Debt Relief Legal Program - Volunteer Resources

Thank you for volunteering with VLJ’s Debt Relief Legal Program (DRLP)!
The resources below are meant to provide information and support to you while you volunteer with our virtual legal clinic.

THINGS TO KNOW!

• VLJ utilizes the Zoom platform for virtual legal clinics, including the Breakout Room feature for individual client-attorney meetings

• VLJ staff preschedule clients in need of consumer debt help and volunteers (attorney, non-attorney, and interpreters) for each clinic

  • Non-attorneys either join attorney teams to help complete paperwork or meet with clients 1:1 to help with info collection/doc completion before the client joins their attorney team

  • VLJ works to schedule interpreters for clinics when we have non-English speaking clients on the schedule

• Most volunteers will be placed in teams; all first time clinic volunteers will shadow an experienced clinic volunteer

• Teams will meet with 2-3 clients during each clinic

• Electronic CASE FILES and INDIVIDUALIZED VOLUNTEER FORMS are emailed the day before the clinic, once volunteer teams and clients are confirmed

• All completed forms should be emailed to VLJ staff at the end of the appointment: Senior Staff Attorney, Jeff Stephens (jstephens@vljnj.org) and Legal Assistant, Carmen Obando (cobando@vljnj.org).
  
  At minimum, a LIMITED SCOPE AGREEMENT should be completed and sent over for each clinic client.

clinic Forms

special civil pro se Court Forms

Below are a few of the pro se court forms you may need to prepare for clients who have an active case in special civil case.

search case in ecourts

E-Courts

Everyone should get comfortable using e-Courts, as that is the best resource for you to get the most recent information/documents on clients’ court cases.  If you do not already have an e-Courts account set up, you can also access it with the following steps:

1. Go to https://portal.njcourts.gov/webcivilcj/CIVILCaseJacketWeb/pages/publicAccessDisclaimer.faces

2. Review the “Disclaimer” and click on the box to confirm that “I’m not a robot”. Click “Agree”.

3. Select “Special Civil Part” from the dropdown next to Search for Case.

4. Search using docket number or client name.

additional resources

Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS)

JEDS is a new electronic drop box system created by the NJ Judiciary for self-represented litigants submitting documents or for attorneys submitting documents in cases not managed through e-Courts.  Litigants should be counseled to set up their own account (if applicable to their case, i.e., they need to file something with the court). 

Judiciary’s electronic document submission (JEDS) - https://www.njcourts.gov/selfhelp/jeds.html

VLJ has created a client-friendly guide for pro se litigants to reference for assistance in creating their own JEDS account and a FAQ,  HERE. Please feel free to save a copy and send it to clients if needed.

For clients seeking the return of their SECURITY DEPOSIT

For general information, visit LSNJ Law HERE.

Download VLJ’s template demand letter HERE.

training videos

Whether this is your first time volunteering with VLJ’s Debt Relief Legal Program, or it has been a while, below are relevant training videos we recommend.

BANKRUPTCY & CONSUMER DEBT RELIEF
A high level overview (1 hr)

THE BASICS OF CONSUMER DEBT DEFENSE

You can also access our clinic’s general resources binder for more detailed resources.