This month, VLJ is excited to honor Veterans Legal Program volunteer Karyllan Dodson Mack. Karyllan is Assistant General Counsel in the Environmental Practice Group at BASF Corporation and has volunteered with VLJ since 2016. She began working with VLJ at the Veterans Legal Wellness Clinic, a walk-in program at the East Orange VA Hospital to assess veterans’ pressing legal needs. Karyllan was immediately a standout volunteer and said she was “excited to be a part of a program to help our veterans.”
Karyllan took her advocacy a step further by volunteering for the “Veteran Buddy Program” outside the Wellness Clinic. The Buddy Program is designed to assist veterans prepare documents for their legal proceedings. As a Veteran Buddy, Karyllan has been an invaluable support to several clients. She has helped clients with limited computer and financial literacy prepare documents for bankruptcy and driver's license restoration. Without Karyllan's guidance and support, it is doubtful that these veterans would be able to collect the documents necessary to continue their legal cases.
In one case, Karyllan has truly gone above and beyond. “Edward” is an indigent veteran whose driver's license has been suspended for several years due to unpaid parking tickets in multiple municipalities. Karyllan began working with Edward as a Veteran Buddy to help him collect information on these parking tickets so he could simply prioritize and pay his fines. However, Karyllan learned that Edward’s caregiver had actually accrued the thousands of dollars in tickets while driving Edward's car. Then, a warrant was issued for Edward’s arrest. He suffers from PTSD and the fear of arrest was weighing heavily on his mental and physical health. Karyllan accepted Edward's case for full representation and set to work. She appeared in municipal court on Edward's behalf and achieved a recall of the warrant and dismissal of all fines. Karyllan called municipal court a "new challenge" but one worth taking on to help Edward.
Due to Karyllan's exceptional advocacy, thousands of dollars of Edward's fines have already been dismissed, and she hopes the remaining tickets will be dismissed by year end. For the first time in years, Edward is on the way to restoring his driving privileges.
Karyllan credits BASF for their partnership and dedication to pro bono service. Thank you Karyllan and BASF for all you do for New Jersey veterans!