Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness Program

SUMMARY

The Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee issued a letter to Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins thanking them for their continued support of civil legal services and urging the Legislature to pass A.1602/S.161, which would expand the HESC District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness (DALF) program. The bill increases the maximum award to $64,000 and extends eligibility through an attorney’s second to tenth years of service, providing crucial support to legal services attorneys, particularly those with private student loans, including many attorneys of color and first-generation graduates. With no fiscal impact until 2027, the Committee highlights the urgency of passing the bill, especially in light of proposed federal cuts to loan forgiveness programs that would further burden attorneys serving low-income communities.

REPORT

Hon. Carl Heastie
Speaker
New York State Assembly
Legislative Office Building 932
Albany, NY 12248

Hon. Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Majority Leader
New York State Senate
Legislative Office Building 907
Albany, NY 12247

Re: New York State FY26 Judiciary Budget – Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness Program

Dear Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins:

On behalf of the New York City Bar Association’s Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee, we thank you both for your leadership during this year’s budget session and commend you for your continued support of Civil Legal Services, our community members, and clients.

DALF Program Expansion

We continue to call on the Legislature to support the modest expansion of the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness (DALF) program and thank both houses for their repeated support of A.1602 (Simon) / S.161 (Ramos), which outlines the most effective legislative framework for implementation. As this bill contains a one-year implementation deadline, the fiscal impact of the bill will not begin until FY2027, thereby delaying the requirement to include the $4 million in additional funding this session. We thank the Assembly leadership for passing this bill for the third time and call on the Senate to continue their support and do the same.

Attorneys begin working at nonprofit legal services organizations with a desire to assist New Yorkers in need, but many are unable to dedicate their careers to this work due to the low pay and substantial debt from law school loans. A.1602 / S.161 will right-size the award program by both expanding the total eligible award up to $64,000 and the period of eligibility, allowing attorneys to apply in their second year of work up until their tenth year, when most eligible attorneys could be eligible for federal loan cancellation. HESC DALF money is one of the few sources of student debt relief open to those with private student loans. Attorneys of color and first-generation borrowers are more likely to hold private student debt that cannot be discharged via Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or other federal programs.[1] For attorneys who grew up in the very communities they serve, making careers in public service sustainable is an important policy that should be honored. Additionally, the need for HESC DALF programs would only increase if the current proposed changes to student loan relief programs in the federal government’s reconciliation bill pass. As currently drafted, the federal reconciliation bill will significantly decrease access to all aid that had previously been eligible for federal cancellation, such as Pell, Grad Plus and Parent Plus programs, and generate higher monthly payments for all graduates. This would be devastating to legal service organization attorneys who have been counting on federal loan forgiveness to help sustain their critical work on behalf of New York’s low-income communities.

The New York City Bar Association’s Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee strongly supports the HESC DALF bill and we are available to address any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Hamra Ahmad, Co-Chair
Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee

Dara Sheinfeld, Co-Chair
Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee