One pressing challenge facing New Jersey's criminal justice system today is the retention of qualified prosecutors and public defenders. This program is designed to attract and retain talented attorneys in the service oriented public sector. Qualified attorneys who would be interested in public interest law often forego these careers because of the overwhelming student debt burden assumed during their education. Loan Redemption programs such as the John R. Justice Loan Redemption program are successful in attracting and retaining capable attorneys to careers that they might otherwise not consider.
This program is supported through a federal grant and is offered contingent upon receiving those funds.
To qualify for loan repayment assistance, an applicant must:
Be currently employed full-time by the State of New Jersey as an eligible prosecutor or public defender, and
Have eligible outstanding federal student loan debt in good standing with each lender
Complete the application process and be selected to participate
Sign a service agreement committing to remain employed as an eligible public defender or prosecutor for up to least three years
The most secure and preferred way to send us documents is by uploading your documents on our website at
https://www.hesaa.org/Pages/NJCLASSUploadWelcome.aspx. The passcode is
njclass13. Please use
JRJ2022 for the NJCLASS File Number and the NJCLASS Reference Number may remain blank. If you are unable upload your documents, you may send them via regular mail to HESAA, Special Loans Unit – JRJ, PO Box 549, Trenton, NJ 08625-0549 or email to
njclass_staff@hesaa.org. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
All the required documents must be received by HESAA on or before December 31, 2022
If you have
not received benefits from a previous JRJ Loan Redemption Program, please click
here.
If you have
previously received JRJ Loan Redemption Program benefits
and fulfilled your service obligation, please click
here.
If you are
currently receiving JRJ Loan Redemption Program benefits
and have not fulfilled your service obligation, please click
here.
Frequently asked questions are posted
here.
Interested candidates who need more information may contact HESAA at 800-792-8670, ext. 5535.
