VLJ is pleased to recognize Eric Weinstock from Lowenstein Sandler LLP as our September Volunteer of the Month. Eric is Senior Counsel whose practice focuses on counseling clients in the development and implementation of their estate plans, including tax and non-tax issues. Additionally, he counsels fiduciaries in the administration of estates and trusts, and works with clients on the formation and management of charitable organizations.
August 2020 Volunteer of the Month: Brian Schwartz
July 2020 Volunteer of the Month: Shaun Bean
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is proud to feature Shaun Bean as its July Volunteer of the Month. Shaun is Assistant General Counsel at Panasonic Corporation of North America (“PNA”), where he handles a broad array of legal issues including dispute resolution, litigation management, and product safety matters.
June 2020 Volunteer of the Month: Danielle Weslock
May 2020 Volunteer of the Month: George M. Holland
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is thrilled to honor George Holland as its May Volunteer of the Month. George has been a devoted volunteer with VLJ’s Children’s Representation Program since November 2015.
George’s commitment to advocating for the rights of disabled children dates back to when he first started practicing law in 1996. George has his own successful law firm, the Law Offices of George M. Holland, which primarily involves special education litigation with local school districts. He also provides advice and advocacy in dealing with special education and related services, issues involving placements and programs as well as working with consultants and experts. In addition, George handles litigation with state agencies, such as the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Children’s System of Care, as well as the preparation and filing of guardianship applications.
George first learned about VLJ five years ago from his friends at the Education Law Center. He immediately signed up to become a volunteer with VLJ. Since then, he has provided pro bono legal representation to ten clients in their special education matters.
George is steadfastly committed to pro bono work and wholeheartedly believes in the importance of giving back. “I feel very fortunate to be able to assist and make a difference in the lives of disabled students and their families. Through my work with the VLJ, I am trying to help the many students and families who could use my services, but are unable to afford to pay the hourly rate that a private attorney, such as myself, would charge,” notes George.
George recalls one recent pro bono case with VLJ where he advocated on behalf of a single mother whose disabled child had been terminated from his private school for disabled students. The district abruptly stopped paying for the private school claiming that the child was no longer domiciled within the district and disregarded the parent’s procedural rights to contest this determination. The child had been home for months without any education or even the ability to socialize with peers. In a very short amount of time, George was able to successfully get him back into that school so that he could continue his education.
Reflecting on his work with VLJ, George remarks: “I have found VLJ to take a very ‘hands on' approach. They thoroughly interview prospective pro bono clients to ensure that their disputes actually merit having an attorney. Moreover, they remain involved in the cases. They have even assisted with communicating with clients who do not speak English as a first language while a case was pending.”
George is such a passionate advocate for low-income parents of children with disabilities. Not only does George take on cases for full-representation, but he is also always available to mentor other less experienced attorneys. George also gets out in front of emerging legal issues and he has stepped up even more in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, affirmatively reaching out to VLJ to offer his assistance.
VLJ is honored to recognize George as its May Volunteer of the Month.
April 2020 Volunteer of the Month: Michael Golden
VLJ is pleased to celebrate Michael Golden, Assistant VP and Senior Legal Counsel at AT&T, as the April Volunteer of the Month.
Michael is a long-standing volunteer with VLJ’s Consumer Law Clinic. He was encouraged to participate back in 2013 through AT&T’s pro bono program and has been consistently volunteering ever since. Michael has attended over 60 Consumer Law Clinics over the past seven years.
March 2020 Volunteer of the Month: Mark Heinzelmann
VLJ is pleased to announce Mark Heinzelmann as the March Volunteer of the Month.
Mark started volunteering at VLJ’s Tenancy Clinic soon after starting as an associate in the environmental group at Lowenstein Sandler. Although the clinic is designed to give limited advice to some of Essex County’s most vulnerable tenants, attorneys can choose to stay with a case afterwards. Mark has made that decision on multiple occasions, proving his dedication to legal justice. The results for VLJ clients on cases he’s worked have been overwhelmingly positive.
February 2020 Volunteer of the Month: Wendy Feldman
VLJ is pleased to announce Wendy Feldman, Vice-President, Corporate Counsel at Prudential Insurance Company of America, as February’s Volunteer of the Month.
In the past three years, Wendy has volunteered in many of VLJ’s legal clinics (including expungement, divorce, and bankruptcy), but where she has arguably had the most significant impact is with VLJ’s tenancy clinic.
January 2020 Volunteer of the Month: Nathan Howe
VLJ is honored to announce Nathan Howe as its January 2020 Volunteer of the Month. Nathan is an associate with McCarter & English, LLP where he assists clients in energy regulatory and transactional matters, as well as complex environmental and commercial litigation. Nathan has volunteered with VLJ for three years, becoming one of VLJ’s expungement clinic’s most committed and frequent volunteers.
December 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Janet Nagotko
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) is honored to recognize Janet (Jan) Nagotko as our December Volunteer of the Month. Jan has consistently volunteered with VLJ for over two years, quickly becoming one of the most dedicated attorneys at VLJ’s Divorce Clinics. She has helped nearly 50 clients thus far.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
February 2019 Volunteer of the Month: Tim Law
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is honored to recognize Tim Law as the February 2019 Volunteer of the Month for his work with our New Jersey Human Trafficking Victims’ Legal Assistance Program (Trafficking Program). Tim recognizes the pivotal role a skilled and dedicated attorney can play in changing the lives of human trafficking survivors with criminal records, and he exemplifies the zealous champion for survivors’ rights.
Tim is a Partner in the Philadelphia office of Reed Smith, where he represents corporations, non-profits, and universities in liability insurance coverage litigation, arbitration, and mediation.