Jessica Kitson (she/her)
Director of Legal Advocacy
Jessica is the Director of Legal Advocacy at Volunteer Lawyers for Justice where she leads the legal and policy work for the organization. Jessica is a national expert on advocacy for human trafficking survivors, representing survivors through VLJ’s New Jersey Human Trafficking Survivors Legal Assistance Program, and serving as a consultant with the Survivor Reentry Project, a national training and technical assistance project. Jessica has overseen the expansion of VLJ’s anti-eviction work in the wake of COVID-19 and leads a coalition of statewide housing advocates pursuing larger landlord-tenant reforms. Realizing that justice is not limited solely to the courts, Jessica oversees VLJ’s broadening advocacy efforts targeting systems and policies that impede equitable access to justice.
Prior to joining VLJ in 2014, Jessica was director of the Eric R. Neisser Public Interest Program at Rutgers Law School where she oversaw all public interest and pro bono programming. Jessica was previously at Duane Morris LLP as public interest counsel and has served as an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law, teaching seminars on domestic violence law and human trafficking.
Jessica is a member of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Task Force and the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Gender in the Courts. She received her BA in history and women's studies from Rutgers College and her Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School.
Outside of VLJ, Jessica volunteers with the Election Protection Hotline run by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Publications
Workable Solutions for Criminal Record Relief: Recommendations for Prosecutors Serving Victims of Human Trafficking - A Report by the Survivor Reentry Project — November 2019
The Power of Pro Bono Partnerships — New Jersey Lawyer, April 2023
NJ’s Courts And The Unfulfilled Promise Of Eviction Reform | Opinion — September 11, 2023
Unjustified Residential Evictions in New Jersey — October 29, 2024
News & Noteworthy
Advocates Shine Light On Rash Of Deficient Evictions In NJ — Law360, December 6, 2024
Connect with Jessica
““Justice is a legal system that is truly accessible for all, and where outcomes are not determined by an individual’s income, race, or gender.” ”