Student Loan Forgiveness Stories
"Paul Loh received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
He then went on to receive his law degree from Harvard University. Turning down opportunities on the East
Coast, Paul returned to the Los Angeles area and worked for a Beverly Hills law firm. However, it has always
been his dream to be a public defender, and he left the law firm to work his way through the ranks of the Los
Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from August 1996 through January 2001. He loved his job and was very
fulfilled by his work. Unfortunately, once he got married, he realized that this job he loved did not provide
him with the opportunity to support his family to his satisfaction, while paying off his law school loans.
While it was difficult to choose between the work he loved and the allure of a much higher paying salary in
the private law market, he ultimately had to choose in favor of what was best for his family’s future. He left
the Public Defender’s Office for a private law firm and is now a partner at a prominent Los Angeles law firm.
Were it not for the significant financial burden, a substantial portion of which was his law school debt, he
would still like to be working as a public defender."
Read stories from other public defenders:
Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender
(pdf, 1 Mb)
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