AccessLex Institute Research
Student Debt, COVID-19 Relief, and Loan Forgiveness: Perspectives from Today’s Young Lawyers
Document Type
Issue/Research Brief/Blog
Publication Date
9-2024
Keywords
law students, student loan debt, loan forgiveness, law school diversity
Abstract
Over the last few years, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (ABA YLD) has used data from its members to sound the alarm on student loan debt trends and the impact of student loan debt on early career attorneys who are under the age of 36 or were first admitted to practice within the last 10 years. The 2020 and 2021 Student Debt Surveys elucidated the ways in which education debt tangibly burdens relatively new J.D. recipients—most of whom are in the process of building their careers and lives. Both surveys’ results indicated that those with the highest debt balances are more often to report delaying or forgoing significant life events, (e.g., marriage, homebuying, and having children). Further, the 2021 Report demonstrated that the impacts of debt are not felt equally among all young lawyers; lawyers of color are disproportionately likely to have borrowed for their education, carry high debt balances, and see their debt balances grow after graduation.
The 2024 survey results reaffirm the above findings while offering new insights regarding young lawyers’ experiences with the COVID-19 student loan repayment pause, their plans in the event of loan forgiveness, their satisfaction with loan servicers, and their mindsets regarding work-life balance. The survey results also illustrate notable differences in borrowing and debt effects by respondent characteristics, including first-generation college status.
These results serve a dual purpose of both highlighting the challenges of student loan debt for young attorneys and pointing the way to potential interventions and policy solutions that could serve to relieve financial stress not only for young lawyers but also for the millions of Americans shouldering the weight of education debt. The full report provides a robust overview of the findings summarized above and offers recommendations for how we can better support early career professionals who uphold the rule of law in our society.
