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 Directorjarratt@dcbarfoundation.org202-467-3750 ext. 12

Christina LynchPrograms Assistantlynch@dcbarfoundation.org202-467-3750 ext. 11