VLJ ecstatically recognizes and celebrates Katiana Guerrier as our June 2022 Defender of Justice! It’s hard to believe it, but Katiana joined our team as a legal assistant only seven months ago, and during those seven months she has diligently supported our Veterans Legal and ReLeSe (Reentry Legal Services) Programs. At VLJ Katiana helps veterans and New Jersey residents with an array of legal issues including expungement (criminal record clearing), child support modification, driver license restoration, drafting of wills, and more. Katiana quickly became a pro handling the “ins and outs” of VLJ legal clinics including coordinating and assisting with multiple monthly clinics at the Newark courthouse and the East Orange Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
We don’t jest when we say Katiana is a quick learner and go-getter! Katiana adeptly navigates the complexities of administering clinics in multiple formats including onsite, virtual, and if that weren’t enough, often simultaneously running clinics both online and in person. On top of her technical and professional know how, Katiana is a compassionate, caring advocate who guides and supports VLJ clients from the moment they give us a call to the day their case is closed.
Katiana holds a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies with a Minor in Public Policy from William Paterson University. Through her educational studies and professional endeavors, Katiana thrives in hands-on experience that she plans to use to reach her goal of attending law school. During her undergraduate studies, Katiana was a member of the Phi Theta Sigma Honors Law Fraternity, serving for two years as Chair of the Ethics Committee. Katiana’s main attraction to VLJ was how similar VLJ’s values are to Phi Theta Sigma:
Phi Theta Sigma is dedicated to the principles of scholarship, service, fellowship, civic engagement, and ethics.
Katiana has found it impactful to help New Jerseyans experiencing poverty access justice. Katiana remarked, “I think you never know how much individuals of low-income status cannot get the proper representation or help that they need until you are speaking with those very people each and every day and seeing their lives change before your very eyes.” She hopes to continue bringing VLJ’s mission to fruition one case, one person at a time. Indeed, Katiana says her biggest accomplishment is helping people every day. She sums it up by quoting actor Denzel Washington in his speech to a graduating class of Dillard University:
“The most selfish thing you can do in this world is help someone else. Why is it selfish? Because the gratification, the goodness that comes to you, the good feeling, the good feeling that I get from helping others, nothing is better than that, not jewelry, not the big house I have, not the cars –it’s the joy, that’s where the joy is in helping others, that’s where the success is”
In addition to her amazing advocacy and commitment to VLJ, Katiana is an usher at her church and leading Sunday services from time to time. She also enjoys event planning, organizing spaces, cleaning, and late-night cooking (Katiana finds the night to be the most calming and grounding time of the day). Katiana also picked up an interest in studying the dictionary that was inspired by a similar practice of Marshall Mathers (whom you will likely know as Eminem).
Katiana is incredibly kind and collegial, qualities that add to an already impressive list of reasons why VLJ is grateful that she is part of the team. Thank you, Katiana, for bringing so much joy to your colleagues and clients and for being a true Defender of Justice!