National Jurist - November 2007 - (Page 27)

students are eligible to take a financial advocacy course. Though it’s not mandatory, the course is in greater demand than the number of seats available. The popular one-credit course is currently offered to 2L, 3L and 4L students. But to reach the overall needs of the course, Gross said they have conducted some additional workshops on credit scores, consolidation and budgeting, which have all been successful. Other law schools, such as Suffolk, offer financial literacy programs. Kristi Jovell, financial aid director for Suffolk, says they couldn’t overlook how much the average debt for students was rising each year. “We wanted to help them,” she said. “Though we were trying to increase grants and scholarships each year, the money was never enough or guaranteed.” Thus began the financial literacy program Get $mart, which is in its second year. Six to eight presentations are offered throughout the year, allowing students to pick and choose which might be most important to them. At no charge, Suffolk students are informed of things such as home buying, car loans, and managing debt. The program has become so popular the school has put the presentations on DVD for students to check out from the Office of Financial Aid. “As an older student, I thought that I knew all there was to know about my finances,” said Michelle Dhanda, a Suffolk second-year. “I learned the nuts and bolts of how to monitor my credit.” Karen Gross, president of Southern Vermont College and a professor at NYLS, says studying student debt loads helped her come to appreciate the financial difficulties that both undergraduate and graduate students encounter. “It’s very easy to be tempted by poor financial products,” she said. Jovell is serving notice to law firms who are beginning to think about debt options for first year employers. “I think they’re starting to realize that new attorneys have debt problems,” she said. And, it’s a step in the right direction, she said. “Law firms need to promote good financial habits — not just at the law school,” she said. “It makes sense for law firms to focus on the total wellbeing of students.” Suffolk, Jovell says, is trying to increase student benefits. But there’s always more to do — legislative action and increased public awareness. The Coalition for Debtor Education’s Friedman says one major problem is that schools may not have the knowledge or resources to educate their students. “It’s a tremendous stress to a student to have debt problems while going through the toughest three years of their lives,” he said. “One thing they don’t have is strategies to manage their debt effectively.” The coalition is looking at two to three ways of solving the problem. One is how they can equip law schools with financial resources. Also, offering mandatory exit and entry counseling — where every student has to go through a session with the purpose to educate them. ■ Karen Dybis is a freelance writer based in Detroit, Mich. Michelle Weyenberg is Associate Editor of The National Jurist. Jack Crittenden contributed to this report. Master of Laws (LL.M.) Select courses from a highly-regarded law curriculum, experience personalized attention, and benefit from the resources and diversity offered by one of the largest universities in the United States. The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law One-Year Program For Foreign Lawyers email: MoritzLLM@osu.edu moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/llm Stand Out. Get your LL.M. in Global Law & Technology at Suffolk University Law School in Boston • Our flexible, innovative 24-credit program is taught in one of the most technologically-advanced facilities in the country, in the heart of Boston. • We offer specializations in Biomedicine and Health Law; Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law; International Law and Business; U.S. Law and Legal Methods. • Opportunities include participation in an on-line journal of high technology law and internships in domestic and international law firms. • Initial enrollment in either the fall or spring semester. For more information, please contact Cejana de Souza at cdesouza@suffolk.edu or at 617.305.6299 120 Tremont Street • Boston, MA 02108–4977 • www.law.suffolk.edu/llm November 2007 THE NATIONAL JURIST 27 http://www.moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/llm http://www.moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/llm http://www.law.suffolk.edu/llm http://www.law.suffolk.edu/llm

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of National Jurist - November 2007

National Jurist - November 2007 Contents Disturbing the Peace For the Record Blogs: The Death-knell for Law Reviews? Chemerinsky Heads UC-Irvine Ave Maria Dispute Raises ABA Inquiry John Marshall Establishes Veterans Clinic The Firm Report The Paper Chase Chronicles Law School Rankings at Math's Mercy Academic Freedom Called into Question St. Thomas Students Choose ‘Quality of Life’ Experience The Hidden Debt Crisis The Global Frontier International Education has to be a Part of Any Legal Education Employment Defender Career Hotline Off the Bench

National Jurist - November 2007

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