State Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

State LRAP Programs & Contacts

There are 24 statewide loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) providing assistance in the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska (two programs), New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia. Kansas has an LRAP that operates in 50 of the state's 105 counties. (See Program Contact information listed below).

These 24 LRAPs range in size and scope. Almost all require participants to be working in public interest law. Some are funded through state legislative appropriations while others rely on funding from the private sector or from Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) funding.

The statewide LRAPs are summarized in these charts.

• Statewide LRAPs Summary
• Statewide LRAPs Funding
• Statewide LRAPs Eligible Loans
• Statewide LRAPs Eligible Employment

State LRAPs and Contacts

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
District of Columbia Bar Foundation
Imoni Washington
lrap@dcbarfoundation.org
202-835-9023

FLORIDA
The Florida Bar Foundation
Kate York
kyork@thefloridabarfoundation.org
407-960-7000

ILLINOIS
The Chicago Bar Foundation
Sun-Times Public Interest Law Fellowship (LRAP award)
Dina Merrell
dmerrell@chicagobar.org
312-554-1206

INDIANA
Indiana Bar Foundation
Justice Richard M. Givan Loan Repayment Assistance Program
Michael Tranovich
mtranovich@inbf.org
317-269-2415

KANSAS
Kansas Department of Commerce
Rural Opportunity Zones Student Loan Repayment
Rachéll Rowand
rachell.rowand@ks.gov
785-207-4755

LOUISIANA
Louisiana Bar Foundation
Renee Bienvenu LeBoeuf
renee@raisingthebar.org
504-561-1046

MAINE
Maine Justice Foundation
Joan Gilbert
jgilbert@justicemaine.org
207-622-3477

MARYLAND
Maryland Higher Education Commission, Office of Student Financial Assistance
Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program
Terica Prater
terica.prater@maryland.gov
410- 767-3114

MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation
Lonnie Powers
lpowers@mlac.org
617-367-1414

MINNESOTA
Loan Repayment Assistance Program of MN (LRAP-MN)
Heather Rastorfer Vlieger
HeatherRV@mnbar.org
612-278-6315

MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi Bar Foundation
Angie K. Cook
acook@msbar.org
601- 948-5234

MONTANA
Montana Justice Foundation
Niki Zupanic
mjf@mtjustice.org
406-523-3920

NEBRASKA
Nebraska Lawyers Trust Account Foundation
Doris J. Huffman
doris@nebarfnd.org
402- 475-1042

NEBRASKA
Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy
Rita J. Wesely
rwesely@ncpa.ne.gov
402-471-8088

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire Bar Foundation
Lisha Nelson
lnelson@nhbarfoundation.org
603-715-3210

NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Higher Education Department
Public Service Law Loan Repayment Program
Mia Candelaria
miapcandelaria@state.nm.us
505-476-8411

NEW YORK
New York Higher Education Services Corporation
NYS District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness (DALF) Program
scholarships@hesc.ny.gov
888-697-4372

NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina Legal Education Assistance Fund
Esther Hall
ehall@ncleaf.org
919-845-6089

OHIO
Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation
Susan Choe
schoe@olaf.org
614-715-8568

OREGON
Oregon State Bar
Cathy Petrecca
cpetrecca@osbar.org
503-431-6355

PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Bar Foundation
info@pabarfoundation.org
888-238-3036

TEXAS
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
Lisa Melton
ldmelton@teajf.org
512- 320-0099

VERMONT
Vermont Bar Foundation
Deborah Bailey
dbailey@vtbarfoundation.org
802-223-1400

VIRGINIA
Legal Services Corporation of Virginia
Mark D. Braley
mark.lscv@mindspring.com
804-782-9438

State LRAP Legislation

Legislation Passed and Funded

(Summary information about most of these programs is also in the charts on this page.)

Maryland
The Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program has been in existence in Maryland since 1988. It provides loan repayment assistance to lawyers in public service careers, as well as other professionals. To view a copy of the statute, click here.

Nebraska
The Legal Education for Public Service and Rural Practice Loan Repayment Assistance Program was authorized in 2008 and has been funded since 2015. It provides loan repayment assistance to lawyers in public service careers and those who practice in Nebraska-designated legal profession shortage areas. To view a copy of the statute click here.

New Mexico
The Public Service Law Loan Repayment Act Program has been in existence in New Mexico since 2005.  It provides loan repayment assistance to attorneys in New Mexico who are employed in the public sector. To view a copy of the statute, click here.

New York
An LRAP started previously was expanded in 2009 to include assistance for civil legal aid attorneys and public defenders in addition to the state district attorneys that had been in the program. The program is funded by a portion of the fee charged for criminal history searches. To view a copy of the statute, click here. The regulations are at Section 2201.9 of Title 9 of the NYCRR.

Texas
The Educational Loan Repayment Program for Attorneys Employed by the Office of the Attorney General was authorized in 2001. The funding source is one percent of in-state resident law school tuition revenues. Enough funding was collected to begin providing assistance in 2008. To access a copy of the legislation, click here and search for HB 2766 in 2001.

Legislation Passed, but Not Yet Funded

California
The Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program was authorized in California in 2001, but not funded. In 2015, funding from unclaimed funds in attorneys’ Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) accounts was authorized as a funding source of the LRAP. It is unknown when there will be enough funding to provide assistance. The program will be administered by the California Student Aid Commission. To view a copy of the bill that authorizes the funding, click here.

Georgia
Legislation creating a loan repayment program for attorneys working for the public interest, such as prosecutors, public defenders and civil legal aid attorneys was signed into law in 2002. The original bill resulted from the work of the Georgia Legal Loan Forgiveness Task Force, created by Georgia Governor Roy Barnes. No funds were appropriated for the program. See Ga. Code Ann. Section 20-3-380 through 387 (2003) for more details. To view a copy of the statute, click here.

Illinois
The Public Interest Attorney Law Repayment Assistance Program was authorized in 2010, but no funds have been appropriated for the program. To view the bill that became PA #96-01, click here. The program, if funded will be administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which has information about it here.

Texas
In 2001, LRAP assistance for civil legal aid attorneys and prosecutors was authorized. No funds have been authorized. To access a copy of the legislation, click here and search for HB 2323 in 2001.

Examples of Bills Introduced, but Not Passed in Legislative Sessions from 2001 – 2008

Connecticut
SB 53 in the 2001 session would have established an LRAP for public interest attorneys. To view the bill, click here.

Florida
S250/H 99 in the 2004 session would have created an LRAP for assistant state attorneys and assistant public defenders.  To view the bill, click here.

Kentucky
HB 483 introduced in the 2004 session would have created an LRAP for prosecutors, public advocates and legal services attorneys. It would have been funded by two percent of Kentucky’s Court Cost Distribution Fund. A copy of the bill as it stood at the end of the session is found here.

Massachusetts
HB01772 introduced in the 2005 session would have established an LRAP for public service attorneys.

Michigan
Section 319 of HB 5648 in the 2002 session would have earmarked funds from the State Service Fee Fund (from the Casino Gaming statute) for a debt management loan program for attorneys employed by legal services organizations. It was vetoed.

Rhode Island
H5288 introduced in the 2002-03 session would have created an LRAP for attorneys employed by the state of Rhode Island.  To view the bill, click here.

Washington
SB6744 introduced in the 2004 session would have created a loan repayment endowment program for attorneys who provide legal services in public interest areas of the law.