News & Updates
As summer kicks into high gear, VLJ shines a spotlight on our four Summer 2023 interns. First up, VLJ is thrilled to introduce Elena Schwartz who is interning with VLJ’s ReLeSe Program and Veterans Legal Program. Elena received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and she is a rising 2L at Brooklyn Law School.
“Ensuring access to justice is showing up,” whether that is at the courthouse or on the neighborhood block. For VLJ’s June 2023 Defender of Justice, “showing up” is his “just getting started.” For this month’s Defender of Justice, VLJ recognizes and honors the commitment, compassion, and dedication of Jeff Stephens.
Jeff is a senior staff attorney in VLJ’s Tenancy Program and also oversees VLJ’s quarterly Estate Planning Clinic and co-leads VLJ’s internship efforts. Jeff received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and political science at Hunter College and his Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law-Newark.
For this month's inaugural VLJ “Supporter of the Month” series, we are delighted to recognize the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) Foundation whose generous funding has made a significant impact on VLJ’s Divorce Program and its clients.
On Wednesday, May 17, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) was presented with a NJ Freedom Award for its work ensuring access to justice for survivors of human trafficking in New Jersey. The awards were presented by the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NJCAHT) at its annual New Jersey Freedom Gala. At the Gala, which was held at the Bridgewater Manor, NJCAHT awarded several recipients with its NJ Freedom Award, an award that recognizes the compassion, courage, impact and reach of individuals and organizations to prevent human trafficking in New Jersey and help those affected by it.
“If we want a beloved community, we must stand for justice.” – bell hooks
That quote from author, cultural critic, and professor bell hooks is an apt summary of one of VLJ’s many “whys” to our work. It acknowledges that “community” and “justice” must always go in the same sentence, hand in hand. This quote is not just philosophical at VLJ, it takes corporeal form and is embodied by our staff. Indeed, for VLJ’s April 2023 Defender of Justice, this quote encompasses the passion, commitment, and unwavering zeal for the communities we serve. It is then we honor, cheerlead, and champion our newest Defender of Justice, Eilleen Ingram-Willis.
With VLJ since November 2021, Eilleen is a managing attorney where she leads VLJ’s South Ward Promise Neighborhood (SWPN) and Human Trafficking Programs. Eilleen completed undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania, and she received her Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School-Newark.
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice staff member Jessica Kitson (Director of Legal Advocacy) and Board Trustee Jessica Hodkinson (Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Panasonic Corporation of North America) had their article, The Power of Pro Bono Partnerships, published in the New Jersey State Bar Association’s New Jersey Lawyer April 2023 edition.
Are you tired of seeing poverty in America? Are you fed up with the fact that poverty is considered a routine social ill? Something that has come to be expected and accepted. At VLJ, we are tired of seeing poverty and we are fed up with accommodating it, generation after generation, broken promise after broken promise.
Cathy Keenan, VLJ’s Executive Director, recently attended a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and sociologist, Matthew Desmond, in advance of his new book, “Poverty, by America.” Desmond’s talk left Cathy energized and reinvigorated and now she has a call to action for the larger VLJ family.
Volunteers Lawyers for Justice was recently highlighted in a March 29, 2023, article from Psychology Today. The article discussed the criminals records-impact survivors of human trafficking face. Also featured in the article are VLJ volunteer Michelle Stegmann and the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
VLJ can’t properly ring in the new year without another installment of our Defender of Justice series. VLJ’s February 2023 Defender of Justice is a name and face many know and appreciate, and she is a tour de force for our veterans: Alexandra Bravo. Alexandra is a staff attorney who oversees VLJ’s Veterans Legal Program and handles issues relating to child support as they arise in other programs. Alexandra is no stranger to VLJ, having interned with the organization during law school (summer 2016) prior to joining as a staff attorney in October 2019. Alexandra received her bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall University, graduating magna cum laude, and she graduated from Rutgers Law School-Newark in 2017.
It’s not always the case that someone knows they want to become an attorney so early, but fortunately for VLJ and the Newark community, our new AT&T Spring 2023 intern had that box checked years ago. VLJ warmly welcomes Adaneka Witter Judge, a 2L at Rutgers Law School-Newark, who will be spend her spring semester with VLJ supporting several programs, starting out with VLJ’s Divorce and Debt Relief Programs. In true Adaneka fashion, she hit the ground running, taking full advantage of interning in different practice areas.
FurtherJustice Foundation Awards $100,000 Legal Accelerator Grant to Volunteer Lawyers for Justice to Address Legal and Social Issues That Contribute to Housing Instability in Essex County
Newark, NJ – According to recent reports, Essex County leads New Jersey with the largest backlog of eviction filings (at more than 15,000). Exacerbating the backlog is a long-standing fact that New Jersey is one of the most expensive states in the U.S. for renters, with the fair market value of a two-bed apartment far exceeding most households’ ability to afford. This means more families in New Jersey, especially Essex County and Newark, are unable to afford safe, quality housing. Realizing that unconventional times call for unconventional measures, and to aid VLJ in its efforts to help more tenants in Essex County stay housed at home, FurtherJustice Foundation recently awarded a $100,000 Legal Accelerator Grant to VLJ’s Tenancy Program.
New year, new law school semester, which means a new intern! VLJ welcomes Elias Bull as an intern assigned to VLJ’s Tenancy Program. A graduate of Rutgers – New Brunswick (2016) with a BS in mechanical engineering, Elias is currently a 2L at Rutgers Law – Newark. Elias comes to VLJ hoping to gain experience on and insight into New Jersey’s eviction crisis as well as the many issues that tenants face, especially those that raise the risk of housing instability.
“Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.” Those words from Hank Rosso capture many elements of what it takes to raise support for a worthy cause: gentleness, art, teaching, joy, and giving. One would argue that those five elements, or more precisely, characteristics, are what make a great fundraiser. Ask anyone at VLJ about our fundraising and the response would be, “Yes, we have those five characteristics here, and her name is Jaclyn Kramer.” Gentleness, art, teaching, joy, giving, and more are what bring VLJ to honor, recognize, and appreciate Jaclyn Kramer as VLJ’s December 2022 Defender of Justice.
Newark, NJ - With the lingering effects of COVID-19, inflation, and limited wage growth wreaking havoc on the family pocketbook, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) has seen an increase in the number of individuals requiring help with consumer debt matters including bankruptcy. To aid VLJ in its efforts to assist more clients with consumer debt and bankruptcy issues, the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation (ACBF) recently awarded a $10,000 grant to VLJ’s Debt Relief Legal Program (DRLP).
Newark, NJ – Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) announces with gratitude and appreciation that the PSEG Foundation recently awarded VLJ a grant of $85,000 to support its Veterans Legal Program. VLJ’s Veterans Legal Program helps New Jersey Veterans with certain civil legal issues, including criminal record expungement, driver’s license restoration, bankruptcy, consumer debt defense, eviction defense, child support modification, and estate planning.
VLJ’s October 2022 Defender of Justice is Tracy Griffinger Nelson, VLJ’s Director of Finance. Tracy started volunteering at Volunteer Lawyers for Justice in 2008 after she and her partner sold their organic baking company to a distributor. Tracy was looking for meaningful work when her cousin Michael Griffinger, a renowned attorney at Gibbons P.C., told her, “I have the place for you!”
Following up on last month’s official start of the New Jersey Housing Justice Corps fellowship program, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is excited to shine a spotlight on two familiar faces who are participating in the fellowship program: Nina DePalma, Esq. and Margo Katz Rosenberg, Esq.
Newark, NJ – Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Mountain Ridge Country Club on an ideal New Jersey fall evening, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) returned in person, after an extended pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to its annual Arts & Eats for Justice gala for a night of community, celebration, and justice. The Arts & Eats for Justice gala is not only VLJ’s largest fundraising event, it is also its largest celebration of those whose time and talent raise the bar on ensuring access to justice for people experiencing poverty. For this year’s gala, VLJ was particularly proud to honor Audible (Community Vision Award), Joseph T. Boccassini, Esq. (Partner in Justice Award), and Richmond Rabinowitz (Champion of Justice Award).
