WASHINGTON, DC, August 14, 2008 — Recent law school graduates seeking fulfilling careers in legal aid have a new tool to help them accomplish this goal, despite the law school debt that often has forced them to enter the private sector in the past. Following several months of discussion and debate, on July 31, both houses of Congress reauthorized the Higher Education Act, which included a provision to provide loan repayment for civil legal assistance attorneys. This provision was an amendment added to the Higher Education Act by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA). The Higher Education Act reauthorization bill passed the Senate by 83-8 and the House of Representatives by 380-49. President Bush signed the bill into law on August 14th.

Once it becomes law, lawyers who commit to working in legal aid for at least three years will be able to have a sizable chunk of their student loans paid. Legal aid attorneys who take part in the program, which will be administered by the U.S. Department of Education, could individually receive up to $6,000 per year up to a total amount of $40,000. In addition to attracting attorneys who might not otherwise find legal aid law a feasible alternative, the program is expected to stem high turnover rates, which will provide offices with better trained and more experienced staff. NLADA has been a strong champion of this provision, working with Sen. Harkin to get it passed.

“This opportunity will allow thousands of young attorneys each year to enter the legal aid field without the overwhelming burden of law school loans forcing them into less fulfilling private sector positions,” said NLADA Director of Civil Legal Services Don Saunders. “Legal aid attorneys are charged with helping millions of our nation’s least-fortunate people triumph through what, for most of us, would be unimaginably difficult life situations. This program is poised to bring some of the most talented and dedicated young attorneys into this important field of work, thus improving the tools that those millions of people need to make their American dream a reality.”

# # #

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), founded in 1911, is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoting all of its resources to advocating equal access to justice for all Americans. NLADA champions effective legal assistance for people who cannot afford counsel, serves as a collective voice for both civil legal services and public defense services throughout the nation and provides a wide range of services and benefits to its individual and organizational members.