How Pro Bono Legal Services Can Secure Second Chances

July 29, 2024
Authored by: Karen Robinson

This article is made possible by the generous support from Taylor Tobey and Sarah Brodsky at 9Sail.

How Pro Bono Legal Services Can Secure Second Chances

Nine out of ten employers check criminal records when determining who to hire. Four out of five landlords use background checks when choosing tenants. Three in five colleges and universities consider criminal backgrounds when deciding who to admit. When you have a criminal record, the sentence does not end once time is served or fine paid; the stigma of having a criminal past follows well into the future. Thankfully, expungement has the power to change that. Volunteer Lawyers for Justice’s ReLeSe (Reentry Legal Services) Program provides access to expungement for neighbors and community members, and when you volunteer with ReLeSe, you provide that life-changing relief.

How You Can Help Provide Second Chances Through Pro Bono Legal Services

By volunteering with ReLeSe, you will serve clients who are experiencing poverty. Your advice, counsel, and pro bono legal services lead to incredible outcomes. Checking in with our clients months and years after their expungement has been granted and record cleared, we have measured increases in gainful employment, economic independence, housing stability, family reunification, and civic engagement along with reductions in recidivism. It is a win-win-win for the client, their family, and communities across the state and beyond.

Criminal Record Expungement

Interested in volunteering on expungement matters, but not sure how to get started? A flexible and easy opportunity is available through monthly legal clinics. Training is available and VLJ staff oversee every clinic so no prior experience is necessary. Even better, volunteers work in teams of attorneys and non-attorneys. Together with your team, you will conduct public access record searches and review background information to determine eligibility for expungement since not every client who seeks an expungement will qualify for one. Although no one likes giving disappointing news, clients express tremendous satisfaction in knowing exactly where things stand and what alternatives they may have to move forward in the event they are not eligible for an expungement.

For clients who are deemed eligible during the clinic, volunteers may provide legal assistance with submitting record requests for missing information like disposition or sentence completion. Once those records are received, straightforward cases can be e-filed as pro se petitions. Again, VLJ is flexible about this e-filing volunteer opportunity: it can be done during a monthly legal clinic or at a mutually convenient day and time for you and the client. Either way, get ready for tears of happiness, applause, smiles and cheers once you hit submit!

Currently, VLJ is most in need of volunteers who can handle cases involving extended services (also known as full representation). Some cases are not conducive to proceeding pro se: the client may not understand English; lack reliable access to the internet to file on their own; the case may too old to populate into eCourts; or the case may be discretionary based on the nature of the convictions and require a compelling circumstances argument. You would be the attorney of record, and with support from VLJ, you will obtain a final order on behalf of the client and witness the weight lifted from your client’s shoulders.

VLJ’s ReLeSe Program

In the 1980s, when “Betty” was just 21-years-old, she was working as a cashier when she was accused of shoplifting. This was her first encounter with the criminal legal system and she was scared. Betty pled guilty thinking that is what she had to do, but once she realized the ramifications, it was too late. Fast-forward 30 years and Betty had no other criminal charges. She did not want to be judged as a criminal, but did not know about expungement.

Decades later, Betty finally found legal help. She attended a ReLeSe educational seminar at the Union County Superior Court. After the Know Your Rights presentation, she met one-on-one with a VLJ volunteer who explained what documents were needed and how to obtain her criminal record. Betty collected her background record and then attended a legal clinic when, after reviewing her information, a team of volunteers (in-house and law firm associates) found her eligible for expungement. Due to the age of her case, though, Betty’s case could not be filed electronically.

Answering the call, two other volunteers (an attorney and paralegal pair) stepped in to represent her. After successfully expunging Betty’s record, her volunteer team was well-versed at paper-based filings and agreed to handle two more cases similar to Betty’s. They even recruited another colleague to join their volunteer efforts, increasing the pool of volunteers ready and willing to help!

Betty moved one step closer to a second chance each time she met with a volunteer who continued to pass the baton forward to the next volunteer until she was over the finish line and her expungement granted.

Help Someone Get the Second Chance They Deserve

Pro bono helps clients access justice and volunteers benefit too. If you have three hours to donate, volunteer at ReLeSe’s monthly legal clinic. If you have a couple more hours to give, you can help a pro se litigant e-file their petition. If you would like to satisfy your annual Madden pro bono requirement, take a full representation case. There are several people like Betty waiting for a volunteer right now. Short on time? Then please consider donating or attending a VLJ fundraising event like the annual gala on October 8 because free legal services are not free to coordinate. Whatever your time or financial ability, you can make a difference!

If you are not admitted to practice law in New Jersey, you can volunteer as VLJ is a court-approved pro bono provider. If you are retired, we welcome you. Whether you are in-house or at a law firm, an early-career associate or veteran partner, your time and talent are most welcome. Not a lawyer? We need you too! Non-attorneys, including law students, paralegals, executive assistants, all play vital roles ensuring access to justice. Whatever your position, there is a place for you at VLJ.

Already a volunteer? Please consider mentoring or recruiting a colleague to join you. If you enjoy public speaking, you can lead a Know Your Rights seminar at a community-based organization. Perhaps you speak another language and can volunteer to translate and interpret. If you’re knowledgeable about expungement or public interest law, you can serve as a CLE speaker. Whatever your skills, you can make a difference.

Sign up to volunteer with VLJ’s ReLeSe Program today and give someone a second chance. Expungement is life-saving and life-changing legal relief — and the life you change through pro bono may even be your own!

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