The 2012 Application Loan Cycle for the Legal Service Corporation's (LSC) Herbert S. Garten Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) will open on Wednesday February 1, 2012 and this year’s deadline for application submissions will be Monday February 27, 2012 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

Through the LRAP, established in 2005 and funded by a Congressional appropriation, LSC makes a limited number of forgivable loans to attorneys employed by its grantee programs to help repay law school debt. The goals of the LRAP are to help LSC grantee programs recruit and retain highly qualified attorneys, and to promote the development of initiatives that make public interest law a viable career path for law school graduates.

The National Legal Aid and Defender Association will award thirty scholarships for new attorneys to attend the NLADA Centennial Conference to be held at the Washington Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC on December 7-10, 2011.

The scholarships will cover the cost of registration and hotel cost. Scholarship recipients will only need to cover transportation and per diem costs. The Centennial only comes once every 100 years, so don't miss out on this chance to attend!!

The White House and the Department of Justice on October 13 will be honoring 16 lawyers as Champions of Change, including three executive directors of programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).

The ceremony will be streamed live from www.whitehouse.gov/live at 2 p.m. Eastern time. At the event, Attorney General Eric Holder, Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Mark B. Childress and White House representatives will participate in a discussion on efforts to close the nation’s justice gap.

The honorees from LSC-funded programs are David G. Hall, executive director of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid; Nan Heald, executive director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Maine; Lillian Johnson, executive director of Community Legal Services in Phoenix, and Addison Parker, former litigation director at the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund in Kentucky.

See “White House Honors Four Legal Aid Attorneys as Champions of Change” for additional information. For information on the Champions of Change initiative, see www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

Four longtime leaders at legal aid programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) will be honored on October 13 by the White House as Champions of Change for dedicating their lives as lawyers to closing the justice gap in America.

On Sept. 1, the Pennsylvania statewide loan repayment assistance program begins its second year of helping attorneys employed in IOLTA-funded civil legal services organizations better manage their law school debt so they can continue to provide free legal assistance to Pennsylvania's poor and disadvantaged.

First-year program participants with annual net student loan debt service of $3,500 or more will be able to receive a maximum loan of $3,500. Second-year participants with annual net student loan debt service of $4,500 or more will be able to receive a maximum loan of $4,500. Those who continue in the program for three or more years and have annual net student loan debt service of $6,000 or more will be able to receive a maximum loan of $6,000.

Student Loan Expert Heather Jarvis will be conducting a free webinar entitled, Public Service Loan Forgiveness in 5 Easy Steps, on Thursday, July 28, 2011 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM Eastern.

Heather loves Public Service Loan Forgiveness! Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a great solution for folks with lots of student loans planning careers in government or non-profit employment. But you have to take specific steps to benefit and the requirements can be confusing.

Heather knows how to break it down for you step by step so it makes sense once and for all. Bring your toughest questions because the expert is in the house!

As Congress considers deep cuts in legal assistance to the poor, The National Law Journal examines the impact of legal aid programs on the clients they serve and the political issues surrounding the present funding crisis in The Power of Hope, an in-depth report examining the impact of legal aid programs on clients and the politics surrounding funding.

As these stories demonstrate, the need is great, and cases run the gamut - from domestic violence to home foreclosures to medical claims. In all, a common theme emerges: Legal aid, for these clients, was their only hope.

The Management Information Exchange will be holding it's 2011 Biennial Conference for Legal Services Managers - Management Essentials in Challenging Times: Tools and Best Practices, on March 10-11, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Express Downtown, 920 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203.

In two intensive days, you will achieve greater insight into the tools and best practices of managing and leading. Through presentation, discussion, self-assessment and feedback, you will learn to build teams, manage performance, solve problems, manage conflict and improve advocacy for clients. Having determined your own areas for development, you will prepare a personal action plan to become a more effective, less stressed manager.