A New Loan Repayment Assistance Program for Legal Aid Lawyers
With the passage of the State Budget Act the Access Commission is now authorized to administer a new Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) for legal aid lawyers. Creating an LRAP has been a long-standing goal of legal aid programs, the Legal Services Trust Funding Commission, the State Bar’s Council on Access and Fairness and the Legal Aid Association of California.
LRAP can help address the crisis today in recruiting and retaining legal aid lawyers. Combining this tax‐advantaged LRAP program – which could take care of current student loan payments ‐‐ with the revised federal Public Interest Loan Forgiveness program, California legal aid organizations would be able to recruit and retain employees who would know their loans will be taken care of without cost to them if they stay in legal aid for 10 years ‐‐ a powerful recruiting and retention message. Legal aid openings now stay unfilled for months. Retaining experienced lawyers is, if anything, a bigger problem. Both lawyers considering legal aid jobs and veteran lawyers deciding whether to stay report that the number one concern is money and outstanding student loans. Read more about the legal aid recruiting and retention crisis here.
The Access Commission plans to administer a tax-advantaged LRAP for lawyers at legal aid programs that contribute funding. The Legal Services Trust Fund Commission is developing guidelines for funding recipients to use in budgeting their State Bar funds for LRAP participation. The Access Commission’s LRAP will also be open to lawyers at legal aid nonprofits that are not IOLTA recipients if the organizations contribute funding and if the lawyers commit to continue helping underserved people and communities for an agreed period of time.
To guide implementation efforts, the Access Commission has formed an LRAP Working Group with anticipated participation by the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission, the State Bar’s Council on Access and Fairness and including the Legal Assistance Association of California.
Please watch for upcoming announcements of joint information and training programs presented by the LSTFC, COAF, and CalATJ.