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VLJ Receives Generous Grant from Investor's Bank

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Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is pleased to announce it has received a grant from the Investors Foundation to support the New Jersey Trafficking Victims' Legal Assistance Program (Trafficking Program).

The Trafficking Program began in 2015 to provide an array of legal services to victims of human trafficking, including the criminal record clearing of arrests and convictions that resulted from having been trafficked. Despite great strides made in addressing this crisis, survivors continue to face significant barriers as they attempt to rebuild their lives post-trafficking.

November 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Karyllan Dodson Mack

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.”

October 2019 Volunteer Of The Month: Nora Wolf

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is honored to recognize Nora Wolf as our October Volunteer of the Month. Nora has volunteered with VLJ for three years, becoming one of the most committed pro bono attorneys for VLJ’s Human Trafficking Victims’ Legal Assistance Program. She has successfully resolved outstanding warrants, dismissed municipal matters, and petitioned for vacatur and expungement relief for survivors under NJ’s Human Trafficking Prevention, Protection, and Treatment Act.

VLJ Receives Generous Grant from PSEG Foundation to Support Our Veterans

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is pleased to announce it has received a significant grant from the PSEG Foundation to support the Veterans Legal Program at VLJ. The Veterans Legal Program began in 2014 to assist with legal issues that veterans frequently face. The Veterans Legal Program includes the PSEG Veterans Legal Clinic, a free monthly legal clinic held in downtown Newark, where veterans have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with volunteer attorneys and paralegals from PSEG, Gibbons, and McCarter & English. Currently, volunteers provide veterans with legal advice and assistance drafting letters and legal pleadings, and there are plans to expand the clinic to serve more veterans in the coming year. VLJ also partners with veteran’s service providers across the state, including the East Orange VA Hospital, GI Go Fund, and VAST, to provide seamless service to veterans in need of services. In 2018, VLJ assisted 181 veterans through the Veterans Legal Program.

September 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Michael Poreda

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is thrilled to honor Michael Poreda as its September Volunteer of the Month. Michael has been volunteering with VLJ’s Children’s Representation Program since June 2018.

Michael recently merged his own practice with the law firm Wronko Loewen Benucci in Somerville. He handles a variety of matters, but focuses on education and employment law.

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Good News: Expungement Campaign & Vacatur Success

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VLJ launched a successful expungement campaign from July 15th to 26th to raise money for criminal record reports. Thanks to donors like you, we raised $4,650 to help over 100 clients get one step closer to clearing their records! This is truly life-changing. Thank you!

August 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Amy Woltman

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is thrilled to honor Amy Woltman as its August Volunteer of the Month. Amy has volunteered with VLJ for three years, becoming one of the most dedicated volunteers at both the Tenancy and Consumer Law Clinics. Between the two clinics, she has personally helped more than 50 low-income clients in need of legal services.

Amy is a Vice President of Compliance for LEAP and Financial Wellness at Prudential.

July 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Jack Feinstein

VLJ is honored to announce Jack Feinstein as its July Volunteer of the Month. Not only has Jack been volunteering with VLJ for 17 years, but he has also encouraged numerous law students to participate in pro bono work as a former Clinical Professor and ultimately Director of the Rutgers Civil Justice Clinic.

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New Jersey Residents Should Grab Camera and a Watertight Bag to Avoid Disaster-Related Legal Issues

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As the extreme weather season begins, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and other natural disasters threaten to bring myriad civil legal problems for New Jersey residents, from accessing critical disaster assistance to securing temporary housing to handling insurance claims. Volunteer Lawyers for Justice will be there to provide advice and assistance but residents should act now to ensure that they have accessible documents and pictures of them and everything in their home before a natural disaster arrives. A few simple actions can help to avoid legal problems later.

June 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Philip Taylor

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is excited to honor Philip Taylor as its June Volunteer of the Month. Phil has been volunteering with VLJ’s Children’s Representation Program for the past year. His interest in pro bono work began when he left a position practicing shareholder litigation at the law firm Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky to begin his own practice. “When I started my solo practice, I had more opportunity to do pro bono work,” said Phil. “My practice was slow initially, so I was excited by the opportunity to give back and learn about new practice areas.” After participating in VLJ’s new volunteer orientation, Phil, whose parents were both special education teachers, became interested in the Children’s Representation Program (CRP). CRP provides free legal advice and representation to parents or guardians of children with disabilities who have been denied the special education services to which they are entitled.

May 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Brian Yomtov

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is pleased to announce Brian Yomtov, Esq. as its May Volunteer of the Month.  Brian works as a Vice President, Corporate Counsel at Prudential Financial in the Technology and Enterprise Contracts Law group where his practice focuses on the drafting and negotiation of technology and service transaction agreements, including software licensing, cloud/hosting, outsourcing, and strategic consulting arrangements.  Through Prudential, he has been volunteering with VLJ since 2012.

April 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Alexandra Litvin

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is honored to announce Alexandra Litvin as the April Volunteer of the Month. Alexandra has been a dedicated volunteer with VLJ since 2007, while still at Seton Hall Law School.

As a legal intern at VLJ, Alexandra witnessed first-hand the role a volunteer attorney can play in changing the trajectory of a person’s life. “It was a very rewarding experience and it opened my eyes to the need for pro bono work.” Alexandra opened her own successful firm, the Law Office of Alexandra Wolfe Litvin, LLC, where she represents clients in business and corporate matters, as well as construction litigation, real estate, and consumer issues.

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, offering free legal assistance for the most vulnerable

VLJ strives to meet its motto of “Taking Cases. Changing Lives.” It does that by seeking to increase the breadth of pro bono legal services offered; recruiting, training and supporting new and veteran volunteer attorneys; working effectively with social service providers to identify emerging legal issues throughout the state; and securing the generous and necessary funds to support VLJ’s programming.

March 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Denise Panzer

VLJ’s tenancy program would be lost without the dedication and generous spirit of Denise Panzer, VLJ’s March 2019 Volunteer of the Month. Denise, the Pro Bono Administrative Coordinator at Lowenstein Sandler, has attended every Tenancy Clinic since the program began in February 2017. Denise is an essential team member at every clinic. She keeps things running smoothly, organizing cases and supporting the volunteer attorneys. Her work for the program outside of the clinic is also invaluable.