A RECENT STUDY found that law school debt discourages two-thirds of new attorneys from taking jobs in public service.

The study, conducted by Equal Justice Works, the National Association for Law Placement and the Partnership for Public Service, showed that legal education debt prevented 66 percent of law student respondents from considering a job in public service or with the government. The voluntary survey involved 1,622 third-year law school students (Class of 2002) from 117 law schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

"Bright young lawyers are drowning in debt and being shut out of public service," said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. "...We must all do what we can to alleviate the debt burden that's driving young talent away."

A group of Suffolk University Law School alumni is launching an initiative to do just that in NH. Building on the NH Bar Foundation's Law School Loan Repayment Assistance Program established in 1999, the Suffolk alumni group has developed a new loan assistance program for Suffolk Law graduates practicing in the public sector in New Hampshire. The group is urging fellow alumni to attend the Suffolk Law School Dinner, to be held in conjunction with the NHBA Midyear Meeting, on Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Wayfarer Inn, Bedford, to learn more about the program and, more importantly, to hear about the work their fellow alumni are doing in public interest.

The Suffolk alumni group that developed the project includes NH Probate Court Administrative Judge John R. Maher and attorneys Martin F. Loughlin, Jennifer L. Parent and Roger B. Phillips. At press time, Jennifer B. Sobel was also a member of the committee, but was considering stepping down because of her recent appointment to the District Court bench. The group is working with NH Bar Foundation Executive Director Tina Abramson on the initiative.

The group formed after the Suffolk Law School dinner at last year's Midyear Meeting, when Judge Maher raised the issue of law school debt and whether it deters new lawyers from entering the public sector. With school debts averaging about $100,000, "the answer was a resounding 'yes,'" said Parent. The group of alumni interested in the issue met with Abramson and NHLA Executive Director John E. Tobin, Jr. to develop a preliminary plan for a Suffolk Law School alumni loan assistance program.

The program will be very similar to the Bar Foundation's existing Law School Loan Repayment Assistance Program. Through that program, the Foundation makes an annual allocation of IOLTA funds for law school loan assistance for staff attorneys at four non-profit NH organizations that provide civil legal services to the poor and elderly: NH Legal Assistance, Legal Advice & Referral Center, the NH Bar's Pro Bono Program and the Disabilities Rights Center. For the next fiscal year, the four organizations will be receiving $64,000 in loan repayment assistance.

The Suffolk alumni program will differ in one way: It will also include attorneys who go to work for NH Public Defender or the County Attorney's Office. Any assistance that a Suffolk alumnus working in the public sector receives through the program will be in addition to that granted through the Bar Foundation program.

The Bar Foundation will administer the program for the Suffolk alumni group, using a special formula to determine who gets how much assistance. Every eligible applicant will receive some loan repayment assistance, according to Abramson.

"We feel like this is the kind of role the Bar Foundation should play - leveraging these kinds of opportunities to increase and support access to justice in New Hampshire," Abramson said.

The alumni group said that there are about 400 Suffolk Law School grads working in New Hampshire, of whom 17 work in public interest positions and would be eligible for loan repayment assistance through the new program. The group hopes to raise about $30,000 to $40,000 a year for the program, but doesn't expect to do that right away. "We'll start slowly, feel our way through, and get to know our fellow alums," Judge Maher said.

The group has the support of Suffolk Law in this endeavor; after the group met with the law school's dean, Robert Smith, to explain the program to him, "the law school enthusiastically endorsed the plan," said Maher, and a letter has since gone out to all Suffolk law school grads about this New Hampshire program.

Members of the alumni group said the purpose of the loan repayment initiative is two-fold: First, it will have the obvious benefit of helping those who want to work in public interest pay back law school loans so they can do so. "It hurts society and the justice system when law graduates who want to do public interest work can't because of financial reasons. We're losing good attorneys in the public sector," said Parent.

Second, the group hopes that the program will develop "social capital" among Suffolk alumni practicing in New Hampshire, said Maher. "Hopefully this will create an atmosphere between and among Suffolk alumni in which these attorneys will treat each other more civilly, as well as develop a growing appreciation of the work their fellow lawyers do in social justice fields," he said.

The alumni group strongly encourages all Suffolk Law alumni practicing in NH to attend the Law School Dinner and stressed that they will not be solicited for a donation at that time. The dinner will simply feature an informational presentation about the loan forgiveness program, including descriptions of their work by a few public interest attorneys who are Suffolk alumni. "This is an opportunity to learn and appreciate what's going on day-to-day in New Hampshire, how our fellow alumni are helping the disadvantaged, and it's also a chance to have fun," said Maher.

For more information about the Suffolk Law School loan repayment assistance program, contact any of the alumni group members or Tina Abramson at the NH Bar Foundation, 224-6942. For more information about the Suffolk Law School dinner on Jan. 24, contact Diane Shoenfeld at (617) 305-1904.

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