The statewide Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) is launching its fourth year of helping lawyers employed in IOLTA-funded civil legal services organizations better manage their college and law school debts with expanded financial eligibility criteria. LRAP loans are available to repay loans incurred for undergraduate and law school educational costs and are forgiven at the end of each year if eligibility requirements are met.

Eligible attorneys will have until October 15, 2013 to submit the online application for loan assistance that will be available at www.paioltagrants.org starting on September 3, 2013.

The LRAP program provides for one-year loans, payable to qualified attorneys quarterly, with a 12-month employment requirement at an IOLTA-funded organization. Providing a participating attorney remains in qualified employment and continues to meet the program’s other eligibility requirements, the attorney can apply for and receive up to ten, one-year loans over his/her tenure in qualified employment. The LRAP loans must be used to repay loans incurred for undergraduate and law school educational costs and are forgiven at the end of each year if the eligibility requirements have been met.

The loan assistance program provides first year program participants with annual net student loan debt service of $3,500 or more with a maximum loan of $3,500; second year participants with annual net student loan debt service of $4,500 with a maximum loan of $4,500; and those who continue in the program for three or more years and have annual net student loan debt service of $6,000 or more with a maximum loan of $6,000.
 
Those applying for loan assistance this fall will be able to benefit from expanded financial eligibility criteria allowing a qualified lawyer whose gross salary exceeds the yearly salary cap to still qualify for the program if his/her annual net debt service is equal to or greater than 10 percent of his/her gross salary.  
 
"The change will make it easier for attorneys employed in Pennsylvania's metropolitan center where gross salaries tend to be higher to qualify for assistance, and hopefully encourage more senior attorneys whose gross salaries reflect their many years of service to apply as well," said Grace R. Schuyler, president, Pennsylvania Bar Foundation.

Funding for the statewide LRAP comes from an IOLTA Board grant to the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation. The grant is funded by the fees charged to out-of-state lawyers who wish to make an appearance in a Pennsylvania court. In its first three years, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation - PA IOLTA Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) awarded more than $900,000 in loan assistance to 116 attorneys.
 
The program is made possible by the leadership of Chief Justice Ronald Castille and Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and is administered by the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts Board.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation – PA IOLTA LRAP visit http://www.pabarfoundation.org/lrap/lrap.aspx.