By the end of April, my twin brother and I will have graduated from the law schools at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, respectively. After my three years in law school, I think the possibility of more students in Utah having the opportunity to study law at a third law school, potentially at Utah Valley University, is great news. That said, a third law school alone will not solve our state’s public service legal deficit.
In January, Sen. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, proposed a joint resolution to the Senate Education Committee for “a feasibility study for establishing a law school” at UVU. In defense of his motion, Brammer said, “We’re low on public defenders. We’re low on prosecutors. We’re low on agency attorneys.” Brammer explained that this potential law school could be a place for “second career attorneys.” Second career attorneys are professionals who have left a former career for a new career in practicing law.
Our state needs more attorneys who will zealously defend both the interests of our state and those who can’t afford legal services.
The public-service legal deficit in Utah is a timely problem because our state needs more attorneys who will zealously defend both the interests of our state and those who can’t afford legal services. That said, the path to a legal career is already a difficult one. For the first-year class entering BYU Law in 2025, the median GPA was 3.95, and the median LSAT was 170 (the highest you can get is 180). Many talented students in Utah may choose the UVU law school option in the future if they want to accomplish multiple goals at once: stay in Utah, get a legal education and make a good amount of money while in school.
However, admittance to law school does not guarantee a future in public service. Of the 2024 BYU Law grads, only 16.2% — 23 out of 143 — chose to go into public service. For the 2024 Utah Law grads, only 13.7% — 13 out of 95 — chose to go into public service.
It is not guaranteed that a new law school class will naturally choose public interest law. In addition to a new law school at UVU, the state should offer a plan for loan forgiveness contingent on time spent in public interest law. Over the course of five to 10 years, these new lawyers could work in a government agency — exclusively in Utah — and each year these new lawyers could receive partial loan forgiveness. The Utah State Bar could also partner with this new UVU law school to advertise this loan forgiveness program so that more of these aspiring lawyers may consider public-facing legal work.
Utah should not only aim at developing these government attorneys in law school but also work to retain them for the long term. With state-sponsored loan forgiveness, the new attorneys still get their legal education and a chance at a new career, but they are retained for public service in Utah for several years after graduation. Any new attorney coming out of BYU Law, Utah Law or this hypothetical UVU Law will respond to factors that motivate them the most, and debt forgiveness can be a powerful incentive. Many professionals outside of the legal field may consider a second career as a lawyer if they can qualify for options that will help offset part of the cost of law school.
This debt forgiveness program should only be for future UVU law students since they will be taking on the risk of attending a brand-new law school. Essentially, the government will help subsidize part of that risk by providing a scholarship to those who are hired for and retained in public interest jobs. Unlike President Biden’s SAVE plan, these funds would be conditioned on actual legal service provided for the state of Utah. Attorneys serving as public defenders could help more Utah citizens have a competent legal defense, and more attorneys could assist our state agencies in protecting the needs and interests of our state. Those kinds of services are worth paying for, even through indirect methods.
If Utah wants more public-facing attorneys, then it must find a way to support the students who will 1) take a risk with a new law school and 2) devote their new careers to serving the public instead of pursuing more lucrative options. A legal education is valuable, so law students at any law school in Utah will be considering multiple job options. Second-career attorneys will be doing the same. Helping these unique law students navigate the costs and risks of a new law school may help our state retain more public interest lawyers.