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

54Taking into account the legal profession’s responsibility to ensure access tojustice, state, local and territorial bar associations and foundations and IOLTAprograms should promote the creation of programs, such as LRAPs, so that lawgraduates can enter into and remain in public service legal jobs.A growing number of state, local and territorial bar associations and foundations andIOLTA programs are recognizing the tremendous impact that high law student debt hason law graduates’ ability to accept and remain in public service legal jobs and in turn,on the public service employers who are facing recruiting difficulties and high turnoverrates. Some have developed and funded LRAPs for public service lawyers, while othershave created special committees or task forces to raise the profile of the issue within thebar and community, study the issue and develop solutions to help alleviate the problem.State, local and territorial bar associations and foundations and IOLTA programshave an interest in ensuring access to justice for the neediest people. As part of thelegal profession’s responsibility to ensure access to justice, state, local and territorialbar associations and foundations and IOLTA programs should initiate efforts to createa statewide LRAP and/or support and coordinate with any LRAP efforts underway. Barfoundations and IOLTA programs can play a unique role in providing funding tosupport these efforts, which can be leveraged to assist in efforts to cultivateadditional funding from other sources.StateTo support their recruiting and retention efforts, public service legal employersshould create employer-based programs and support the creation of other LRAPsto allow law graduates to take and remain in public service employment.In a recent study of public service employers, 68% of those surveyed reporteddifficulty recruiting the lawyers they need. 105 Additionally, 62% reported difficultiesretaining experienced lawyers. 106 With regard to recruiting lawyers into publicservice organizations, 88% of employers cited educational debt as a large factor contributingto this problem, while 82% of employers surveyed cited educational debt asa major factor impacting retention efforts. 107Recognizing that high debt burdens make it difficult, if not impossible, for newlaw graduates to accept or remain in public service legal employment, some publicservice employers have created their own LRAPs. For example, some Legal ServicesCorporation-funded programs have used general operating funds or donations tostart modest programs, but the vast majority of the programs report that they do nothave adequate funding to provide sufficient assistance to meet the need. However,the employers who have created these programs report that a LRAP has a positiveimpact on recruiting and retention efforts. 108A big drawback of employer-sponsored LRAPs is the tax consequence to recipients:under current law, LRAP benefits given to employees by their employers are taxableincome to the recipients. Therefore, public service employers should explorepartnering opportunities, such as with a state or local bar association, foundation orIOLTA program. Public service employers should also collect recruiting and retentioninformation and provide this information to the stakeholder(s) leading local orstatewide LRAP efforts. Public service employers should take a leadership role at thestate level, through a bar association committee, state access to justice committee orother interested entity, to promote the need for and importance of LRAPs.Public service employers interested to learn more about creating a statewide LRAPshould consult the Commission’s State LRAP Tool Kit at www.abalegalservices.org/lrap.105Equal Justice Works supra note 23 at 30.106Id.107Id.108Supra, page 46, statement of Lillian Johnson, Executive Director of Community Legal Services.