Well, it’s been a long
semester, filled with twists and turns, but I’ve finally decided on my call for
change. I suggest that the government should allow pro bono hours to be applied
toward alleviating law school student loan debt.
About two weeks ago, I finally decided to attend BYU Law, and the main factor was the price. I felt like I would have more freedom to actually serve people when I graduated if I graduated with as little debt as possible. However, not all people are as lucky as I am to go to a school that provides a fairly cost-effective option. Some graduates find themselves saddled with six-figure debt that severely impedes the options they have to serve others because instead of serving the poorer community, they need to work to pay off their student loan debt.
Earlier this semester, my
call to change involved seniority and tenure in schools, and although this
seems a drastic change from that idea, the two are somewhat related in that
they both stem from education. The idea of pedagogy evolved around the 1700s
when the value of public education was beginning to be realized. Developing
systematic ways of teaching the masses led to a move from apprenticeships
leading to a law career to formal schooling leading to a law career. The first
law school in the United States was established in 1784. Shortly thereafter,
the American Bar Association began regulating those law schools and the law
profession in general, and its 50 hours per year of pro bono work became the
standard accepted amount.
As I explain in this
post, that requirement isn’t being met. Government subsidized service hours
could help lawyers meet the requirement and help the government save money on
services for those whom the lawyers would serve.
When I discussed this idea
with my wife, she gave me another idea that helped expand my mode of
communication, or at least the breadth of communication on this issue. She suggested
that the same idea could go toward med school loans or dental school loans. I
thought about expanding my communication to include those professions, but
since I’m personally invested in law school, I focused on the law school aspect
of this to keep my communication simple. However, I do feel like this idea
could be applicable to a large number of graduate type programs. It certainly
could be a difference maker in the lives of recent law school graduates.
Update
Update
With my call to change, I
debated within myself to call for lower tuition rates, but I ended up going for
a more moderate approach in the spirit of spretzatura. Essentially, I recognize
that there are so many differing opinions on the subject and so many interests
that lowering tuition outright isn’t feasible. Slowing tuition rates is, but
that didn’t solve the debt issue. Instead, I attempted a compromise that would
benefit both sides of the issue instead of a one side takes all agreement.
My idea is not to replace
state appointed attorneys, but to rather complement them in areas that they don’t
deal with. State appointed attorneys occur in criminal suits, but they don’t
occur in areas like insurance claims or landlord/tenant disagreements. Rather
than providing service where the government already has employees, lawyers
could provide service in other areas that the government does not employ
attorneys but areas that would improve the community.
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ReplyDeleteI like how this is applicable to you, and to all of us in a very real way. Good choice in audience - and good approach in the idea that this will allow you to help others more, sooner, since you're not spending time paying off debt. My question is, how would this play with the cost of tuition/other financial aid you can get from the government? Would they just foot the bill, or replace state appointed (and paid) attorneys in certain cases with pro bono lawyers paying off debt, and maintain costs that way?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your presentation, and like Joe thought that your personal examples were wonderful. You presented your argument well, however it did take me a while to discern what you were trying to call into change. As I understand it, you are asking for something mostly policy-based where the government will allow loans to be forgiven through pro-bono hours. This is an excellent suggestion, however I feel we are on the cusp of a revolution in higher education, particularly because there are so many student loans. My question then, is what possible solutions would you see to lower tuition, rather than simply "fix" debt after the fact. Why have tuition costs exploded, and what can we do to make education more accessible from the start, rather than just possible to work off at the end?
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