QUESTION 4
Public Interest Law School (PILS) is a private, nonprofit educational institution formed
and maintained for the purpose of motivating and training prospective lawyers “to better
meet the unmet legal needs of the nation’s underclass.” Convinced that many la
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students who intend to practice public interest law change their minds and take jobs in
the private sector as a result of large loan commitments they incur to finance their legal
educations, PILS initiated a generous financial aid plan (the “Plan”). A student
under the Plan receives a $10,000 grant to be used for tuition and living expenses
each year of law study at PILS (up to a total of $30,000), subject to the following condition:
If grantee does not accept and retain full-time employment in a qualified
public interest job as a lawyer for a minimum of five continuous years
following graduation from PILS, the grant must be immediately repaid in full
to PILS.
In the first year that the Plan was introduced,
more students accepted offers of admission
from PILS
than anticipated and, for budgetary reasons, PILS withdrew its offers to 15 of
the students to whom it had already made offers. One of them, Amy,
her offers of admission from all th
e other schools she had applied to once she received
the offer from PILS. Amy sued PILS for $30,000 in breach of contract damages.
Michael attended PILS with the help of $30,000 in financial aid under the Plan. Upon
graduation, he took a job as a public i
nterest lawyer. After 4½ years at this position, the
job was terminated for lack of funds. After an eight-week job search, Michael w
to find a qualified public interest lawyer job and
accepted a job offer from a community
center counseling troubled adolescents, which pays $15,500 annually.
1. Does Amy have a breach of contract claim against PILS and, if so,
might she obtain? Discuss.
2. Is Michael obligated to repay the $30,000 made available to him by PILS under the
Plan? Discuss.