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Justice 360 is staffed by all Cornell alumni and works closely with the law school.

July 27, 2024

Cornell Law Expands Public Service Loan Repayment Assistance Program to Become Most Generous in T-14

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Cornell Law School, known for its high placement of graduates in private-sector law firms, recently made a notable move to support its public-sector graduates.

About 69 percent of Cornell Law’s Class of 2023 entered Big Law, corporate-centric law firms with approximately 251 or more lawyers, within 10 months of graduating. The figure dwarfs the national average of approximately 20 percent. 

However, beginning in June 2024, it raised its salary cap for full federal loan reimbursement for graduates in public service from $80,000 to $120,000. It also began providing partial reimbursements for graduates earning between $120,000 and $150,000.

These changes apply to Cornell Law’s Public Service Loan Repayment Assistance Program and benefit new alumni who graduated within the last 10 years and work domestically or internationally with governments, labor unions or nonprofit organizations.

Among law schools, LRAPs are loan forgiveness programs designed to alleviate the debt of graduates who pursue public service careers.

In a statement to The Sun shared by Cornell Media Relations, Cornell Law wrote that it made the changes because it recognized that the $80,000 salary cap was no longer meeting the needs of public interest alumni and hoped to expand LRAP’s accessibility.

Over 100 out of approximately 197 American Bar Association-approved law schools offer loan repayment assistance for public service graduates, including all of the U.S. News and World Report’s 14 highest-ranked law schools. Cornell is currently tied for 14th in the rankings. 

Most of the T-14 has salary caps for full repayment ranging from approximately $55,000 to $85,000. Harvard Law School and New York University School of Law previously had the highest full reimbursement caps in the T-14 at $110,000. 

Since its increase, Cornell has offered the highest salary caps for full reimbursement within the T-14.

Cornell Law also explained that it allows students to utilize LRAP in non-consecutive years and holds a broad definition of qualifying employment.

“Based on our research, we believe [we now offer] the most generous, flexible and expansive LRAP in the nation,” Cornell Law wrote.

According to Cornell Law, LRAPs can be critical for the “economic survival” of graduates pursuing public interest roles.

The median full-time salary for Cornell Law’s Class of 2023 was $215,000, approximately in line with the average Big Law salary for first-year associates.

However, this $215,000 average is roughly double the salary of lawyers with over 15 years of experience in public interest, civil legal service and public defender careers.

Likewise, Cornell Law tuition for the 2023-2024 year was $77,593 and average debt was approximately $163,000, which may make public interest pay seem financially precarious to new graduates.

Griffin Perrault grad received the Charles Evan Hughes Scholarship, which is considered the most prestigious merit scholarship at Cornell Law and provides full tuition and living expenses for all three academic years of the J.D. degree.

Still, pursuing a public interest career has raised financial obstacles for Perrault.

“At my [public interest] summer job, I am making roughly one-sixth of what an average Big Law summer associate makes, and a significant portion of that funding for the summer is coming out of my student loans for the following fall,” Perrault said.

Perrault received a Public Interest Fellowship Grant — funding from Cornell Law for his internship. 

The PIF and LRAP are separate initiatives but both concern public interest law.

Per federal work-study mandates, PIF recipients have their net earnings — wages minus job-related costs and taxes — subtracted from expenses associated with the financial need for their next enrollment period.

Students with unmet financial needs per FAFSA guidelines and due to the PIF may contact Cornell Law’s Financial Aid Office for reconsideration assistance.

Perrault explained that while he benefits from his full-ride scholarship, many public interest students pursue lower-paying careers but need to take out substantial loans which necessitates improved financial support and career guidance. 

Mimi Goldberg J.D. ’24 was a public interest J.D. candidate and is an incoming fellow at the National Employment Law Project, where she will assist immigrants and other workers of color.

Goldberg stated that a significant factor for her choosing Cornell Law was its clinical programs, which she described as being widely available, flexible and advantageous for students looking to gain hands-on experience in public interest law.

However, throughout Goldberg’s time at Cornell Law, most of the Cornell Law peers that she knew abandoned public interest pursuits due to career insecurity and lack of guidance. 

Calls for increased public interest support were also reflected in a 2023 survey conducted by the Cornell Law Students Association, which received responses from 113 students.

In response to the question, “What does Cornell Law need to improve on,” several students called for improved public interest support. 

According to Cornell Law, students and alumni have responded favorably to the public interest loan expansion.

“Our student and alumni response has been overwhelmingly positive and has opened the door to a significant population of recent Cornell Law graduates who are applying for this program,” Cornell Law wrote.

Perrault stated that he was “thrilled” to hear about the increases and that they were a “step in the right direction,” albeit further administrative support for public interest students was in order.

Goldberg similarly praised the increases.

“The salary cap increases were long overdue and [are an] extremely exciting development,” Goldberg said.

She explained that prior to the increases, few students were eligible for the program or would become ineligible within a year or two of graduating, since the cap was $80,000 and the starting salary for New York City public interest jobs was roughly $75,000-$80,000. The majority of Cornell Law graduates work in New York State immediately after graduation.

She stated, “I think the increase will make a substantial difference in the lives of graduates and for current students who are deciding whether or not to go into public interest law.”

Christine Savino is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].