The Bar
Foundation is pleased to forgive $99,000 in loan repayment for 27 civil legal
aid attorneys in South Carolina. This was the third year of awards through the Ness-Blatt Loan Repayment
Assistance pushing totals upwards of $420,000.
The Foundation’s LRAP name honors the public
service commitment exemplified by Chief Justice Julius “Bubba”
Ness and Speaker Sol Blatt.
The burden of debt that faces lawyers working in the civil legal
aid arena is staggering.
LRAP assistance is
considered a forgivable loan. To have the loan forgiven, a
participant shall complete a year of employment with a
qualifying employer and make educational debt payments (interest
and/or principal) that equal at least the amount of Foundation
and other LRAP assistance received during the award year. In
forgiving the awards for years of service at the organization,
the Foundation is hopeful that more hard-working and dedicated
legal services lawyers will be able to remain in the legal
services arena.
There are no funds available
through the Ness-Blatt LRAP program for FY 11. The Foundation
has worked with its grantees to develop a supplemental loan
repayment program to continue its work with recruitment and
retention of civil legal aid attorneys.
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