We’ve all heard of the incredible amount of student debt in the United States – estimates put the current amount outstanding at around $1.2 trillion dollars in 2015. For recent law school graduates, unless you were born into or acquired some favorable financial circumstances prior to enrolling in law school, the bottom line is that you are most likely going to graduate with some debt. U.S. World and News Reports, in its 2015 Law School Rankings, listed five Florida law schools and their debt statistics. For 2015 graduates of UF, FSU, Nova, Stetson and Miami law schools, the average graduate was listed somewhere between $82,102 (Florida State) and $155,796 (Miami) in student debt. [1]

Add that to any undergraduate debt a law school graduate may have been carrying, and the ”debt repayment” portion of a young lawyer’s budget can start to overtake line items like rent, or a mortgage payment. If this does not describe you, good. Stop reading here, and perhaps celebrate a little that you have managed to make it to the practice of law without the student debt that so often comes with it.[2]

For the rest of us, there is some good news for managing the debt associated with your law degree. First, as a lawyer, chances are you learned somewhere along the way how to read those loan documents and can probably figure out what your circumstances can accommodate. Second, as a young lawyer, chances are you are also pretty resourceful, given a reliable wi-fi connection. Below are a few resources for young lawyers, or anyone seeking to manage student debt:[3]

• At least for federal student loan debt, there are a myriad of options to fit a young lawyer’s budget. If you have not checked out https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans, you may be missing out on reducing your monthly payment on an income-based repayment plan.
• If you are in a public service job or are a governmental attorney, you may qualify for debt forgiveness after 120 payments (think 10 years) of certain loans. But it is NOT automatic – go to https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service for more information.
• Private lenders are constantly offering ways to refinance or consolidate student loan debt, private or government-held. Knowing your current payment terms (like the interest rate, repayment term, etc.) can let you compare apples to apples with different companies. Shop around for the best terms.

Joe Joyce is an associate at Robinson, Kennon & Kendron, P.A. in Lake City, Florida where he maintains a general litigation practice. He serves as an elected representative on The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors for the Third Circuit.

[1] http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad-debt-rankings/page+2
[2] And know that you are in the minority of graduates. Between 72% (Miami) and 95% (Nova) of 2015 graduates from the five schools mentioned above have at least some student debt.
[3] Any website or service listed here does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division nor the author.