New loan program encourages public interest/public service careers

Southern University Law Center has established a new program for its graduates to support the recruitment and retention of qualified staff attorneys who desire to enter and remain in public service/interest employment.

"We seek to encourage our graduates to engage in public interest occupations and remain in public service. To that end, I am pleased to announce the Law Center's Loan Reduction Assistance Program (LRAP)," Chancellor Freddie Pitcher Jr., recently stated.

The program is open to full-time attorneys (35 + hours a week) at qualifying public service organizations and earning from $40,000 to $50,000 a year. The need for the program has been identified for graduates who have incurred significant debt to finance their law school education, but want to enter the public service sector.

Benefits will be disbursed in the form of one-year loans, maximum of $3,000, which will be forgiven annually provided the applicant satisfies certain criteria. All participants are required to reapply annually, up to a total period of three years. The deadline for submitting applications for LRAP assistance is August 15, with an update deadline of February 15.

For more information about the program, contact program coordinator Ruth Bailey Wesley, (225) 771-2552.