New Hampshire Bar Foundation Loan Forgiveness Program

Through the New Hampshire Bar Foundation Loan Forgiveness Program, applicants may be able to qualify student loan forgiveness in exchange for serving in the public sector and provides law school loan assistance, in the form of forgivable loans, to ensure the ability of NH Legal Assistance (NHLA), Legal Advice and Referral Center (LARC), Disabilities Rights Center (DRC), and New Hampshire Pro Bono (Pro Bono) to recruit and maintain a diverse body of highly qualified staff attorneys. Read on to see eligibility requirements, award amounts, and application process for the New Hampshire Bar Foundation Loan Forgiveness Program.

Eligibility?

In order to be eligible for the New Hampshire Bar Foundation Loan Forgiveness Program, you must meet or exceed the following program criteria:

Attorneys employed by:

• NHLA
• LARC
• DRC
• Pro Bono full-time or part-time

who have outstanding law school loans are eligible. Assistance to part-time attorneys shall be pro-rated. For example, attorneys who work four days per week receive 80% of the assistance for which they would be eligible if they were full-time. Assistance will be pro-rated for attorneys who are employed for less than the full year. For example, an attorney who is employed full-time for six months of a program year would receive 50% of the assistance for which they would have been eligible if they had been employed for the entire year.

For more information regarding this breakdown, please head check out the program PDF file.

What is the award amount?

Through the New Hampshire Bar Foundation Loan Forgiveness Program, the program makes forgivable loans equivalent to a percentage of the total outstanding principal of all staff attorneys’ law school loans. The formula takes into account law school loan assistance applicants have received from other sources. The amount of assistance is determined after the annual allocation of funds for this program have been determined, and after applications have been received from all interested staff attorneys. The formula and amount of assistance are subject to change annually, depending on the availability of funds and the aggregate extent of need shown on the annual applications. To avoid undue complexity and intrusiveness, neither the income of other members of an applicant’s household nor other debts of the applicant or other household members will be taken into account to determine eligibility. Eligibility is limited to attorneys who were employed for some or all of the program year.

How to apply?

To apply for the New Hampshire Bar Foundation Loan Forgiveness Program, head over to the official website to find out more regarding additional program information and see when the best time to apply for this program is. They also have a very handy PDF file with an in-depth breakdown of the overall mission of the program as well as features that you will want to check out.

In agreement with the Bar Foundation, the financial office of NH Legal Assistance processes applications for assistance for all four agencies. On or about May 1 of each year, NHLA will provide an annual application to all staff attorneys at NHLA, LARC, DRC, and Pro Bono. Each agency will advise newly hired attorneys of their potential eligibility for the program. New attorneys must apply within thirty days of the first day of their employment to be considered for assistance during the current loan program year. All attorneys who want to participate in the Program must complete an application, which shall include:  a list of law school debts, including the name of each lender for each loan, the month and year repayment of each loan began (or is scheduled to begin), the total outstanding balance, and the dollar amount of monthly/quarterly payments; information regarding the attorney’s participation in any other loan forgiveness program, and the amount of any assistance received.

Questions?

If you still have questions or would like to know more information please reach out to us here or you can go back to the Student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs page.