New Lawyers Have Rising Interest in Public Interest
By Yaffa Klugerman
January 3, 2012
Sterling Morriss went to Georgetown University Law Center with the intention of working in public interest, but realizing her goal wasn't simple. She discovered that the field was crowded and competitive, and so she proceeded to apply to as many places as possible. Her perseverance paid off: After graduating from law school this year, she landed a job working for the Equal Justice Works Fellowship Program, which is the largest public interest fellowship program in the country.
"I love that every day is different and that my job involves building relationships," she says of her job as a Fellowship Sponsor Relations Specialist. "I get to travel and have the opportunity to meet amazing people from all facets of the legal community. Most of all, I enjoy that my job is to create positions for other law school graduates who possess the passion, drive and ability to represent those who are legally underserved."
Morriss is not alone in her desire to focus on legal work that seeks to enhance the public good. While the vast majority of new law school graduates find jobs with private law firms, many law schools have seen a significant uptick in the percentage of students pursuing careers in public interest. At the University of Michigan Law School, for example, the number of students entering public interest more than doubled from 4.8 percent in 2006 to 10.7 percent in 2010.
The national statistics show a similar pattern, although not quite as dramatic: According to NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals, 5.4 percent of new law graduates entered public interest in 2006, compared with 6.7 percent in 2010 - the highest percentage in at least two decades. During those same years, those who found jobs at private law firms dropped from 55.8 percent in 2006 to 50.9 percent in 2010.
The economy is only one factor
Undoubtedly, the economy has played a role in these numbers: Since fewer opportunities are available at private firms, presumably students are more open to pursuing careers in public interest. But experts say that's not the whole story.
"I think a larger factor is that law students today are wary of the tales they have heard of lawyers who are unhappy in private practice," says Alyson L. Robbins, director of public interest at the University of Michigan Law School, "and they are actively looking for the opportunity to have meaningful careers that will also allow them to enjoy other aspects of their lives."
Equal Justice Works, a national nonprofit committed to promoting and creating public interest law opportunities, has seen that trend as well. The Washington, DC-based organization currently has 180 fellows working in low-income communities throughout the country. These fellowships are highly competitive: Equal Justice Works receives over 1,000 applications for roughly 100 openings per year.
"It is true that there is a record number of law students applying to work for the public interest, but I don't attribute it to the bad economy," notes David Stern, executive director of Equal Justice Works. "I think it is a reflection of a generation of law students who enter law school with an established public service commitment. Many have spent time between college and law school working in Teach for America, AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps or other service opportunities. These students choose law school because they see how a law degree can be used to help under-served communities and causes."
Loan repayment options are an added benefit
Undoubtedly, the increased opportunities for public interest lawyers to repay their student loans have helped make it feasible to consider these traditionally low-paying careers. The federal government's College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which was passed in 2007, allows graduates to make monthly payments on their federal loans using the Income-Based Repayment program, which calculates lower loan payments based on one's income. Even more significantly, the law allows those employed in public service to have their loans completely forgiven after 10 years of qualified payments.
That's welcome news for public interest lawyers, who, according to NALP, earn a starting salary of about $42,000 annually. Earnings for those employed by private law firms, meanwhile, start at approximately $103,000.
"Today's graduates often face mortgage-sized debt," explains Stern, whose organization pushed for the passing of CCRAA. "Our goal is simple - we want to ensure that educational debt is not a hindrance to individuals wanting to pursue what have historically been lower paying public service jobs."
The increase in loan forgiveness programs at law schools has helped as well. This year, for example, Michigan Law introduced a new Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which supplements the government's Income-Based Repayment. Lawyers who earn less than $50,287 in 2011 are eligible to receive a payment from Michigan Law equivalent to the entire annual IBR payment. In other words, law graduates at that income level will not have to make any payments to their loans.
Morriss, who is enrolling in a similar LRAP offered by Georgetown Law School, agrees that such programs make her career goals attainable. "I do not pay anything [towards federal student loans] unless I stop working in the nonprofit sector," she says. "Without Georgetown's LRAP program and Income-Based Repayment, I would not financially be able to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector. My monthly payments on my student loans would be too large to afford to work for the lower salary that is common in the nonprofit and public interest world."
