Most people who graduate law school end up with a huge amount of debt. A common critique of choosing a career in public interest law is that because public interest jobs don't pay as well as private sector ones, paying off student loans will take far too long, and the time spent shoveling out of this financial hole is too great a personal sacrifice. "I'll just spend a couple of years working at a law firm until I pay off my loans, then I'll get back into public service work," many law students say, though it's unclear how many follow through on this promise. Other law students and new attorneys scoff at the idea of working in the relatively lower-earning public sector altogether.
But for those of us who really want to do public service work, debt — while certainly a concern — should not be a deterrent. Many programs exist to encourage law students to serve the public interest, by helping to ease the financial pressure. Law schools do this through Loan Repayment Assistance Programs. (See a list of LRAPs here.) And Congress has gotten into the game as well, by passing the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. This fantastic law provides loan forgiveness for graduates who choose a public interest career if they meet certain requirements. To be considered for loan forgiveness under the CCRAA, an attorney must maintain public interest employment for ten years; consolidate her federal loans; and choose income-based repayment of those loans. The law should spark curiosity in public interest-minded law students who didn't believe it would be possible to crawl out of debt. Two sites do a great job explaining the law: Equal Justice Works and IBRinfo. The U.S. Department of Education's official document explaining the CCRAA is here.
Choosing public interest law as a career does not necessarily mean a lifetime of debt.
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