Young Lawyers Hit by US Supreme Court Rejection of Debt Relief

Lauren Howell will arrive at Harvard Law School this fall fearing that her student debt burden will make her career goal of helping communities of color get justice unobtainable.

Loans that made it possible for Howell to earn degrees from Duke, Stanford, and now Harvard are many multiples of what might have been forgiven under President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan aimed at more than 40 million people. Still, every bit helps and Howell said the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the forgiveness plan feels like a slap in the face.

“Four generations ago, my great, great grandfather was a slave,” Howell said. “I am willing to do whatever it takes for my education even though it is uncertain and scary.”

Law students and early career attorneys like Howell told Bloomberg Law they’re disappointed by the June 30 decision in Biden v. Nebraska even if it wouldn’t have made a big dent in debt burdens that impact major life decisions.

“It’s all-consuming,” said Josephine Bahn, a first-generation college student who is an associate at Cozen O’Connor in Washington and chairs the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. “Student debt lives and breathes with you every day.”

It explains why Bahn worked five jobs during her last year of college at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and walked two miles to class each way. More recently, she has had to choose between saving for retirement or paying off her debt faster.

Calling it an anxiety-induced “fight or flight decision,” Bahn chose to chip away at her loans she said had hit six figures. Having two young kids has made her intent on making sure they don’t incur loans themselves.

“Folks have been waiting for relief for so long, only to have the goal post moved,” Bahn said.

Law School Debt

About 90% of respondents to an ABA Young Lawyers Division survey said they had taken out loans to help pay for their law or prior degrees. And between 80% and 90% said student debt has “interrupted the trajectory of their career or personal life,” or negatively impacted their financial well-being in some way. The average amount law students owed in loans was $108,000.

“It’s a striking figure,” said Aaron Sohaski, the ABA’s director of student debt and financial well-being. “In these surveys, we found that many students have six figures worth of debt.”

As of May 2020, Andre Hunter, an attorney for Gordon Rees in Chicago had $67,000 worth of student debt.

Hunter said his loans weighed heavily on him when he started with the Illinois Attorney General’s office with a $70,000 salary after graduating from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He found out his father was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer the same day he became an attorney. Almost instantly, he became the breadwinner of his family and took on their debt as well. Hunter said the student loan pause during the pandemic was a “game changer.”

“Millions of people voted for Biden because of his loan forgiveness plan, so I hope he uses the tools at his disposal to bring people financial stability,” said Hunter, who is also the director of the ABA’s Young Lawyer Division in Chicago. “Students are going to have a very uphill battle.”

Hours after the 6-3 Supreme Court ruling that split along ideological lines with conservatives prevailing, Biden announced that he’ll try to pursue other legal avenues to provide student debt relief. Opponents say that debt relief should be up to Congress.

Daniel Berkowitz, an attorney for Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa in Chicago, who paid off his loans a few years ago, is skeptical of prospects for a legislative solution.

“I’m not optimistic that Congress will be able to do something,” Berkowitz said. “I do applaud Biden for trying to do something; it was imperfect, but it was something.”

Howell said that although her student debt is a consequence she will have to carry far into the future, she is still hopeful future generations will find relief, especially people of color who are fighting to get into higher education.

“Debt relief is so good for Black and Brown bodies,” Howell said. “I hope future generations get their relief and affordable education.”