DAs and attorneys call on gov to expand atty loan forgiveness program
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A coalition of district attorneys, public defenders and union representatives have called on Governor Kathy Hochul to allocate $4 million in the 2026 Executive Budget to expand student loan aid for attorneys working in the public sector. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
By Noah Powelson
As the end of the year approaches, the New York legal community this week made their pitch to Governor Kathy Hochul for expanding student loan assistance for attorneys working in the public sector, who often get paid far less than their private sector counterparts.
Nearly 40 different legal organizations and prosecutors’ offices signed an open letter to the governor on Wednesday, urging her to allocate $4 million in her upcoming 2026 executive budget for the District Attorney and Indigent Legal Service Attorney Loan Forgiveness Program, otherwise known as DALF.
Currently, the DALF program, which was created in 2009 and hasn’t seen any adjustments since, is capped at $3,400 in loan forgiveness per year with six years of eligibility per law school graduate. In total, graduates can be rewarded as high as $20,400 in debt forgiveness.
The proposed $4 million is an estimated cost to enable legislation, introduced by New York State Senator Jessica Ramos, that would increase student loan aid from $3,400 to $8,000 annually, for up to eight years, or for a total award eligibility of up to $64,000.
Ramos, who recently launched a bid for New York City mayor, said that the bill would go a long way toward properly compensating young attorneys working for local prosecutors or as public defenders, many of whom have racked up years of debt at law school.
“Public defenders are a constitutional right, and they are not immune from our state’s affordability crisis,” Ramos said in a statement. “With the federal tides changing and aggressive attacks on student loan forgiveness and public service loan support, New York has to step up. It is patently unacceptable that Legal Aid attorneys have to pick up instacart or Uber shifts on top of their already serious case loads, and expanding [DALF] is a great way to address this crisis.”
The letter’s signatories included the Legal Aid Society, UAW Local 2325, the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
According to the coalition’s letter, loan assistance for public interest attorneys and assistant district attorneys falls behind registered nurses and social workers, who are eligible for up to $40,000 and $26,000 in loan assistance respectively.
“The need for dedicated and experienced public interest attorneys who can provide essential legal services for hundreds of thousands of low-income New Yorkers is critical, now more than ever,” Twyla Carter, the CEO The Legal Aid Society, said. “But cripplingly high student loan payments, coupled with the ever-increasing cost of living in New York City, continue to pose a significant threat to the ability of these attorneys to remain in the public sector.”
State Senator Jessica Ramos introduced legislation in 2023 which would have expanded the District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness program. The bill failed to pass the previous two sessions, and will likely be reintroduced in 2025. AP file photo by Hans Pennink
District attorney and public defender offices across the city have seen high attrition rates and have struggled to recruit enough attorneys to tackle ever growing caseloads since the onset of the pandemic. Recruitment issues are particularly present for assigned counsel attorneys, who represent indigent clients reliant on public services to receive representation.
According to the American Bar Association, the average law graduate student finishes their education with $130,000 in student loan debt. As tuition for law school continues to climb each year, and as the federal pause for student loan repayments expired last year, advocates say further investment is crucial to encourage new attorneys to enter the field.
“District attorney’s offices across the state have been experiencing a crisis when it comes to recruitment and retention," Michael McMahon, the president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, said. "The combination of lower public service salaries and a constantly increasing cost of living leads to talented practitioners leaving our offices for the private sector. Increasing the amount of student loan repayment assistance provided by DALF will make a big impact on incentivizing assistant district attorneys to continue using their talents to serve the public interest."
The letter comes as many fear what a second term of president-elect Donald Trump, who has openly criticized President Biden’s student loan forgiveness policies, would mean for student loan assistance programs.
Ramos’ bill was passed the State Senate with strong bipartisan support in the 2023 session but ultimately died in the Assembly. The bill was reintroduced for the 2024 session, passing the Senate again, this time unanimously. It was referred to the Higher Education committee in the Assembly in March 2024, where it sat untouched.
The letter to the governor indicates the bill is likely to be reintroduced in the 2025 legislative session, and the large coalition of district attorneys, public defender organizations and unions said their support for the legislation remains strong.
Jane Fox, chapter chair of the Legal Aid Society Attorneys union, part of the UAW Local 2325, which represents over 3,000 legal services workers statewide, said coalition members understand how necessary expanded funding is to address recruitment issues.
“This community, on both sides of the aisle, have been hit extremely hard with the attrition crisis due to the pandemic and growing cost of living in the city,” Fox told the Eagle. “For our members, and this is likely to be true for district attorneys as well, your student loan bills tend to be your second highest bill.”
For many attorneys, Fox said, a few hundred dollars increase in monthly student loan payments could be the tipping point that drives them out of the state, or out of public practice altogether.
“This bill is to avoid a potential crisis situation,” Fox said. "Let's put this in place now so we don't lose people in the future, because we know how hard it is to get people back when they leave."
