Karen Robinson (she/her)
Managing Attorney
ReLeSe Program and the New Jersey Human Trafficking Survivors Legal Assistance Program
Karen is a managing attorney for VLJ and oversees VLJ’s efforts for the ReLeSe (Reentry Legal Services) Program and the New Jersey Human Trafficking Survivors Legal Assistance Program.
Her 15-year legal career concentrates on criminal record clearing relief through New Jersey’s expungement and vacatur laws because she firmly believes in second chances (and third, and fourth…) and the words of Bryan Stevenson that “each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”
Karen serves on the Essex Vicinage’s Advisory Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement and Seton Hall Law’s Women's Leadership Committee. She is also a member of the Essex County Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association, and Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey.
Karen is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Rhetoric, and she received her Juris Doctor from Seton Hall Law. Karen is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and New York.
Outside of VLJ, Karen is an adoring mom to two young children whom she hopes to instill a passion for social, economic, and racial justice.
Awards & Recognition
Click here to read Karen’s profile as VLJ’s December 2023 Defender of Justice
Publications
The Disparate Impact of Driver's License Suspensions on Communities of Color — New Jersey Lawyer, February 2023
How Pro Bono Legal Services Can Secure Second Chances — Pro Bono: From Passion to Practice Blog, July 29, 2024
Connect with Karen
““Ensuring access to justice means that no matter your zip code, bank account, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, citizenship status, disability, or diverse background, everyone has equal rights under the law and deserves a fair opportunity to enforce those rights.” ”