Loan forgiveness programs help public service lawyers

New Orleans CityBusiness, Aug 18, 2003 by Megan Kamerick

As she entered Tulane University Law School 14 years ago, Dona Renegar had her eyes on a corporate law job after graduation.

But during her final year, she discovered poverty law working at one of Tulane's student clinics.

I very quickly said 'What do I need to do this?' Renegar said.

School officials told her she needed to make at least $41,000 in order to pay back her $75,000 in student loans - far more than most salaries for new law graduates in public interest jobs.

Nevertheless, Renegar worked for four years in Alexandria and Lafayette representing domestic abuse victims by using a 15-year-old Tulane loan repayment program.

Susan Krinsky, associate dean of admissions, said Tulane graduates who do public work such as becoming public defenders or staffing legal assistance corporations must devote 12% of adjusted net income to repay student loans. Tulane reimburses them for the remainder for up to five years or a maximum of $25,000.

The salary cap on how much they can make and still qualify for the program is about $35,000 in New Orleans.

The average law school debt from Tulane is $90,000, so this program won't wipe out their debt. But it allows them to develop expertise in public interest law, Krinsky said. Tulane was one of the first law schools to require all students to do community service during their studies.

If you're going to encourage students to go into public interest work, you need to help them out, she said.

The American Bar Association wants Tulane's system used on a much larger scale. On Aug. 8 at its annual convention, the Chicago-based organization released Lifting the Burden, a two-year study on loan burdens and public interest laws. Commissioned by Robert Hirshon, former association president, the study concluded there is a dearth of attorneys entering public service because skyrocketing tuition rates make such careers unfeasible.

The cost of living rose 28% from 1992 to 2002, the report noted, while the cost of tuition at public law schools jumped 134% for in- state students and 100% for out-of-state students. Private law school tuition rose 76%.

About 87% of law students borrow money for their education. Most graduates have a cumulative debt load exceeding $80,000 from undergraduate and law school, the report found.

So it's hard to make ends meet for those who desire work in public service careers or legal service organizations. They can expect to make a median entry-level salary of $36,000.

In Louisiana, the average salary of a public interest attorney with three to five years of experience is $29,000, according to the Louisiana Bar Foundation. The average debt load for these attorneys is $73,000.

Hirshon assumed the declining numbers of students entering public interest law was due to apathy or greed - until he traveled the country talking to them.

They care as much as my generation cared, said Hirshon, who graduated from law school in 1973 with only several thousand dollars of debt. But they had a problem none of us had. It was forcing them to make decisions many didn't like.

Hirshon is well aware that many will scoff at helping lawyers pay their loans. This is not about subsidizing a lawyer's education, he said. It's about helping attorneys go back into the community. Similar programs already exist for doctors who choose to go to poor or under served areas.

Health care is not a constitutional right. Legal representation in a felony matter is, he said. I don't understand a society that will spend $10,000 on a subsidy to fix a broken arm that a battered woman received, but we won't spend $1,000 to get a temporary restraining order or injunction to prevent that woman from being battered in the first place.

Some limited federal loan forgiveness programs are in place for Perkins Loans, but only prosecutors can use these, he said. Consider a law graduate who enters the Judge Advocate General Corps with the military, Hirshon said. They are assigned to either defense or prosecution. Those who are assigned to one receive loan forgiveness, but those assigned to the other side don't.

This is ultimately about providing representation for poor people or people who otherwise can't afford to hire lawyers, or rely on government agencies or other public agencies to help them through the jungle of regulation and law, said Curtis M. Caton, co-chairman of the commission. He is a corporate attorney with Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP in Menlo Park, Calif.

The Bar Association is sensitive to this issue because it means many people are deprived of access to the legal system due to its complexity, he said. A number of studies have concluded that about 89% of legally addressable needs are not being addressed, Caton said.

This is a necessity in a society based on the unwritten compact that we will resolve our disputes peacefully, Hirshon said.

The report recommends loan repayment assistance programs as the solution to this dilemma. Loan repayment programs exist at some schools here, such as Loyola University New Orleans and Tulane, but they are limited.