Wisconsin Lawyer
Vol. 75, No. 7, July 2002

• Easing Debt Burden Encourages Public Service

Loan Repayment Assistance Programs, Wisconsin Style

by Karen S. Roehl

In Wisconsin, the average law school graduate in 2000 had $71,000 in student loan debt, resulting in a monthly payment of $865. The average starting salary for a public interest attorney in Wisconsin is $29,000. This attorney pays 50 percent of his or her salary toward repaying student loans.¹

Loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) encourage recent law school graduates to pursue a career in public interest law despite low starting salaries by providing assistance in paying crushing student loan debt. LRAPs assist with recruiting and retaining quality law students and lawyers in light of skyrocketing tuition and student loan debt. Nationwide, there are approximately 50 law school LRAPs, five statewide LRAPs, and some employer supported LRAPs.² Typically, graduates must work for a "qualified employer," such as a legal services law firm, a nonprofit organization, a public defender or district attorney office, or other government position.³

There have been attempts by Wisconsin law students, dating back to the mid-1980s, to start a loan repayment assistance program. These attempts were unsuccessful until the Wisconsin LRAP Coalition was formed in the fall of 2000. The coalition consists of representatives from the State Bar Public Interest Law Section, Marquette University Law School, the U.W. Law School, the Equal Justice Foundation, and law students from both Wisconsin law schools. The mission of the coalition is to encourage the development of a viable loan repayment assistance program(s) in Wisconsin.

In 2001, both Wisconsin law schools pledged to begin a loan repayment assistance program. These fledgling programs will provide limited financial assistance to May 2002 graduates who accept low-paying public interest positions. Both programs are in their infancy and insufficiently funded and have a long way to go to become well-established programs. A fully funded, institutionalized LRAP requires enormous financial support. Both law schools are soliciting funding and hope to provide additional assistance in the future.

Currently, Wisconsin LRAP Coalition members have been meeting with a variety of Bar sections to build support for these programs. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

In addition, U.W. Law School Dean Ken Davis has pledged $25,000 in law school funds annually to fund loan repayment assistance grants. The late Marquette University Law School Dean Howard Eisenberg pledged approximately $200,000. Both schools hope to increase loan repayment benefits and make them available to more students as funding increases.

Show your support. Let your alma mater know that loan repayment assistance programs should be a top priority. Those interested in working on this issue should email LRAP@wisbar.org.

Endnotes

¹ Data collected by the Wisconsin LRAP Coalition. The national average is higher, according to Equal Justice Works Inc., a nationwide organization that supports law students interested in public interest law.

² From data collected by Equal Justice Works. Most of these involve large endowments with millions in assets.

³ It appears that Wisconsin law schools also may add other employers who 1) qualify under section 108(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, 2) have as their primary goal service to the traditionally underserved, and 3) can demonstrate that their practice primarily serves the poor and near poor.

Wisconsin Lawyer