Reuters, ‘$10K Doesn’t Make a Big Difference.’ Law Grads Lukewarm on Debt Forgiveness Plan:
Forgiving $10,000 or $20,000 of federal student loan debt may not be a game-changer for most debt-strapped lawyers, but experts say other provisions in the White House’s new debt-relief plan could save attorney borrowers far more over time. …
The plan is a mixed bag for lawyers. Biden did not restrict forgiveness to undergraduate borrowers as some had feared, meaning loans taken out to fund law school are eligible. Borrowers qualify if they earned less than $125,000 individually or who had family incomes of less than $250,000 in either 2020 or 2021.
But $10,000 or even $20,000 may not make a significant dent for many lawyers. Nearly 71% of law students leave campus with student loans, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and their average debt hovers around $138,500 — higher than any other field besides medicine.
The income cap means that lawyers working in large, corporate law firms — where even first-year salaries can surpass $200,000 — won’t qualify for forgiveness. But many working in public service or small to midsized law firms will qualify. …
Cassaundra Gonzalez, a 2021 law graduate who earns $65,000 as an immigration attorney at a small firm in Western Massachusetts, said she qualifies for the $10,000 forgiveness off her $138,000 loan balance. “Not to sound ungrateful, but the $10,000 doesn’t make a big difference for me,” she said Thursday.
