6/4/07

If money is keeping you from the legal job of your dreams, or if you laugh at your monthly student loan tab just to keep from crying, then the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section has the program for you.

On Thursday, June 21, the Young Lawyers Section will provide tips for managing student debt at a panel discussion titled, “Lifting the Burden: Removing Law School Debt as a Barrier to Public Service.” The program will analyze the problem, offer strategies and solutions, and examine the feasibility of establishing loan repayment assistance programs more broadly in Michigan.

"With tuition on the rise, many law school students graduate with exorbitant student loan debt," said Brandy Robinson, the event chairperson. "Government, administrative, and public interest salaries have not kept pace, and many new lawyers forego careers in the public sector for greener financial pastures. At a time when communities are in crisis, we cannot afford for talented young lawyers to feel priced out of pursuing a public service career.”

Panelists include Gail Perry-Mason, first vice-president of Oppenheimer & Co. and nationally acclaimed co-author of Girl, Make Your Money Grow!; Mark Fancher of the American Civil Liberties Union; Katherine Gottschalk, dean of the University of Michigan Law School financial aid office, which administers the state’s largest loan repayment assistance program; and state Rep. Bert C. Johnson, who will examine the issue from a policy perspective.

The event will take place at the Smart Detroit offices located in the Penobscot Building in downtown Detroit at 645 Griswold, Suite 1300. Registration begins at 5:45 p.m. with the program running from 6:30-8 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Please e-mail Susan McMann at smcmann@mail.michbar.org or contact Brandy Robinson at (313) 256-9834, ext 227 for more information.

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