UC Davis Law School Expands Loan Repayment Assistance Program

In order to continue its leadership in support of public interest and public service careers for its graduates, UC Davis School of Law, also known as King Hall, has announced it is greatly expanding its Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP).  In 1990, UC Davis Law School led the way by becoming the first public law school in California to establish a loan repayment assistance program. Today UC Davis again blazes a trail by expanding its LRAP program to include public employment and by expanding the benefits available under the program.

In the 16 years since the LRAP program was founded, escalating fees at all UC law schools has forced more students to rely on student loans. High loan payments combined with low public sector and public service lawyer salaries make it nearly impossible for law graduates to pursue public service careers without some additional assistance. Loan repayment programs, like the one at UC Davis, grant law graduates money to help repay student loans while they hold public-interest and public-service jobs. 

This year, the School moved to invest in the future of the state of California and greatly expanded and improved the LRAP program so more students will qualify for relief from the heavy debt burden that may prevent them from pursuing a career in the public interest. This includes raising the cap on annual income by over 25 % from $40,000 to $53,000, including all student loan debt for possible repayment, and increasing the percentage the school contributes. UC Davis School of Law is one of the only law schools in the United States to offer loan repayment for both graduate and undergraduate education debt.

Equal Justice Works, the national leader in support for public-service minded law students, reports that there is an access-to-justice crisis in the State and country. Only 20 percent of more than 43 million eligible low-income Americans can obtain legal assistance when they need it. By vastly improving its loan repayment assistance program, the School of Law will serve society’s need for a more equitable distribution of legal talent and provide an incentive for graduates not only to enter the field of public interest law, but continue to remain in those positions. 

During the first years in the program, the relief constitutes an interest-free loan. If participants remain in the program for three years or more, a portion of the LRAP loan is cancelled. After five years in the program, all money received from LRAP effectively becomes a grant.

The LRAP is critically important to public interest lawyers who find it financially difficult-- often impossible--to work and stay working for public interest organizations. Law school fees have more than doubled just in the last few years. Eighty percent of law school graduates must now borrow to pay for their law degree. The amount borrowed by the average student in 2005 was close to $80,000 at a private school and more than $50,000 at a public school.

Compare those numbers to the median entry-level salary for an attorney in a public-interest organization--$40,000. Compare that $40,000 number to the median starting-salary of a large firm associate--$160,000 at leading firms on the East and West Coasts.

Even our most committed public interest students and graduates have to weigh their options when they are left with only about $1,500 monthly to pay for rent, groceries, and all other living expenses after making a standard monthly payment on their student loans. 

The UC Davis School of Law LRAP is committed to providing assistance for its graduates who perform law-related work for nonprofit organizations and state and federal agencies. Participants in UC Davis’ LRAP include lawyers who work or have worked at California Rural Legal Assistance, Legal Services of California, Office of Clients’ Rights Advocacy, the Fair Housing Law Project, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, the Sierra Club, and other public-service organizations. 


King Hall LRAP