LIPP aims to address this problem by forgiving some of the debt of many students pursuing public interest careers.

And under the new plan, alumni will be eligible for debt forgiveness if they earn under $72,000 a year in law-related public interest positions and meet certain other conditions. Under previous rules, alumni had to make less than $51,000 to qualify.

The new plan will also expand benefits for many alumni with children by increasing dependency allowances and expanding benefits for some alumni who work part-time while raising children.

Students have been calling for greater generosity from the LIPP program for over two years, according to Ayn Ducao, co-chair of the Student Public Interest Network (SPIN) and a member of HLS' Class of 2001.

Ducao said over 60 student groups "from across the spectrum, from the Republicans to Democrats to the squash team to the South Asian Law Students Association to the Black Law Students Association" voiced support for LIPP reform this fall. SPIN also collected 600 signatures in support of greater debt relief.

Ducao also said a report from McKinsey & Co. consultants showed that students cared as much about reforming loan forgiveness as they did about issues like class size and grading.

Harvard Law School may also be responding to competitive pressure.

"More and more incoming students are very well-versed in the various loan forgiveness programs, and that is becoming a very important criterion in their decision [about which Law School to accept]," Dealy said. "These are people who may or may not end up in public interest jobs, but they want to know that it's an option if they go that route."