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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Alfredo Tryferis Washington State Bar Foundation Announces Creation of Student Loan Repayment Assistance ProgramSeattle, Washington, October 20, 2005 — The Washington State Bar Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of the Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), which will offer loan-repayment assistance for attorneys in public- and legal-service practice. The program's mission is to provide loan forgiveness to attorneys committed to working in the public interest, thereby helping to meet the legal needs of the people of Washington state. The LRAP is currently accepting applications for five participants who will be funded at $5,000 each per year for five years beginning in 2006, with plans to expand that number as funding allows in the years to come. Assistance will be in the form of forgivable loans disbursed to active WSBA attorneys employed at least 32 hours per week with legal-aid organizations, public defenders, county prosecutors, state or local government employers, tribes, or private, nonprofit organizations providing direct legal representation to individuals. Loans are forgiven in full upon completion of five years of qualifying public-service employment. "Law students face ever-increasing debt burdens upon graduation," says Dwight Williams, chair of the LRAP Advisory Committee. "The [LRAP] will provide some relief for those planning to pursue a career in the traditionally lower-paying public-service sector." Even as young lawyers desire to work in the public interest, staggering loan debt often prevents them from entering public-interest law. According to a recent Equal Justice Works survey of 1,622 graduates of 117 law schools, two-thirds of the respondents stated that law school debt was preventing them from considering a public-interest career. Further, even when attorneys do enter the field of public interest, their ability to remain, and thus provide long-term leadership and experience to the field, is limited. "Heavy law school loan burdens deter some of the most qualified and diverse candidates from seeking public-interest positions," says Gail Jackson, a former human resources manager for Columbia Legal Services, which provides legal assistance to low-income and special-needs people and organizations in Washington. The LRAP seeks to assist attorneys who wish to work in public-interest law, but cannot afford to because of loan repayment, as well as the greater public by providing more attorneys the opportunity to serve the broadest spectrum of Washington residents. About the Washington State Bar Foundation
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