Graduates must be employed in law-related positions in:
Nonprofits (501(c)(3); 501(c)(4); 501(c)(5); or equivalent international entities);
A government entity including federal, state, local, or multi-lateral (international), tribal nations and their subdivisions, and potentially a foreign government, upon review and approval by the LRAP Executive Committee;
A campaign related to electing someone into a governmental office;
Private employers (including self employment or term/contract employment), if at least fifty percent involves providing legal services on a pro bono, reduced, or court-awarded fee basis; or
A public or private, nonprofit law school or university subdivision.
Examples of qualifying employment include:Staff or managing attorney positions at Bay Area Legal Aid, the Sierra Club, Pacific Legal Foundation, or Consensus Building Institute; executive director of the Legal Aid Association of California; SLS Public Interest Fellow at Youth Law Center; policy analyst at ChangeLab Solutions;
General Counsel for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs; Legislative Staff to Judiciary Committee in the U.S. Congress; Honors Attorney at U.S. or California Department of Justice; Assistant County Counsel; District Attorney; Public Defender; Law Fellow at the International Court of Justice;
Policy Director of reelection campaign for office of governor;
Associate at union-side law firm; self-employed attorney spending at least 50% or more of their time in court-appointed criminal defense cases; or
Assistant Professor of Law, clinical supervising attorney, or public interest advisor in a law school career services office at a public or private, nonprofit law school; policy research associate at a university-affiliated think tank.
You may read more about qualified employment in the LRAP Program Terms provided above.

For JD graduates who accept public interest jobs and have educational debt, Stanford Law School will lend eligible applicants the funds to help meet their monthly educational loan payments. Loans are awarded on an annual basis. If the graduate remains in qualifying public interest employment for the full year, 100% of that loan is forgiven at the end of the calendar year.

There is no income cap, but LRAP calculates benefits on a sliding scale. Participants are expected to contribute a larger portion of their debt payments when they earn more.

Yes, spousal income (as well as assets) may affect your LRAP benefits. The adjusted gross income used will either be a) the individual income or b) half the joint income, whichever of the two is higher. If the spouse has educational loan payments, those will be subtracted from the spouse’s annual income. Moreover, any substantial physical and financial assets over $200,000 will be included as income. See the LRAP Program Terms for more information on spousal income, children, assets and other factors that can adjust a graduate’s income for the purpose of LRAP benefits.
Note that we do not consider the income or assets of unmarried household members/domestic partners. We rely on graduates’ tax returns to verify participants’ income.

The formula is 40 hours/(hours worked) x Salary = Adjusted Salary. For example, imagine a participant employed in a qualifying position for 20 hours per week at an annual salary of $40,000. Their “adjusted salary” is $80,000. Their contribution towards their need-based loans for the year would be 25% of $5,000 (the amount over $75,000), or $1,250.

Need-based student loans are covered. This means loans taken to meet eligible in-school expenses. Sometimes students choose to borrow funds in lieu of their “student contribution.” Such amounts are not considered need-based and are not covered by LRAP. LRAP will cover need-based loans used to meet undergraduate, law school, and other graduate school requirements. Bar examination and examination preparation expenses are also eligible but capped at $10,000 per participant. See the LRAP Program Terms.