A student loan repayment program for lawyers who agree to represent indigent defendants or practice in rural Iowa is included in one of the budget bills that’s cleared the Iowa legislature.
Every year, up to 25 licensed attorneys with Iowa roots who’ve recently graduted from law school would be eligible for the tax-free support. It would amount to six annual payments of $10,000 each year to pay off student loans.
Representative Brian Lohse, a Republican from Bondurant who is an attorney, leads the panel that drafts budget plans for Iowa’s court system. “When I took this role in 2023, my over-arching goal was to work on the indigent defense and legal desert issues that exist within this state with the passage of this bill, I can’t be more proud of wht we’ve accomplished today,” Lohse said. “The Attorney Loan Repayment Program will make a significant impact.”
The program is financed with a $20 increase in court filing fees. Recent Iowa State Universiy research identified 18 counties as “legal deserts” because there are not enough attorneys to represent private clients.The legislature has also voted for a four-dollar-an-hour hike in the hourly fee paid to lawyers appointed to represent defendants who cannot afford an attorney.
