District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness Program

District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness Program awards are being offered to retain experienced attorneys employed as District Attorneys, Assistant District Attorneys or Indigent Legal Services Attorneys throughout New York State.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a DALF award, an applicant must:

• Be a legal resident of New York State for at least one year
• Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen
• Be an eligible attorney (1)
• Have eligible student loan expenses (2)
• Not be in default of a federally guaranteed student loan, or a NYS student loan
• Not owe a service obligation under another program other than the federal John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program.

Definitions

For purposes of determining eligibility for a DALF award:

(1) Eligible attorney means an attorney who:

• is continually licensed to practice law; and
• is a full-time employee working a minimum of 35 hrs per week and has been employed full-time during the year of qualified service immediately preceding the date of application;
• is employed as a District Attorney, Assistant District Attorney, or Indigent Legal Services Attorney in New York State for at least four (4) years and is within the Eligible Period;
• has been admitted to practice law in New York State for not more than eleven years.

Year of qualified service means the twelve month period (365 days) measured from the anniversary of the attorney’s employment as an eligible attorney, or as a law school graduate awaiting admission to the New York state bar employed by a prosecuting or criminal defense agency.

Indigent Legal Services Attorney means a public defender employed full-time in New York State in a county or city Office of the Public Defender, or an attorney who is employed full-time in New York State by a not-for-profit corporation established to provide criminal or civil legal services to indigent persons.

Eligible Period means the fourth through ninth years of employment as an Eligible Attorney. For the purposes of determining the Eligible Period all periods of time during which an admitted attorney was employed as an Eligible Attorney and all periods of time during which a law school graduate awaiting admission to the New York state bar was employed by a prosecuting or criminal defense agency shall be combined.

(2) Eligible student loan expenses are:

• the total cumulative loan balance, at the time of application, required to be paid by the eligible attorney for student loans covering the cost of attendance at an undergraduate institution(s) and/or law school(s);

• New York State or federal governmental loans, or loans made by commercial entities subject to governmental examination.

Ineligible loans include Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) loans, loans which may be canceled under any other program including Perkins loans, or private non-commercial loans given, for example, by family or friends, or student loan debts paid with a credit card.

How to Apply

The deadline for the District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness Program has passed.

Applications for the next series of new applicants will be available in March 2013. For individuals who already received at least one payment, please see “Award Payment” below.

Award Amounts

Annual funding is contingent on continued New York State funding each year.

The maximum lifetime total award an eligible attorney may receive under this program is $20,400 or the cumulative total of their eligible student loan expenses at the time of their first successful application, whichever is less.

Awards will be paid in disbursements of $3,400 for each year of qualified service immediately preceding the application for payment.

Eligible student loan expenses will be reduced by any grants, loan forgiveness, or similar reductions to the attorney’s indebtedness that the attorney has received or shall receive, including, but not limited to, law school loan forgiveness, public service scholarships and any money received by the JRJ Student Loan Repayment Program.

Award Payment

The Supplement is used to establish initial eligibility and process a recipient’s first payment. A Payment Application and Verification of the preceding year’s employment is required to receive subsequent installments.

Applicants who received their first payment in October will receive a new Payment Application in September each year.
Applicants who received their first payment in May will receive a new Payment Application in March each year.

HESC will send Payment Applications each year to our address of record for award holders with remaining eligibility. Applicants must contact HESC at scholarships@hesc.org or 1-888-697-4372 when any change in address or other relevant information occurs.

You should also update your address on the State Comptroller's Vendor Self Service website at http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendor_management/index.htm to ensure your payment is mailed to the correct address.

DALF payments will be mailed directly to a recipient’s address on file with the State Comptrollers Vendor Management Unit.

Note: Any Loan Repayment award may result in tax implications. Please consult with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or a tax advisor.