Public Works

3 Funding Sources for Summer Internships

So you know about PSLawNet's Summer Funding Resources site.  If you don't, you should check it out here.  It's a great way to find grants to supplement your PILA application.

Here are 3 other funding sources that you should also check out:

1. The Monroe Leigh Fellowship in International Law.  This is a generous fellowship funded by Class of 1947 alumnus Monroe Leigh for Virginia Law students working at summer internships in their 1L or 2L years (and for postgraduate fellowships). Total of $10,000 for 1 or 2 students.  Deadline: February 8, 2012.  More information here: Download Monroe Leigh Fellowship 2012.

2. Raven Society Fellowships. Another great U.Va. institution - and you don't have to be a member of this elite society to apply. Several fellowships of up to $2,500 are awarded to support innovative undergraduate and graduate research projects. Special consideration will be given to proposed projects with a distinctly interdisciplinary focus. Applications are due February 17th at 5pm. For more information, contact the Raven Society at http://www.uvaravensociety.com/ and see the attachment here: Download The Raven Fellowship 2012

3. James B. McMillan Public Service Fellowships.  For students working at qualifying  North Carolina public service organizations (the list is big - legal aids, prosecution, public defender, etc.), stipends of up to $3,000 are awarded. You don't apply directly to the grantor, the Mecklenburg Bar Foundation, but your employer applies. If you're interested, let us know and we'll send you the list of eligible organizations.

Good luck!

EJW Public Service Loan Forgiveness Webinar

Equal Justice Works just announced an upcoming webinar that will address important aspects of public service loan forgiveness including: (1) how to qualify for public service loan forgiveness, (2) how the new Income-Based Repayment plan works, and (3) how to determine how much you can benefit.

Wednesday, August 18, 12:00 -1:30PM - Getting your student loans forgiven: How government and nonprofit employees can earn public service loan forgiveness.  Space is limited - participants are required to register here. 

The presenter is Heather Jarvis, Senior Program Manager at EJW.  An attorney, Jarvis is a leading national expert on public service loan forgiveness.

Information on the Virginia Loan Forgiveness Program is available here (Office of Financial Aid).

Loan Forgiveness for Civil Legal Assistance Attorneys

by YARED GETACHEW

A new loan repayment assistance program for civil legal aid attorneys will be available soon.  The Civil Legal  Assistance Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program (CLAAP) will repay a portion of eligible federal student loan debt for civil legal assistance attorneys who are employed full-time. The new program, which began as the "Harkin Bill," has made five million dollars available for distribution to qualified civil legal assistance attorneys with federal student loan debt. Applications are expected to be due by August 16, 2010, but the Department of Education will assign these funds to eligible civil legal assistance attorneys on a first-come, first-serve basis.

My reading of the program reveals that there are various permutations involved for both eligibility and the amount of loan forgiveness disbursed.  To help clarify the program, Equal Justice Works has prepared and posted a comprehensive CLAAP webpage. Heather Jarvis of Equal Justice Works will also host two webinars on the subject, both at noon on June 17 and  July 7, 2010.

PPT: Non-PILA Funding

by YARED GETACHEW

Thanks to Erin Crowgey for her excellent presentation today and for our three panelists - Sara Wood, Brian Wright, and Peyton Smith. Attached is today's Powerpoint presentation on alternative sources of funding for first and second year students who will work in volunteer or low-paying public interest positions this summer.

My previous blog posting on this subject is available here. I also mentioned PSLawNet's summer funding page (click on logo above).  Please do not hesitate to contact us (publicservicelaw) or Erin Crowgey (epc4j) if you need assistance with your application.  Good luck.

Download Summer Fellowships 2010

Equal Justice Works Loan Forgiveness Webinar

by YARED GETACHEW

On Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at 12:00PM, Heather Jarvis, Equal Justice Works' Senior Program Manager, will offer a free webinar that explains the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.  The presentation will be extremely helpful to students and graduates interested in learning about Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Registration is required to join the event: here.

Heather Jarvis is a leading national expert on public service loan forgiveness. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the ABA Section of Legal Education’s Committee on Government Relations and Student Financial Aid.

Past webinars are available on EJW's site (here and here); however, the live webinar will allow you to ask questions during and after the presentation.  I also suspect Heather will touch on the president's recent proposal to improve IBR.

Financing your Public Interest Summer Internship

by YARED GETACHEW

The primary source of funding for students who accept low-paying or unpaid public service internships during the summer are PILA grants.  The fellowships are funded by voluntary contributions to PILA and matched by a grant from the Law School Foundation.  PILA funds as many applicants as possible each year; however, the percentage of applicants receiving grants changes each year due to fluctuations in funds and number of applicants.  Any first- or second-year student who will work in volunteer or low-paying public interest positions this summer AND who has satisfied the public service requirement is eligible to apply.  Second-year and transfer students  may apply during the fall or spring application periods; first-year students can only apply during the spring semester. 

Other sources of funding that first and second year students have commonly secured for summer work with a public service employer include:

(1) Claire Corcoran Award  ($1500 or $750): presented to one or two 2Ls who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to public interest work (through faculty nominations);

Upcoming Student Debt Relief Webinars

Legal Aid Wealth

All the Lifestyle that Legal Aid Wages Can Buy
CARYN TAMBER
The Daily Record (MD), June 5, 2009

The Daily Record writes:  

When Janine A. Scott started at the [LSC-funded] Legal Aid Bureau more than 10 years ago, her salary was $28,000 a year.  She soon discovered that she loved the work, but the money was a sticking point. How could she have the kind of life she wanted on such a paltry salary?  'I wanted to stay, and so I became motivated to make the salary work within what my expenses are,' said Scott, 38, who is now the supervising attorney for the domestic law unit at Legal Aid.  Scott, who briefly worked as an accountant before going to law school, sat down and made a list of all of her financial goals. There were a lot of them: She wanted to pay down her law school and credit card debt, buy a house and travel once a year . . . .  She looked at her going-out spending habits and determined that she should create a 'fun account' and keep it at $250 at all times . . . .  Scott said she has achieved her goals by meticulously charting every bit of money that comes in and goes out.  She waits for sales on clothing and discount deals on travel, and she would not dream of buying snacks from a vending machine when she could get them in bulk from Target or Wal-Mart for so much less...

To learn more about Scott and her book, visit her website.

Effective as of July 1, 2009: The College Cost Reduction & Access Act

On July 1, 2009, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) became fully effective making   Income-Based Repayment available for borrowers.  Graduates working full-time in government and nonprofit positions are eligible to earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness.  Students interest in learning about public service loan forgiveness or income-based repayment are encouraged to check Equal Justice Works' Student Debt Relief page here.  Additional information on the Act is also available on EJW's blog.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (College Cost Reduction & Access Act)

We participated in one of EJW's webinars on the College Cost Reduction & Access Act's Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (effective July 2010).  We found it extremely informative.  The final presentation is on Wednesday, June 24 (at 3:15 - 4:45pm EDT; 2:15pm CDT; 12:15pm PDT). The presenter is Heather Jarvis, Esq., a national expert on educational debt and the financial barriers facing law graduates.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is one of the most significant breakthroughs for public interest lawyers in a generation. Briefly, the program offers loan forgiveness after 10-years of public service employment. To qualify for loan forgiveness, a borrower must make monthly loan payments for ten years (120 payments) while working full-time in qualifying public service employment.  Qualifying public service employment is full-time paid work in the government; a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, an AmeriCorps position, the PeaceCorps, or a private "public service organization."