Adam Laughton considered going into public service law when he first started at the School of Law.
But now as a married third-year student, Laughton said he has to worry about supporting his wife and children in the future.
He is one of a number of law students whose worries over student loan debt prevent them from taking lower-paying jobs in public assistance sectors such as the government, non-profits and the military.
"Its scary. Many of our students who come to law school already have undergraduate debt, and they are very concerned about it," said Bill Hoye, associate dean for admissions and financial aid at the law school.
An recently announced Harvard Law School Public Service Initiative may help students who want to take jobs in public service law face less debt worries.
The program forgives the third year of law school tuition for qualified students who commit to five years of public service law after graduation.
"This would provide a generous benefit while you are still in school," said Mike Armini, director of communications at HLS. "For some students, that would be a serious incentive to consider public interest law."
HLS already has a loan repayment program to assist students with debt, and the new initiative will operate in addition to that program.
Students entering HLS this fall-the Class of 2011-will be the first class to take full advantage of the program. Current first-year and second-year law students will be able to receive $5,000 and $10,000 tuition grants, respectively, if they meet requirements.
Hoye said he thinks assistance programs are necessary for law students, but he noted that the future success of this particular program is unclear.
Duke has a generous loan assistance repayment program, which has been in effect since 1997 and provides a quarter of a million dollars in loan payments to students each year, Hoye added.
Additionally, students with debt who take lower-paying jobs in public service can qualify for significant reductions in loan payments, and the federal government will forgive a graduate's entire debt after 10 years of service, whether consecutive or not.
Usually about 10 percent of School of Law graduates go into public service, said Tia Barnes, director of public interest and J.D. advising at the Career and Professional Development Center.
"A lot of people come into law school with the sense that they want to help other people," she said.
But Gerald Wilson, senior associate dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and a pre-law adviser, said few of the Duke students he has known have ended up in public service law.
"I say, look, when you are out of law school, send me your signature on a letterhead," he said. "In all of these years I have had two students who sent me their signature and it was a public service situation."
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