduces the size of each payment, but increases the total amount repaid over the lifetime of the loan. Graduated Repayment. This plan starts off with lower payments, which gradually increase every two years. The loan term is 12 to 30 years, depending on the total amount borrowed. The monthly payment can be no less than 50% and no more than 150% of the monthly payment under the Standard Repayment plan. Income Contingent Repayment. Under this plan, payments are based on the borrower's income and total amount of debt. Monthly payments are adjusted each year as the borrower's income changes. The loan term is up to 25 years. At the end of 25 years, the government will discharge any amount you still owe. Please note that you have to pay income taxes on the amount that is written off at the end of 25 years. For more information about income contingent repayment visit For more information visit:
Federal Tax Credits and DeductionsThere are a number of education-related credits and deductions that can lower your taxes. Three are listed below, two of which can help you while in law school, one likely after. Please keep in mind that a tax credit is worth more to you than a tax deduction. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax liability. A $100 tax credit means that you will pay $100 less in taxes, no matter what tax bracket you are in. On the other hand, a $100 deduction saves you only a percentage of the $100. The amount you save depends on your tax bracket. In the 28% bracket, a $100 deduction would reduce your taxes by $28. For more information on education tax benefits, click here. Lifetime Learning Credit Tuition and Fees Deduction Student Loan Interest Deduction
**PIC provides general information only. This is not legal advice. You can only obtain legal advice from a lawyer. PIC makes every effort to keep information up to date and in accordance with applicable state and federal law. However, PIC does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. Some of the materials listed have not been prepared by PIC, but rather are links to information prepared and posted by others. PIC cannot guarantee the accuracy of information posted on other sites, nor is PIC responsible for any legal advice, information, or assistance that you may obtain by using the PIC website. |
