Last weekend, the Virginia State Bar held their 70th Annual Meeting at Virginia Beach. The event was attended by lawyers from across the Commonwealth. Most attendees were solo practitioners or lawyers from small towns who use the conference as a networking tool and to garner CLE credit. I too secured some CLE credit from the event.
The Foundation hosted a breakfast on Saturday morning for Law School alumni. We invited Yared Getachew, the Director of the Public Service program at the Law School, to address our alumni.
Yared is a 1998 graduate of the Law School. He practiced law for many years before returning to the Law School in 2006. His experience is very diverse. He was a judicial law clerk, a prosecutor, and as a legal advisor, appeared before a Claims Commission at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands. The Law School is truly lucky to have someone of his caliber lead such an important program as public service.
I wanted Yared to speak to our alumni to showcase the Foundation’s commitment to public service and the Virginia Loan Forgiveness Program. Since student financial aid is our chief campaign priority, it is important for us to take every chance we can to better explain the generosity of our Program.
Unlike most schools, Virginia offers a true loan FORGIVENESS plan and not simply a loan DEFERRAL plan. This message has the virtue of truth in advertising and points up the hidden conditions of our peers' programs.
We don't have to identify other law schools by name but suffice it to say, at our peer schools there are vesting requirements and/or asset tests that limit forgiveness.
Our Program has us paying about $500K annually to carry over 50 young graduates in public interest positions at home (mostly) and abroad. Loan forgiveness is equivalent to back-end scholarship support. It makes public service feasible to young graduates who might otherwise feel coerced to go immediately into the private sector to meet their student loan obligations.
Yared explained his interactions with our students and the various opportunities our students pursue. He explained those who elect careers in small towns throughout the Commonwealth are also eligible for the Program. This is something that seemed to resonate well with our alumni.
We returned to Charlottesville on Sunday and began preparations for the final week of our fiscal year. This is the time we make our big push to increase our annual giving participation numbers. I’ll give you an update later in the week as to how well we’re doing.
