Lawyers who go to work for government entities routinely earn less than their colleagues in private practice. Add on top of that crippling student loans and it makes it difficult for some to remain in public service jobs.
That’s why the Government Lawyer Section has set its sights on encouraging the legislature to create reasonable financial student loan assistance for all government lawyers, according to section chair Robert J. Krauss, the Office of the Attorney General’s Tampa bureau chief for criminal appeals.
“We’re trying to get together with a couple of other sections and see what we can do to start the ball rolling,” said Krauss.
“To me, loan forgiveness is a really big issue,” said Krauss. “Obviously, it’s not going be completed this year but . . . just trying to get some legislators on board and coordinating with other sections would be a very good accomplishment.”
Chair-elect Carolyn Snurkowski, an assistant deputy attorney general for the criminal and capital appeals bureaus of the Office of the Attorney General in Tallahassee, said she will also continue to push for loan assistance during her administration.
State Rep. Dick Kravitz along with State Rep. Ari Porth of Coral Springs sponsored legislation last session that would have created a student loan assistance program for eligible career attorneys to provide financial assistance in repayment of student debts. It did not pass in the tight budget year. Porth said the bill was needed because too many young lawyers are leaving those public service positions after only a few years of service because of “burdensome student loans.” The bill would have allowed eligible attorneys with three to five years of continuous service to receive up to $3,000 annually in loan repayment assistance, while those with 6-12 years of continuous service could have received $5,000 annually.
According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, during 2003-04, 87 percent of graduates from public law schools and 86 percent of graduates of private law schools were saddled with average debts of $51,230 and $64,854, respectively, and those amounts can take longer than 20 years to repay.
The Government Lawyer Section also supports legislation to permit the payment of government attorneys’ Florida Bar membership fees and continuing legal education costs from funds within budget entities.
Krauss said the section also is encouraging its members to participate in the new State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice Certification program, which the section has been working on bringing to fruition since 2004.
In November, 56 lawyers became Bar board certified in the nation’s first state and federal government and administrative law specialty. State and federal government and administrative practice includes, but is not limited to, rule-making, adjudication or advocacy for state or federal government contracts, licenses, orders, permits, policies, or rules. The specialty also includes appearing before or presiding as an administrative law judge, arbitrator, hearing officer, or member of an administrative tribunal or panel over a dispute involving an administrative or government action. The area can encompass environmental regulation and land use planning.
“State and federal government law and administrative practice are distinct legal practice areas, and differ greatly from local or municipality law,” said section member Bill Williams of Tallahassee, who chairs the SFGAP certification committee. “Rule-making, licensing, and regulatory matters are becoming increasingly more complex; as the practice area has grown, so has the public’s need to identify legal experts in the field.”
Krauss said the section also added two new seminars as a result of the creation of the new certification area.
The SFGAP Certification Review Course provides the administrative and government practitioner with substantive information regarding agency practice, agency rule-making, administrative appeals, government contracting, bid protests, government litigation, open records, Sunshine Law, and government ethics. Suing and Defending Governmental Entities explores specific issues in government entity litigation. The impact of sovereign immunity, litigation involving statutory challenges, administrative law, attorneys’ fees, and the ethical issues facing those who sue and represent government entities.
Other section CLE offerings include Practicing Before the Supreme Court, Government in the Sunshine, and Practicing Before the Legislature.
Krauss said the section is planning a federal law retreat in Washington, D.C., in March.
For information about joining the Government Lawyer Section contact Arlee Colman, section administrator, at [email protected].
— Courtesy Florida Bar News