News & Updates
For some of our pro bono attorneys, VLJ is their first experience with volunteering. For others, they’ve been volunteering long before joining the ranks of ESQ. This month, we honor one such pro bono attorney who started her volunteer work long before she knew the joys of blue booking, CLEs, and “It depends.” For VLJ’s December 2022 Volunteer of the Month, we honor and recognize Michelle Smith, Esq., Pro Bono Fellow for the City of Newark at McCarter & English LLP.
With today being Veterans Day, VLJ is mindful of the many volunteers and supporters who help us serve those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. For VLJ’s November 2022 Volunteer of the Month, we honor Steve Berlin, Esq., Managing Senior Counsel Labor and Employment at Panasonic North America, a longtime volunteer with VLJ’s Veterans Legal Wellness Clinic.
Steve attended the University of Maryland, where he majored in journalism, and then attended law school at Brooklyn Law. Steve has been practicing law his entire life and “can’t imagine doing anything else.” Steve goes so far as to say that he “loves” the practice of law, describing it as “a challenging profession but rewarding.” Steve is active with the New Jersey State Bar Association and serves as editor of their publication, New Jersey Labor and Employment Law Quarterly.
VLJ’s October 2022 Volunteer of the Month joined us just a couple years ago amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and her tenure as a volunteer supporting VLJ’s Trafficking Program has personified “Taking cases. Changing Lives.”
Michelle Stegmann, Esq. has built a career over the past three decades as an attorney and Insurance Claims Senior Vice President, with experience in various lines of business, including environmental, transportation, general liability, professional liability, surety, construction, construction defect, employer’s liability, asbestos and mass tort, crisis management, and E&O claims. Her responsibilities have encompassed attracting, developing and retaining talent, as well as achieving financial goals and sustaining profitability. She is currently with Crum & Forster, based in Morristown, NJ.
VLJ’s September 2022 Volunteer of the Month is fairly new to VLJ, but is no stranger to pro bono and volunteering his time and talent to help others. VLJ is ecstatic to recognize and celebrate Nuo Jiang, Esq. as this month’s Volunteer of the Month. Nuo is a litigation associate at Capehart Scatchard where he focuses his practice, in federal and New Jersey courts, on creditors’ rights, business collection, tort defense, premises liability and products liability defense, Tort Claims Act defense, construction, estates, employment and professional malpractice.
In the midst of the August summer heat, we honor a volunteer who always keeps his cool, Jason Holt, Esq. Jason is a member with Chiesa Shaninian & Giantomasi (CSG) where he works with the Real Estate, Development and Land Use practice group and the firm’s cannabis law team. He draws upon his background navigating the political and economic challenges of New Jersey to assist CSG Law in representing its varied portfolio of clients. Holt is a recently appointed Co-Chair of CSG’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee. He also serves on several leadership teams and diversity committees for business, bar and community associations.
VLJ proudly features Nina Peckman, Esq. as our July 2022 Volunteer of the Month. For over sixteen years Nina, a staff attorney with Advocates for Children of New Jersey (“ACNJ”), has provided legal assistance to parents, including advice, representation in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings and at mediations. Nina earned her Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University.
VLJ is thrilled to feature O. Ade Oremosu as our May Volunteer of the Month. Ade is Senior Managing Associate General Counsel at Verizon, where he leads a team of attorneys that support, guide, and counsel Verizon’s Business Products Organization. When not leading his team of attorneys, Ade is a fierce advocate for justice.
VLJ is proud to recognize Suemyra Shah as our April Volunteer of the Month. Suemyra is Senior Corporate Counsel at Audible, where she oversees the development, licensing, and production of original content. She is also a fierce advocate for social, racial, and economic justice on behalf of VLJ’s ReLeSe (Reentry Legal Services) program. Her commitment to serving the most vulnerable in our community makes her most deserving of this recognition, especially as April is Second Chance Month.
We’re thrilled to feature Christina Holder as our March Volunteer of the Month. Christina is the Corporate Public Interest Counsel at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, where she recruits attorneys from the firm’s various corporate practices to volunteer with legal services organizations and maintains her own pro bono docket.
Christina first encountered VLJ when she joined Lowenstein in March 2020, right when the pandemic started to take hold. Christina immediately became involved with VLJ’s pandemic-related housing rights work. Because of Lowenstein’s commitment to helping New Jersey’s most vulnerable, Christina proposed expanding the firm’s partnership with VLJ to include estate planning services for low-income individuals.
This month, VLJ is excited to honor volunteer attorney Aaron Haier. Aaron is new to the VLJ volunteer scene, and we are immensely grateful to have him fighting for our tenancy clients. Aaron is an Associate in the Litigation department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he works on a broad set of litigations, investigations, and regulatory matters for a variety of corporate clients.
Aaron is extremely passionate about serving his community and using his legal knowledge to give back. He is also a long-time housing advocate. Prior to law school, Aaron worked for the City of Newark’s Department of Health, where he oversaw the Newark Healthy Homes Program and was responsible for policy development and legal enforcement strategies in connection with home environmental issues, including lead poisoning and childhood asthma.
VLJ is pleased to kick off our new year by honoring Diane Russini as our Volunteer of the Month. Diane has been fulfilling VLJ’s mission of “taking cases and changing lives” by serving as a consistent volunteer and supporter of VLJ’s Debt Relief Legal Program. We are in an unprecedented time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are experiencing poverty for the first time and those who have been financially unstable may find themselves in a worse situation. Throughout the pandemic, though, Diane has been committed to helping clients navigate these hardships by volunteering at VLJ’s Debt Relief Clinic.
We are thrilled to feature Joann Mazur Kielblock as our November 2021 Volunteer of the Month! Joann is Vice President and Corporate Counsel for Prudential’s Group Insurance Business Unit, where she is responsible for advising Group Life Insurance on the delivery of products, services, and benefits to customers and covered employees/ members.
Joann first became involved with VLJ in 2010 through her participation in Prudential’s Pro Bono Committee. As part of the committee, she also led “Wills for Heroes”, a free program established by the Young Lawyers Division of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Wills for Heroes offers free wills, financial power of attorney documents, and living wills to New Jersey’s first responders, veterans, and active military members and their spouses/partners.
In 2017, Joann first volunteered with VLJ’s Divorce program and since then she has never looked back. Over the years, Joann has volunteered with VLJ’s various legal clinics, including but not limited to the following: Divorce clinic, Debt Relief Clinic, Expungement Clinic, and Tenancy clinic. She has donated over 50 hours of pro bono time and has assisted 25 clients with their various legal needs/issues.
In the summer of 2021, sensing a need to further expand collaboration between Prudential’s Pro Bono Committee and VLJ, Joann and Co-Chair Amy Woltman joined VLJ’s Veteran’s Program. Thanks to Joann’s efforts, Prudential volunteers contributed to veteran’s clinics by conducting holistic legal interviews to determine root causes of their legal issues, providing advice and limited service, and making meaningful referrals.
Joann mentions that she enjoys volunteering with VLJ and having opportunities to resolve legal issues she does not normally encounter in her work. Joann loves to see the immediate impact her assistance has and shared,
Joann has helped a number of different clients, but a particularly compelling expungement client looking for a fresh start stands out most to her. She shared, “This is why I volunteer with VLJ – to help others who, like NR, just need a chance to start over with a clean slate –whether that is in the form of an expungement, a divorce, resolving a debt, or a tenancy issue, etc.” Joann is passionate about Pro Bono work and believes that “access to competent legal counsel should be available to anyone who wants it or needs it – not just the few who can afford it.”
Outside of her work with VLJ, Joann is a dedicated mother of two deeply involved in her children’s activities. She is actively involved in her local Parent-Teacher Organization, Boy Scouts of America and Boy Scout Troup. Recently, Joann became a member of the Friends of Nutley Singers (FONS): a non-profit organization that fundraises for Nutley’s music and performing arts programs to offset costs for choir trips, purchasing music, funding productions, and sponsoring annual scholarships for Nutley High School seniors. Joann will serve as treasurer for FONS for the 2022 term starting in June.
We are immensely grateful to Joann for her volunteerism, leadership, dedication to VLJ’s clients, and to Pro Bono work as a whole. Congratulations to Joann, our November 2021 Volunteer of the Month!
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Managing attorney, Karen Robinson, calls Debra a dream volunteer --- always willing to dive into any practice area, go the extra distance to put a client over the finish line, and is never without a pro bono case on her plate. For being a fearless advocate, a pro bono leader, and a force for good in our state, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is proud to recognize Debra Levin as our October 2021 Volunteer of the Month!
We’re proud to feature Candy Velazquez as our September 2021 Volunteer of the Month! As founder and principal attorney of Velazquez Law, LLC, Candy represents clients in central and northern New Jersey in the areas of divorce and family law, and elder law.
Candy began volunteering with VLJ’s Divorce Program in 2019 where she served as an expert in family law for VLJ’s divorce clinic. A tireless advocate for Spanish-speaking clients proceeding through the divorce process, Candy quickly became the go-to person assisting the majority of VLJ’s Spanish-speaking divorce clients.
A year later as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, many were forced to reduce their pro bono hours. Refusing to allow the pandemic to hinder her ability to assist New Jersey’s most vulnerable populations, Candy sought new ways to reach clients. In addition to advocating for remote divorce work at VLJ, Candy also regularly participated in remote clinic settings and virtual Q&A sessions for litigants navigating the divorce process by themselves.
A firm believer in the right to access justice regardless of financial means, Candy’s advocacy for pro se litigants extended beyond the divorce clinic. Over the course of her time with VLJ, Candy has helped a number of clients with full representation assistance. She shared,
“Pro bono work is critical to justice. In family law, in particular, not having an attorney can be incredibly detrimental to a litigant, especially if their adversary is represented. Everyone deserves quality representation.”
In addition to her phenomenal work within VLJ’s Divorce Program, Candy is extremely passionate about providing legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence. Since she began volunteering with VLJ, Candy has represented many clients who are survivors. She is also involved with the Battered Women’s Legal Advocacy Project of Morris County, where she handles restraining order hearings for victims of domestic violence on behalf of the BWLAP. Candy recognizes that domestic violence survivors are in desperate need of representation and has dedicated her pro bono work to serving this specific population. Candy says,
“I am very passionate about protecting victims of domestic violence and regularly look for opportunities to assist survivors. I consider myself fortunate to represent survivors of domestic violence via VLJ –being a part of the empowerment process for these clients has been tremendously rewarding.”
For her never-ending dedication to assisting clients navigating the divorce process, and her passionate advocacy for domestic violence survivors, we are proud to recognize Candy Velasquez, Esq., as our September 2021 Volunteer of the Month!
Alycia Guichard, August 2021 Volunteer of the Month, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice
We’re thrilled to feature Alycia Guichard as our August Volunteer of the Month. Alycia is counsel for Verizon's Public Policy Law & Security Group, where she provides legal assistance to international and domestic clients during the product launch process.
In addition Alycia also supports Verizon’s Pro Bono Chair, John Frantz, SVP & General Counsel, Verizon Business Group by coordinating Verizon’s Public Policy Law & Security Worldwide Pro Bono Program,. She was first introduced to VLJ through her friend Jessica Kitson, VLJ’s Managing Attorney. With a team of Verizon volunteers, Alycia first began working with VLJ’s ReLeSe Program providing assistance with expungement matters.
During the Fall of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, Alycia and her colleagues felt the need to do more for underserved populations. Because of their commitment to helping New Jersey’s most vulnerable, Verizon expanded its partnership with VLJ to include estate planning services.
Alycia recruited four volunteer attorneys to provide remote estate planning assistance to seven clients. The volunteers prepared wills, power-of-attorneys, health care proxies, and advanced medical directives. Though this work was outside of their comfort zones, Alycia remained a steadfast champion of the work, providing encouragement and logistical support when needed. For example, when a Spanish-speaking client needed help drafting estate planning documents, Alycia made sure to find a volunteer interpreter. Thanks to Alycia’s assistance, the volunteer Verizon attorney was able to accept the case and draft documents with full confidence that the client’s wishes were accurately reflected.
“VLJ is a wonderful organization and our partnership is trend-setting,” says Alycia. She also shares that the mentorship VLJ offers makes volunteers “feel confident asking questions and taking on more cases because they know that VLJ is available to assist.”
Alycia is also dedicated to pro bono work outside of VLJ. Through Verizon’s Pro Bono Program, Alycia is able to help even more people while empowering Verizon employees to do the same. Regarding Verizon’s program, Alycia shared that, “With every new partnership we forge, with every mentoring relationship we enter with our youth, with every nonprofit we help with our talents, I am able to give back. Verizon is an amazing place to work and our Pro Bono Program represents the best of what we at Verizon have to offer.”
We are immensely grateful to Alycia for her leadership, dedication to VLJ’s clients and to Pro Bono work as a whole. Congratulations to Alycia Guichard, our August Volunteer of the Month!
We are excited to recognize and honor Diane Claussen, a longtime volunteer with VLJ’s Debt Relief Legal Program (DRLP). Diane is a Case Manager at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, primarily supporting its bankruptcy practice with chapter 11 filings, creditor committee work, and bankruptcy litigation. Diane first started volunteering with VLJ over a decade ago, when Lowenstein partnered with another major VLJ supporter, Merck, to provide chapter 7 bankruptcy services to VLJ’s clients.
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is honored to recognize Andrew Meltzer as its June Volunteer of the Month. Andrew is a Special Education Attorney with Susan, Greenwald & Wesler who began volunteering with VLJ’s Children’s Representation Program (CRP) in 2015. Since then, he has devoted over 500 pro bono hours to representing parents of children with disabilities, and his volunteerism has only increased in the midst of the pandemic.
Asad Rizvi has been an active and dedicated volunteer at VLJ’s Veterans Legal Wellness Clinic since shortly after starting with PNA in April 2019. He notes that with the strong encouragement of PNA Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Jessica L. Hodkinson, the entire PNA Legal Department team has played a great role in the Clinic since its inception, with additional support from PNA’s law firm partners such as McGuireWoods LLP and Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C.
