"Lifting the Burden: Law Student Debt as a Barrier to Public Service" the Final Report of the ABA
Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness - 030158
Abstract Number: 030158
August 2007
The ABA Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness published "Lifting the Burden: Law Student Debt as a Barrier to Public Service" to explore how law school debt is preventing recent law school graduates from entering public service employment. Additionally, the Report offers ten conclusions regarding the matter of debt burden and its effect on the profession, and it provides recommendations for lawyers interested in a career in public service.
Countless graduates from law schools find themselves burdened by massive legal educational debt, oftentimes preventing them from pursuing a career in public service due to the inability to make the $900+ a month payments. The median entry-level salary for a public service position is approximately $36,000 compared to the $90,000 starting salary for private practice. As a result, the public is deprived of the legal services that these graduates could provide.
In 2001, the American Bar Association (ABA) created the Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness in order to study the debt burden issue and the impact it has on law graduates' willingness to accept public service positions and to make recommendations about strategies to tackle this problem. The Commission developed three work groups, Federal, Law School, and State, to discuss various ideas that would help correct the problem. This report details these ideas, and it concludes with a summary of accomplishments on the Federal level, State level, and in law schools. Access the full report as a PDF document by clicking on the text below.
Contact Information:
Dina Merrell
American Bar Association
750 North Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: (312) 988-5773
Fax: (312) 988-5483
merrelld@staff.abanet.org
Additional Information:
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