Biglaw and then PSLF? Feasible? Forum

[09042014]

You Gtown '12 right? Why not just cop dat LRAP right now. Don't they cover all your loans 100%?

[Anonymous User]

I'm very interested in this as well; although with a different scenario. What do people think about this idea if I did only 1 year (maybe 2 max) in biglaw, then 2 clerkships, and went into gov from there? Better to pay the minimum on loans for my time in biglaw then hit LRAP+PSLF for the clerkships and gov?

[sunynp]

I'm very interested in this as well; although with a different scenario. What do people think about this idea if I did only 1 year (maybe 2 max) in biglaw, then 2 clerkships, and went into gov from there? Better to pay the minimum on loans for my time in biglaw then hit LRAP+PSLF for the clerkships and gov?

Do you have biglaw now? What practice group?

My feeling is that you are counting on getting 3 different highly competitive jobs. I guess you could pay the basic 10 year payment and then use your savings to pay down a lot of you loan if you don't get the 2 clerkships.

Why do you want to do this other than to get loan forgiveness?

[Anonymous User]

I'm calling flame on PI making six figs as a 5th year attorney.

FWIW, the highest paid staff member (exec director) at the Legal Aid org I used to work at made around 80k. There were also multiple attorneys who had been there for 30+ yrs and were making in the 60-75 range. It was located in a Rural state tho

[rayiner]

I'm calling flame on PI making six figs as a 5th year attorney.

FWIW, the highest paid staff member (exec director) at the Legal Aid org I used to work at made around 80k. There were also multiple attorneys who had been there for 30+ yrs and were making in the 60-75 range. It was located in a Rural state tho

This environmental PI organization I've worked with pays $90-$130k for senior attorneys, though the top end of the range is ~10 years out.

[pasteurizedmilk]

You Gtown '12 right? Why not just cop dat LRAP right now. Don't they cover all your loans 100%?

hmmm. I'm not sure. my theory was i wouldn't be able to save as much if i did lrap/PI right away but looking at the opportunity cost of hte 3 years w/o forgiveness, etc. I'm not sure that makes sense.

i wish i had crunched these numbers before i effectively decided the course of the first years of my legal career. *sigh* my own fault.

[Anonymous User]

I'm calling flame on PI making six figs as a 5th year attorney.

I'm including DA/PD in PI. Could be where the misunderstanding is coming from.

[Anonymous User]

I'm very interested in this as well; although with a different scenario. What do people think about this idea if I did only 1 year (maybe 2 max) in biglaw, then 2 clerkships, and went into gov from there? Better to pay the minimum on loans for my time in biglaw then hit LRAP+PSLF for the clerkships and gov?

Do you have biglaw now? What practice group?

My feeling is that you are counting on getting 3 different highly competitive jobs. I guess you could pay the basic 10 year payment and then use your savings to pay down a lot of you loan if you don't get the 2 clerkships.

Why do you want to do this other than to get loan forgiveness?

Yes, current 3L with biglaw lined up for next year (litigation group). I completely understand that clerkships and gov are not easy to obtain but this is my ideal plan and I think I have good enough stats to at least have a fighting chance.

Any other thoughts on this situation? Is it better to just focus on saving most of my biglaw salary since I'll only be there for 1/2 years?

[pasteurizedmilk]

So I've spent some more time thinking about this, and I'm not sure the risk is so great.

If you merely accumulated cash for 3 years instead of paying off loans, and then decided not to go public interest, you could simply put that cash to loans at that point, 3 years out. Even with my enormous debt burden that would be, at most, an extra 9-11K in interest, and the possible benefit could be much more substantial.

[Anonymous User]

This thread raises a more general question for me, which is, loan forgiveness issues aside, how feasible is it actually to go from BigLaw into a PI job? I'm talking more Legal Aid orgs / EJW type jobs, rather than clerking/prosecutor/PD. I thought these jobs were very difficult to get in the first place -- I can't imagine they'd be much easier after you've begun a private sector career? I ask because I've always been interested in that kind of work, but am on the BigLaw career path right now. I understand that a longstanding demonstrated dedication to public interest is important -- so does starting out your legal career in BigLaw put an end to those hopes?