Lifting the Burden: Law Student Debt as a Barrier to Public Service

Lifting the Burden:The Problem and Its Solutions18At the same time that educational debts were rising greatly, salaries for publicservice lawyers were lagging. Table 3 displays the rise over time in entry-levelsalaries for lawyers in private firms, in government and legal services. Two aspectsof the table stand out. The first is that at all points the entry-level salaries forgovernment and legal services were significantly lower than those in private practice.The second is that, over the years since the mid-1970s, the median salaries in privatepractice have risen at a much faster rate than those in the other two sectors.TABLE 3Change over Time in Median Entry Salaries in Various Legal Positions1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002Median starting $31,700 $50,000 $50,000 $80,000 $90,000 $90,000salary inprivate practiceMedian starting $24,200 $30,000 $33,000 $40,000 $41,000 $42,000salary forgovernment lawyersGovernment median 76.3% 60% 66% 50% 45.6% 46.7%as a percentage ofmedian inprivate practiceMedian starting $18,800 $25,900 $30,000 $34,000 $35,000 $36,000salary in publicinterest (such aslegal services)Public interest 59.3% 51.8% 60% 42.5% 38.9% 40%median as apercentage of medianin private practiceData from the National Association for Law Placement, Jobs and J.D.’s: Employment and Salaries of New Law Graduates,Class of 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2002. For more information, visit www.nalp.org.The net effect of rapidly rising debt and a widening gap between the salaries inprivate practice and salaries in government and legal services has been calamitous. 8In the 1970s, law students who borrowed could easily repay their educational debts.Most borrowed nothing and only a few borrowed a lot in relation to their initialearnings. In the 1980s, most law students borrowed and increasing numbers feltpinched in paying back their loans. In the late 1990s and today, what was once aproblem for a few has become a financial crisis for most.AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PROBLEM: THE STORY OF ONE AVERAGE LAWSTUDENT TELLS THE STORY OF MANYTo convey the seriousness of the problem facing individuals making choices atvarious stages, the following is an illustrative story of a law student who attends a lawschool with the median tuition, who borrows the median amounts in college and lawschool, and who has career opportunities in various settings earning median salaries.The quandaries faced by this student – and thus by so many other law students in the same8For a discussion on the salary chasm in legal services, see Tobin, Urgent Memo to Ourselves: Legal Services is Notthe Peace Corps (Addressing the Salary Chasm Now), Management Information Exchange Journal 5 (Spring 2003).