On Sept. 1, the Pennsylvania statewide loan repayment assistance program begins its second year of helping attorneys employed in IOLTA-funded civil legal services organizations better manage their law school debt so they can continue to provide free legal assistance to Pennsylvania's poor and disadvantaged.

First-year program participants with annual net student loan debt service of $3,500 or more will be able to receive a maximum loan of $3,500. Second-year participants with annual net student loan debt service of $4,500 or more will be able to receive a maximum loan of $4,500. Those who continue in the program for three or more years and have annual net student loan debt service of $6,000 or more will be able to receive a maximum loan of $6,000.

"We are cautiously optimistic that the increasing levels of support will help make the decision to remain in a career of public service an easier one for these talented and dedicated lawyers," said recently-elected Pennsylvania Bar Foundation President Alfred Jones, Jr.

In its first year, the program awarded nearly $250,000 in loans to 75 lawyers employed at 15 different civil legal services organizations in Pennsylvania.

Funding for LRAP comes from an IOLTA Board grant that is administered by the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation. That grant is funded by the fees charged to out-of-state lawyers who wish to make an appearance in a Pennsylvania court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision to double the fee in 2010, allowed the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation to propose an expanded program to the court in 2011. For more information about the program and loan repayment assistance eligibility, visit the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation website.