$60,000 in Student Debt Wiped Out

By: Yara Zakharia, Esq., Contributing Editor

Prospective public sector criminal attorneys will be pleased to learn that legislation aimed at easing the burden of law school loan repayment is making its way through the U.S. Congress. The bill that was sponsored by Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill) and which recently passed the Senate Judiciary Committee has, according to congressional and other credible sources, strong prospects for Congressional approval.

This month, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the student loan repayment program, which would reimburse attorneys working for a minimum of three years at either the State Attorney's or the Public Defender's Office up to $60,000 of their student loans. Legal aid attorneys representing indigent clients and employed full-time with nonprofit organizations in areas lacking a public defender's office qualify for the program. The bill also covers governmental attorneys performing defense work on behalf of juvenile delinquents and those providing training and supervision for eligible attorneys.

If passed, the bill would allocate $25 million to the program in 2008 and similar amounts afterwards, taking into account inflation.

Initially, the proposal was drafted to extend loan reimbursement on a first-come, first-serve basis. Since, an amendment submitted by Maryland senator Ben Cardin and giving priority to lawyers with the least ability to pay back their loans was approved. The determination of "least ability" depends on such factors as cost of living, loan amount, debt, and attorney's assets, among other criteria.

Georgia representative David Scott, who sponsored the bill in the House, explained that the program would help reduce the important turnover in prosecutor and public defender offices throughout the U.S. Scott cited the consequences triggered by a shortage of seasoned attorneys: "Criminal caseloads become unmanageable, cases can be delayed or mishandled, serious crimes may go unprosecuted, and innocent defendants may be sent to jail while guilty criminals go free." Paul Logli, a state attorney and chairman of the board of the National District Attorneys Association, made the following case on behalf of the measure: "Most of the young attorneys coming out of law school now are burdened with what most people would consider mortgage-sized debt."

For Senator Durbin, the idea for such a program was born after he witnessed his home state struggling with recruitment and retention due to the heavy student loan debt and low salaries hampering the attorneys there. "It is clear that large student debt deters many law graduates from pursuing public service careers," he noted. Ever since, he has been pushing this bill which has received extensive vocal support throughout the country.

Like the federal employee program after which it is modeled, the student loan repayment program would offer eligible attorneys up to $10,000 annually in loan repayments and would cap loan repayment at $60,000 for graduates who commit to employment in the public sector. Unless re-approved, the bill which has the endorsement of the American Bar Association and other legal organizations would expire in 2013.

Considering that the average student loan debt of a graduate attending a private law school stands at $78,763 and that of a law graduate attending a public institution is $51,056, the interests of the legal community and the public at large will be furthered by Congressional approval of the student loan program.