Will a public sector job after law school repay your student loans?
I’ve wanted to be a lawyer for a long time and I’m applying to law schools next fall. My dad is a criminal defense attorney and that’s something I might be interested in pursuing. He said that I could work for him someday but he wants me to work either in the prosecutor’s or public defender’s office for experience. Neither of those appeals to me very much but if I did go that route I’d want to be a public defender. However, he says that some counties are now offering to pay off your law school loans in return for three years of service in their offices. Does anyone know more about this and how widespread it is and what the requirements are?
I agree with the first poster re: what the counties requirements are, but it usually isn’t that quick (because then, after 3 years, they know you’d leave). If they help you repay the loans, it is usually a set amount per month (like $500) which obviously wouldn’t cover the entire law school loan.
There is a program through the federal government that will pay off whatever loans which are REMAINING after 10 years. See this article from the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-perfin29-2008jun29,0,4908212.column
