Loan Repayment Assistance Program
July 31, 2015NCBF Annual Meeting
District of Columbia
Bar Foundation
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History & Purpose of LRAP Began in 2007
Public: DC Access to Justice Initiative Private: Board created
Goals: Increase the number of experienced, skilled lawyers
working on behalf of low-income individuals based in DC; and
Assist DC poverty lawyers who have incurred significant educational debt.
To date: nearly $2.3 million to190 poverty lawyers through both programs
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Comparing Public and Private LRAPEligibility Requirements
Law degree
DC Bar standing
Eligible employment
Salary less than $81,954.53/year (FY16)
Can receive a one-year, forgivable, interest-free loan of up to $12,000/year
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Comparing Public and Private LRAP
PUBLIC LRAP PRIVATE LRAP
Funding Source Publicly funded Privately funded
Residency DC resident No residency requirement
Eligible Debt
Only law school and law-school related
debt (i.e. bar study)
Undergraduate, graduate and law
school debt
Lifetime Cap
$60,000 per participant No lifetime cap
Awards Granted
Biannually (Dec & June*) Annually (Dec)
*Contingent on funding
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Administration of LRAP Application released (Oct) Application due (Nov) Board approves award recommendations (Dec) Staff creates loan packages and schedules
meetings with recipients to sign loan packages (Jan)
Awards disbursed quarterly (Jan, April, July, Oct) Eligibility certified quarterly (March, June, Sept,
Dec)
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Adjustments & Repayments If a recipient’s loan amount decreases or
receives law school LRAP, recipient’s award must be decreased Staff calculates new award and creates new loan
package If a recipient becomes ineligible for LRAP,
recipient must repay the entire amount received Staff works with recipient to create a payment
schedule If a recipient is laid off due to inadequate
funding, recipient does not have to repay Staff creates new loan package, and recipient is
forgiven for the amount he/she has received
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Partnership with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Team of lawyers who volunteer their time to help with
administrative tasks In FY14, volunteered 345 hours
Application: Enter data from applications into master Excel sheet Verify loan amounts and determine funding eligibility Calculate preliminary data (e.g. number of DC residents
and average years of experience in law) Certifications:
Update information in master Excel sheet Verify monthly loan payments Calculate adjustments and determine repayment
amount Also, assist with revising LRAP-related legislation in
the DC Code
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2015 LRAP Recipient Profile
Public LRAP Private LRAP Total
Number of Recipients 40 32 72
Avg Total Debt $146,373 $165,363 $155,868
Avg Annual Salary $54,906 $56,139 $55,523
Avg Yearly Loan Pmt $7,384 $7,740 $7,562
Avg Award $5,436 $3,139 $4,288
Board Approved Total $232,455 $100,450 $332,905*Numbers do not include those who withdrew application
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2015 LRAP Recipient ProfileOf the 72 applicants…
LAW SCHOOLS ATTENDED
DC law schools: 40 Eastern law schools: 12
Southern law schools: 9
Midwest law schools: 8 Western law schools: 3
YEARS EXPERIENCE 10+: 3 7 to 9: 16 4 to 6: 32 Under 4: 21
GENDER Females: 63 (87.5%) Males: 9 (12.5%)
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DC Cost of LivingBased on a single DC-resident living in an average one-bedroom apartment
Monthly Income
Take-home pay $3,283.60
Monthly Expenses
Educational loan payment $630.00
Rent $1,741.00
Miscellaneous expenses* $1,015.00
*Based on MIT 2015 individual living expenses for 1 adult living in DC. Includes food, medical, transportation and other expenses.
Monthly Net Income ($102.40)
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LRAP Quote“With the cost of living in the DC area and my law school debt to income ratio, I would never be able to continue my dream of serving as a public interest attorney without LRAP. Even with LRAP, things are sometimes tight, but without it, it would seem impossible to fulfill my life-long goal of serving low-income clients with legal needs; I am an advocate for folks who are often overwhelmed by a scary legal system, and it is truly rewarding. ”
-2015 LRAP Recipient
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Private LRAP FundingPrivate fundraising
Call to Action Campaign Individual appeals Go Formal for Justice Gala Go Casual for Justice DoMore24/Giving Tuesday
Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Administrator since 1985
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Appeal Letter Example“…thanks to our generous donors, we provided $103,000 in loan forgiveness assistance to 22 public interest lawyers employed by DC-based legal services organizations. These loans to legal aid lawyers help them meet their staggering educational debt obligations while earning modest public interest salaries. And the legal aid organizations are able to attract and retain top-notch talent to serve DC’s neediest residents.”
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Appeal Letter Example“Our loan repayment programs make it possible for legal aid programs to hire and retain high quality, dedicated attorneys who otherwise might not be able to afford to work for legal aid. With loan repayment help, many public interest lawyers can continue doing the work they are most passionate about – serving the District’s most vulnerable residents.”
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Private LRAP Funding
2012 2013 2014 20150
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
$202,440
$180,546
$208,215$216,232
Amount Requested
Amount Budgeted
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Public LRAP Funding DC Access to Justice Commission advocates
for and secures funding for the Access to Justice Initiative Program, which funds a grant program and public LRAPChair: Peter Edelman, Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center
DC Council Committee on the JudiciaryChair: Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, Ward 5
Grant administered by the District Office of Victim Services
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Public LRAP Funding
2012 2013 2014 2015$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$195,160$179,580 $176,995
$231,284Amount Requested
Public LRAP Funding
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2012-2015 Number of LRAP Applicants
2012 2013 2014 20150
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Public LRAPPrivate LRAPTotal Applicants
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2012-2015 LRAP Awards
2012 2013 2014 2015$0.00
$50,000.00
$100,000.00
$150,000.00
$200,000.00
$250,000.00
$300,000.00
$350,000.00
$400,000.00
DC (Public)
DCBF (Private)
TOTAL
Linear (TOTAL)
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In Summary LRAP benefits the poverty lawyers as well as
their employers and the underserved community
Demand typically exceeds available funding Managing Public LRAP is administratively
intense Create partnerships or implement ideas that
reduce administrative expenses Strategic and creative fundraising Recruit strong supporters to advocate for
funding
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Contact Information Kirra L. Jarratt
Executive [email protected] ext. 12
Christina LynchPrograms [email protected] ext. 11