"As a father, you want to be there for them but at some point you think you cut those apron strings and they'll be able to support themselves, " he said.

"I don't mind doing it, it's just sort of unfair."

And he worries about those looming loans and what they're doing to his daughter's credit.

"You mortgage your life away because you wanted to educate yourself, " he said. "I see someone like Ayana who's willing to work in a job that probably a lot of people don't like to do. I think she should be fairly compensated."

RETENTION CHALLENGE

The low salaries mean both offices are struggling to keep attorneys like Haney and Harris.

Consider the Miami-Dade state attorney's office. It has a staff of 291 attorneys and lost 126 of them in 2005 and 2006. The public defender's office, with a staff of 192 attorneys, lost 63 during the same two-year period.

Harris and Haney don't want to be part of those statistics, but they're realistic.

"The only thing that is keeping me here is my parents' ability to supplement my income, " Harris said. "Initially, they thought 'how noble' to defend people who can't afford a lawyer, but quite frankly, both of them are a little bit over it now."

"I can't do this much longer, " Haney said. "I keep meaning to put my résumé out, but the part of me that wants to stay here hasn't gotten around to it yet. . . . It's an amazing feeling when you get a guilty [verdict] in trial for somebody who is truly a danger to the community. I'll miss that."

A LOOK AT EARNINGS

Annual starting salaries for young attorneys:

* Miami-Dade state attorney's office: $40,000* * Miami-Dade public defender's office: $42,000* * National median for prosecutors, defenders: $45,000 * Median in major metropolitan areas: $48,000 * Miami-Dade County attorney's office: $80,000 * Akerman Senterfitt law firm (in Miami): $130,000 * Holland & Knight law firm (in Miami): $130,000 * Prosecutor and assistant public defender salaries are the same throughout Florida, regardless of cost of living or caseload.

SOURCE: Miami Herald research and studies done by the National Association for Law Placement.

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