ABA Day in Washington brings together volunteers from across the country to speak to elected representatives on issues critically important to the profession, their clients and the public at large.
Dear Law Students and Friends:
As many of you are aware, the current credit crisis has made it significantly more difficult for graduating law students to obtain private loans to cover expenses related to bar exam preparation. Current federal guidelines permit only the fee for the bar exam itself to be covered by federally guaranteed student loans, forcing many students to rely on credit cards or to seek employment to cover the cost of bar review courses and living expenses.
The Alliance for Legal Education is a coalition of law schools and other organizations in the legal community working to ensure that students who have invested in a legal education have the funding they need to prepare for the bar exam. The Alliance has proposed a solution: allow costs associated with preparing for the bar to be included in the cost of attendance, which would, in turn, make these costs eligible for federal student loans. At the recent meeting of the ABA Law Student Division Board of Governors, division leadership voted to support this concept and to encourage law students nationwide to do the same.
To effect this policy change, and to do so in time to help this year's graduating law students, it is critical to contact legislators now to urge their support of this initiative. The Alliance has established a website where you can learn more about this initiative and use the online facility to contact your legislators about this issue.
 | Matthew Dorothy |
 | Shawn Gozarakhah |
 | Cleveland M. Patterson, III |
Find the latest information from the ABA on how to get through the economic downturn. Our Economic Recovery Resources portal contains resources and tips on a variety of topics from job searching, to practice management, to professional development and more.
Please share your personal experiences or hardships facing you as a law student, whether they relate to law school debt, the rising cost of tuition, admissions standards, and so on. Your story will be shared with Congressional representatives and ABA leaders, and will aid our efforts to fight for law students on a wide range of issues.
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In April 2008, Law Student Division leaders were in Washington, DC to discuss important issues facing law students nationwide with members of Congress and their staffs. As part of the ABA’s annual two-day visit to Washington, the LSD’s leaders thanked members for supporting increased federal loan repayment options for public interest attorneys, and encouraged support for a robust Prosecutor/Public Defender loan forgiveness program. LSD leaders also raised the specter of the sudden drop in the number of loan lenders, and the rising rate of mental health issues on law school campuses. Among others, LSD leaders visited the offices of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Congressman Pete Visclosky (D-IN). Click here for a complete listing of the members that met with law student leaders. Tell me more about the Law Student Division's participation in ABA Day in Washington
This Congress has seen a great deal of activity on the issue of student debt. In September, the House and Senate both passed legislation on federal loan repayment assistance programs. At the end of September, President Bush signed this piece of legislation into law. Tell me more about this legislation
Congress is also currently discussing Senator Durbin's Prosecutor and Public Defender Incentive Act (S.442), which allows eligible attorneys to receive student loan debt repayments of up to $10,000 per year with an aggregate over time of $60,000 for those employed as prosecutors and public defenders for three or more years.
