Many law school graduates are all too aware of their accumulating pile of debt, but few may realize it can prevent them from practicing law and destroy any hopes of paying down their loans, wrote Susanna Kim of abcnews.com in a recent article.

The highest court in Ohio denied recent law school grad, Hassan Jonathan Griffin, his bar application because he didn’t have a plan to pay back $170,000 in school debt.

The Ohio Supreme Court, on January 11, said Griffin lacked a “feasible plan to satisfy his financial obligations.”  Griffin’s debts include $150,000 from law school, $20,000 from his undergraduate studies and $16,500 in credit card debt.

The Ohio Supreme Court, which regulates admission to the practice of law in Ohio, requires that an applicant be at least 21 years old, have a bachelor’s degree and law degree, and pass the Ohio bar examination.

The state’s rules specify that prior to taking the bar exam, applicants must demonstrate they possess “the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law.”

Griffin, 40, had applied in November, 2009, for the February, 2010 bar exam, but his increasing financial obligations led to an investigation by the state’s Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness.

Griffin graduated from Arizona State University in 2004 when he was 34 and worked full-time as a stockbroker for over five years before attending The Ohio State University Mortiz College of Law.

It was reported that since completing his first year of law school, Griffin has worked 24 to 32 hours a week at the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office.  Though he graduated from law school in 2008, he has been unable to obtain a full-time job and still earns $12 per hour at the public defender’s office.

The board recommended that the court reject Griffin but permit him to reapply for the February, 2011 bar exam. Griffin confirmed he is re-applying for the February exam and said his financial matters are now in better order.

Many law school grads are unemployed,  but it is rare they fail the character and fitness test because of their personal finances.

In April, 2009, the Texas Court of Appeals revoked the probationary law license of a man in Houston with undergraduate and law school loans of around $90,000 plus interest and $58,000 in “unsecured loans.”

“We handle about 100 contested hearings a year, and very rarely is financial responsibility the subject of the hearing, and even more rarely is the situation where the board decides to deny” the license,  the Texas Board of Law Examiners’ executive director Julia E. Vaughan told The Texas Lawyer.

The New York state appellate court rejected the license application of Robert Bowman in April 2009, according to a story in the New York Times. A court subcommittee cited student debt of over $430,000 belonging to the University of California’s Hastings law school graduate.

The Education Department recently decided that Bowman’s debts will be recalculated and he is not in default, allowing him to re-apply for his license.

Kim writes that the American Bar Association (ABA) reported that the average amount borrowed for law school was $91,506 for private schools and $59,324 for public schools in 2008.  A committee from the ABA wrote in a report that these figures do not include debt from students’ undergraduate years and an average law school student will graduate with debt “well in excess of $100,000.”

But among law graduates from the class of 2008, 42 percent of graduates had an annual salary of less than $65,000. And the ABA report said prospects are even bleaker now, with students competing for half as many jobs at top law firms.

“Far too many law students expect that earning a law degree will solve their financial problems for life,” the ABA committee wrote. “In reality, however, attending law school can become a financial burden for law students who fail to consider carefully the financial implications of their decision.”

Attorney Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law Group, PLLC, represents those seeking admittance to the Florida Bar, and existing lawyers, for both Investigative Hearings and Formal Hearings in front of the Florida Bar. For more information about our services please call (888) 760-6552 or visit: www.floridabarhearing.com.