Quality legal assistance is increasingly becoming inaccessible for many people in this country, especially the poor. Despite this stark reality, few law school graduates can afford to go into public service after law school due to extraordinary loan indebtedness. The current Boston College Law School graduate carries an average of $76,800 in law school loans. Many graduates owe far more.
A Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) can assist law school graduates who enter low-paying public service careers by providing financial assistance for educational loan payments after graduation. Boston College Law School currently provides a number of graduates with a certain level of LRAP assistance, but recognizes the vital importance of maintaining and improving its LRAP program. The Boston College Law School community is therefore working to raise $4 million dollars to create a fund dedicated to LRAP.
Institutions around the country have become increasingly aware of the importance of LRAP programs. The American Bar Association, for instance, stated in its 2003 Commission on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness that, “Law schools should treat as a priority the funding of programs, such as LRAPs, designed to make public service work financially feasible for graduates.”
On September 20, 2005, The Boston Globe stated: “It is not simply the allure of a six-figure salary that deters many law school graduates from working as public defenders, prosecutors, and legal aid attorneys or for nonprofit advocacy groups, government agencies, and organizations that represent indigent clients. With the vast majority of law students graduating with substantial debt…hefty loan payments often force students to take high-paying positions.”
BC Law students are very concerned about issues of injustice and public service. Various studies, from the BC Law Pro Bono Committee Report of April 25, 2005, to reports made by the Equal Justice Works and The Legal Services Corporation, have demonstrated the value in supporting LRAP programs. The following are some of their findings.
General LRAP Statistics
Percentage of BC Law students drawn to BC in part because of its commitment to public service: 70%
Total educational debt of an average BC Law student at graduation: $85,000
Law-school debt of an average BC Law student at graduation: $76,800
Percentage increase in monthly loan payments for BC Law graduates in the last 10
years: nearly 100%
Percentage of law students prevented from considering a public service career because of educational loans: 66%
Percentage of public interest and government employers reported to have had difficulty recruiting new attorneys: 68%
Percentage of civil legal needs for low-income Americans that are currently being unmet: over 80%
Additional LRAP Statistics
Fraction of public service salary often devoted to loan payments by BC Law graduates: 1/3
Percentage of law students who would be more interested in a governmental job if they had substantial loan repayment assistance: 83%
Percentage of public interest and governmental employers citing low salaries and educational debt as the largest factors contributing to their struggles to hire talented attorneys: over 87%
Number of low-income persons for every legal services attorney: 6,861