Growing Program Helps UC Davis Law Grads Serve Public
Low-income residents and senior citizens from five Northern California counties depend on Emily Fisher in Chico for free legal assistance with everything from eviction notices to harassing creditors.
The legal aid attorney is there to help because a UC Davis School of Law program -- newly expanded and expected to triple in size by 2009 -- helps repay the educational debts of graduates like Fisher, whose passion to serve the public leads them to low-paying jobs.
The expansion of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which provides graduates with thousands of dollars in loans and grants, comes at a critical time as low-income people struggle for access to justice.
Rex Perschbacher, dean of the law school, said the loan program is essential for students who are caught in a "double vice" between low salaries at nonprofit organizations and hefty student debt.
Currently, UC Davis law students pay $24,360 in annual fees and graduate with an average debt of $57,600. Entry-level public service jobs pay $30,000 to $40,000, while jobs with large firms start at about $135,000, he said.
"Our law school has been in the lead in California in encouraging our students to pursue careers in public interest and public service," said the dean, adding that the school offers a certificate program in public service law and operates four legal clinics.
Fisher, a staff attorney in the Butte regional office of Legal Services of Northern California, said the loan program was one of the reasons she chose to study at UC Davis. "I wanted to do something connected with activism and working on social justice issues," she
said.
When the UC Davis program was established in 1990, it was the first of its type at a public law school in California, and it has provided more than $50,000 in assistance to about a dozen graduates annually.
The school recently revised the program, supported by donations and a percentage of fees returned to financial aid, to keep pace with trends in the placement of its graduates and with salaries at major legal aid organizations. It now includes government positions, and the qualifying salary cap was raised from $40,000 to $53,000.
Fisher, who had accumulated $70,000 in student debt, started at the legal aid clinic in 2004 at $30,000 a year and now earns $37,000.
Her loan payments are $750 a month, and the law school provides her with an interest-free loan that covers about 80 percent of those payments. In the third year, the UC Davis program begins to forgive a percentage of its own loan, and after five years, the payments from UC Davis effectively become grants.
"It really reflects the values of the law school," Fisher said of the program.
Media contact(s):
* Julia Ann Easley, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-8248, [email protected]
The legal aid attorney is there to help because a UC Davis School of Law program -- newly expanded and expected to triple in size by 2009 -- helps repay the educational debts of graduates like Fisher, whose passion to serve the public leads them to low-paying jobs.
The expansion of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which provides graduates with thousands of dollars in loans and grants, comes at a critical time as low-income people struggle for access to justice.
Rex Perschbacher, dean of the law school, said the loan program is essential for students who are caught in a "double vice" between low salaries at nonprofit organizations and hefty student debt.
Currently, UC Davis law students pay $24,360 in annual fees and graduate with an average debt of $57,600. Entry-level public service jobs pay $30,000 to $40,000, while jobs with large firms start at about $135,000, he said.
"Our law school has been in the lead in California in encouraging our students to pursue careers in public interest and public service," said the dean, adding that the school offers a certificate program in public service law and operates four legal clinics.
Fisher, a staff attorney in the Butte regional office of Legal Services of Northern California, said the loan program was one of the reasons she chose to study at UC Davis. "I wanted to do something connected with activism and working on social justice issues," she
said.
When the UC Davis program was established in 1990, it was the first of its type at a public law school in California, and it has provided more than $50,000 in assistance to about a dozen graduates annually.
The school recently revised the program, supported by donations and a percentage of fees returned to financial aid, to keep pace with trends in the placement of its graduates and with salaries at major legal aid organizations. It now includes government positions, and the qualifying salary cap was raised from $40,000 to $53,000.
Fisher, who had accumulated $70,000 in student debt, started at the legal aid clinic in 2004 at $30,000 a year and now earns $37,000.
Her loan payments are $750 a month, and the law school provides her with an interest-free loan that covers about 80 percent of those payments. In the third year, the UC Davis program begins to forgive a percentage of its own loan, and after five years, the payments from UC Davis effectively become grants.
"It really reflects the values of the law school," Fisher said of the program.
Media contact(s):
* Julia Ann Easley, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-8248, [email protected]